Does anyone know if there is a "legal" definition of what free range poultry is, similar to perhaps the rules for "organic" produce? I don't want to mislabel my chickens. Is it one day of grass? Every day on grass? Never in a pen of any kind? Etc, etc. Thanks for the help.

-- Jane in Wisconsin (autumnwindfarm@yahoo.com), January 14, 2002

Answers

Jane I'm definately not an expert but I free range my birds and to me it means every day on grass. (Mine are locked up at night for safety) This is just my opinion. Good luck!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002.

My definition of "free range layers" is: Letting them out of the pen every morning to eat whatever they can find and walk anywhere they can to find it and then lock them back up at night for their protection. This is supplemented with all they can eat egg pellets whenever they go back to the coop to lay eggs.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), January 14, 2002.

I think they are loose most of the day and penned at night for protection. That is why those penned on grass and moved daily are called pastured poultry.

-- Tana Mc (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 14, 2002.

Believe it or not, it depends on what State you are in. In California, Cage Free eggs, or Free Range eggs can be sold with those titles even if the birds don't actualy free range or are in cages. How they can manipulate the situation to use those terms is by allowing more square feet per bird, than is required by law. Therefor, if a bird is in a 4'x6' enclosure, that is considered a pen, not a cage, therefore, that hen's eggs would infact be cage free. Free ranging birds can be penned and allowed to forrage, say in an acre encloure, you have several dozen birds, with enough plants and bugs to feed them, without a main diet of feed, just supplemental. These birds, even in an enclosure, not free to go where ever they want, are considered free range.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), January 14, 2002.

Some good questions.Went looking and found more than I wanted to know. About free range it appears that as long as you have a door on the chicken coop then your chickens meet the technical definition of free-range. Got this off of a pretty good site, not a USDA site: The US Department of Agriculture defines them as chickens with free access to the outdoors for a significant portion of their lives. “Significant portion is not defined,” says USDA spokesperson Jacque Knight. For the free-range label to be used, the producer must apply to the USDA's food-labeling division, supplying a description of the chickens housing conditions.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 14, 2002.

A previous employer used turkey tractors with their turkeys and sold them as free-range turkeys. They were allowed out of the tractors during the last month before slaughter during the day, so they did free range (according to my definition)for that time.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), January 14, 2002.

THE ANSWERS ABOUT FREE RANGE ARE RIGHT BUT YOU CANT CONSIDER THEM ORGANIC IF YOU SUPPLEMENT FEED THAT IS NOT CERTIFIED ORGANIC. IF YOU WANT TO LABEL YOUR EGGS AND CHICKENS ORGANIC THEN EVERYTHING THAT GOES IN THEIR LITTLE BODIES, MUST BE TOO. CODY

-- CODY (URBUSTED@ALLTEL.NET), January 14, 2002.

In my state (NH) according to the U.S.D.A. (in my state) to be called free range all that is required is that the chickens be able to go outside. There is no minimum outside space requirement. A chicken can be fed all organic food but you can not say it is organic (legally) you can say it is or was organic fed though.

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), January 14, 2002.

I love the English language! By the way, what exactly is an inorganic chicken?!

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), January 14, 2002.

In Wisconsin you must let your chickens have 4 sf of outside area per chicken that they can go to to be considerd free range. Also to be organic the ground they range on has to be certified organic as well as the supplemental feed, to be labled organic.

-- (raines@rainesridgefarm.com), January 14, 2002.

Sheryl, that's similar to a sign I see that says "organic honey". What is inorganic honey? Also, these people advertise to sell "baby kittens"?!?!

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.