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There are two kinds of free-range chicken. The first and the kind I've always had are the ones you think of (and see on the packaging) when someone says family farm. The happy chickens who play in fields and eat lush grass and bugs. The small community of family farms that still survive still keep free-range chickens. These chickens are often traditional breeds many are heritage breeds that have better flavor and are not give hormones and other drugs. Some are kept in barns or sheds at night where they have access to clean water and nesting boxes. These barn/shed are also very clean and have good ventilation to prevent diseases including respiratory disorder in both the chickens and the farmers. During the day they either roam in the lush green pastures with other animals and eat grass, flowers and bugs (which should be the bulk of their diet) and on occasion will get into the garden (at certain times of the year this is welcomed since they will eat the bad bugs and weed a bit). The other free range chickens live in tractors (not those tractors) either full or part times. These tractors are either portable screened in pens or shed/small barns on skids that can be moved around the farms so that the chickens are safe from predators and have access to new grass and more bugs.
The factory farmed chickens are usually the Cornish Game hens that were developed in the 1950's that will reach full market weight in just 6 weeks as apposed to 42+ days for the other chickens. But just like the morbidly obese (these guys look like they're on steroids (and they're on a lot of bad stuff including hormones anyway) they have more flesh but the rest of their body isn't built for it. They will die soon if not killed, and many die before it's time to go to the factory. The factories were the chickens are processed are not the most sanitary despite what the USDA and the FDA say. These chickens were raised in long tunnels, with little room to move, the air is so bad that they can hardly breather (some can't and die) and many can't even walk because of their large size. The tunnels are usually completely closed of from outside air and light and in the case of laying hens they are forced to live in 24/7 artificial light so that the egg production does not drop off. Now to be allowed to say your chickens are "free-range" the USDA requires that they have access to the outside. This does not mean they get nice lush grass this just means that they need to be able to leave the building even if it's a dirt lot. There is no regulation as to how much room they get and usually it is a screen to look through. Now because many of the chickens can barely walk or are dead and have spent their whole life inside they are either to scared or unable to go outside. I would like to note that many of the farmers raising chickens this way are under contract with major corporations and having nothing to fall back on (most don't even break even for the year).
Pastured poultry is now the favored term for the chickens in the first paragraph. As someone who grew up on a traditional New England farm I don't see why our food can't have to best possible life and more importantly a humane (stress free, quick and virtually painless death) and sanitary death.
Free range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals are permitted to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. The principle is to allow the animals as much freedom as possible, to live out their instinctual behaviors in a reasonably natural way, regardless of whether or not they are eventually killed for meat. One of the many benefits of free range animals is for some rudimentary insect population control in the free range area. Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming. In ranching, free range livestock are permitted to roam without being fenced in, as opposed to fenced-in pastures. In many of the agriculture based economies, free range livestock are quite common. Some animals like the goat will only thrive on a free range diet. Salmonella infection rate in free range and organic chickens have been found to be comparable to those produced in typical poultry production houses.
Wiki User
∙ 7y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoFree range eggs is nothing to do with the fact that the eggs are able to roam free its completely to do with the chickens that produce the eggs. That the chickens that produce are able to roam free
Unfortunately the USDA has no regulation about what can be called free range. Unless the eggs were bought from a local farmer they were produced by factory farmed chickens that live in large tunnel like barns were they spend their entire life under 24/7 artificial light and can barely move.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoNot to be confused with free range, cage free chickens are those allowed to roam a confined space like a barn or warehouse structure. The birds have access to food and water but not to fresh plants and insects etc.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoEggs from a hen that is free to roam its outside environment, while not being stuck in a cage or a barn.
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What is cage free chickens?
I think the term you want if "free ranged hens" it means that chickens can roam around fields our on end while cage chickens are born from eggs and put into a barn or a cage and they cant leave it they do get water and sunlight but they cant leave a bit like a prison they get food the only difference is that cage chickens tend to taste different and are much cheaper while free ranged take more money to keep them so they are more expansive and they taste better. An example of cage chicken is KFC and free ranged would be something that says on the box "free ranged" hope this helped
What is a chicken cage called?
A chicken cage is called a coop. Coops are used to house chickens and protect them from predators. it is also where they can lay their eggs.
What is the difference between fresh eggs and store bought?
Farm fresh eggs are typically free-range, natural, and sometimes organic. The hens are always kept in better conditions, and to get better laying rates are usually very happy and healthy. The eggs from these hens is almost always more nutritional - due to the free range factor. They will have more Omega 3's than store bought. Eggs from stores come from places where a hen has less than 67 square inches of space, crammed into a cage with 4 to 11 other hens (cage free means the chickens are all in one area, but is still just as crowded). They will never see sunlight, scratch in the dirt, roost, nest, or free range as a chicken is meant to. They are fed nutritionally deficient food. The eggs are laid on, or in the presence of the rotting corpses of the hens that could not survive the horror of their environment.
What are the different kinds of eggs?
Amniot Eggs ---- Amniot eggs are complex eggs made by air breathing animals such as reptiles, birds, and mammals. Cormorant: rough and chalky bird eggs Tinamou: shinny bird eggs Duck Eggs: oily and waterproof bird eggs Cassowary: heavily pitted bird eggs Fish & Amphibian Eggs ---- Fish eggs are layed under water and fertilized externally. Amphibian eggs are also layed underwater, but are fertilized internally. Embryos ---- Embryos are the eggs that most mammals. once fertilized the zygote goes through blastula, gastrula, and organogenesis while inside of the blasomeres.
Why do finches break there eggs for?
I am not sure. My finches used to protect their eggs, not crack them. The other birds in the cage must have cracked them. If not, maybe they needed nutrients.
What free range eggs?
free-range" eggs produced by hens that are allowed to roam freely and are not confined to a cage. However, because production is limited, "free-range" eggs are more expensive
What is the difference between cage free eggs and regular eggs?
Cage free eggs are said to have a higher level of Omega-3 content whereas a regular egg has less. However, according to research and discussions online not all chickens are free ranged and the guidelines that determine a free ranged chicken from a regular one by the USDA is misleading.
Is an egg from a free ranged chicken bigger than a chicken kept in a cage?
No. The eggs are about the same.
What is a battery cage?
A battery cage is a small cage in which a hen is kept to lay eggs.
What percentage of chickens are free range?
5-7% of the eggs produced in the USA are either cage free, free range or organic
Does the male and female lovebird stay in the same cage with 10 eggs?
Does the male and female lovebird stay in the same cage with 10 eggs? If you have two lovebirds in a cage and 10 eggs, then you can be fairly sure you have two hens and not a pair!!!
If my Finch would be a girl and would lay eggs could the male if there is a male in the cage stay in the cage with the Mother Finch and eggs?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do you need after the parrot eggs hatch?
a cage
Are organic eggs always cage free?
Yes they are in most cases, if the chickens have been bred in cages it should say battery hens on the box!! :)
Are McVitie's eggs free range?
McVities is owned by United Biscuits. Unfortunately, they have not committed to use free range eggs in their products. Other manufacturers who have committed to use free range eggs include Fox's (Northern Foods), Mr Kipling (Premier Foods) and Walkers Shortbread. For more details of companies who have committed to using only non-cage eggs visit the Related Link.
What is a battery-reared chicken?
A battery is the word coined for massive, cage filled buildings where chickens are kept while they lay eggs or fatten up for slaughter. Consumer demand for low cost eggs and chicken meat resulted in low cost methods to increase production and meet demands. Caged hens are easier to maintain that cage free or free range chickens.
What are battery eggs?
Eggs from battery hens, i.e. hens that are kept in cages (known as batteries) where several hens live together in one cage. These hens cannot roam freely as free-range hens can.
