Free-Range Poultry

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 behaviours in a reasonably natural way, regardless of whether or not they are eventually killed for meat.

Chickens can live in a variety of surroundings but are essentially forest birds. Even with free-range systems not many hens are happy to forage in a large open field without protection and shelter from predators. They tend to stay close to their housing. Hens like some overhead cover. The ideal environment for hens is scratching outside under a canopy of trees in woodland.