Free range chickens have access to the outdoors, but dont usually go out because they dont like to. Someone said this to me yesterday and I didnt question it because Id heard it before and had, for some reason, accepted it as true. But then I thought about it, and realized how ridiculous this claim is. Ive observed many chickens, and they all appear to love going outside. They evolved outside, and seem to find being outside stimulating and pleasurable. Going outside is fundamental to getting to express their chicken nature. So, is this idea that so-called Free Range chickens choose not to go outside just a story we tell ourselves to justify the way many chickens are confined in this country? Or is this notion true, but for reasons were not considering? For instance, are Free Range chickens only given brief opportunities to go outside. Or are they too stressed or too crowded to even find a way outside (most chickens are housed in buildings with tens of thousands of other chickens, and are given less space than a sheet of paper to move around)? Turns out Free Range, Organic, and Certified Humane dont mean what most people think when it comes to chickens. Heres a page that explains a bit of what these labels indicate. But the short answer is this --if you want eggs from humanely raised chickens who have gotten to go outside and participate in some of the natural behaviors chickens like to do, then your best bet is to get your eggs from a local farmer who raises them in small, outdoor coops that you can observe. humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/guide_egg_labels.html
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:14:02 +0000
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