Demand for free range chickens is growing rapidly even though it remains a small scale venture in numerous farms. Free range chickens offer consumers numerous advantages. Let us have a look at some of these:-
They are Sustainably Farmed
Free range chickens have been raised in a humane and sustainable way. The free range chickens are generally grown with lower stocking densities and have all the room to express as much of their natural behavior as possible. They forage, scratch, roost and feed on a diverse diet of proteins, grains, vitamins and minerals. This farming system produces very high quality chicken products, be they eggs or meat.
The growing of free range chickens is in sharp contrast to commercially farmed chickens that are raised on cramped quarters, usually cages, and have little room to express their natural behaviors. This humane aspect is one of the top reasons many buyers choose free range chickens.
Free Range Chickens are Generally Free From Growth Drugs
If you are buying from a reputable free range poultry farm, your free range chickens will generally be free of antibiotic growth promoters. This in sharp contrast to commercial poultry farms where the antibiotic growth promoters are routinely administered to the poultry as a means of controlling the micro-organisms in the birds’ intestines. These in turn results in an abnormal growth rate in your birds.
The antibiotic growth promoters or the “growth promotants” in industry parlance are kinds of antibiotics that are used in the poultry feed industry in order to boost the feed conversion and growth. They are used as supplements in the poultry feeds and shouldn’t be confused with the therapeutic antibiotics used in treating specific disease conditions. If you are raising poultry on formulated poultry feeds, chances are that the manufacturer included certain additives such as the antibiotic growth promoters.
But they are getting increasingly unpopular in the industry due to the development of antibiotic resistance in chickens. In some countries, the practice of using antibiotic growth promoters has been banned completely. The antibiotic resistance develops because the routine antibiotics that are incorporated in poultry feeds or applied in therapeutic uses are similar to those used in humans and over-use eventually results in antibiotic resistance and may eventually lead to strains of bacteria that are resistant to routine antibiotics that may need more powerful antibiotics to treat with serious health consequences.
Free Range Chickens Roam Freely
In most free range chicken farming systems, the chickens are allowed to roam freely in a designated pasture area. There are many health benefits that the birds can derive by roaming freely and foraging for their own food. They can forage on the insects, grubs and vegetation and express their natural behaviors as much as possible. They will scratch the soil to find grubs, roost, flap their wings freely, dust-bathe, run in the range and exercise their wings among others. As a result, the chickens grow stronger, healthier and happier. Consumers also contend that meat from free range chickens is also tastier and tastes like a “true chicken”.