Free Range or Caged?

Options
2»

Replies

  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Options
    Neither, they both are treated inhumanely and die in the end...
  • caddygarcia123
    caddygarcia123 Posts: 122 Member
    Options
    Free range my mom has chickens =)
  • terraskye
    terraskye Posts: 370 Member
    Options
    We buy free range from a local farmer...they may or may not be any better than store purchased ones but they taste a heck of a lot better...

    We pay way more for them at 6$/dozen but its a food splurge I don't mind
  • siobhano_
    siobhano_ Posts: 101
    Options
    Free range tastes so much better
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
    Options
    I prefer free-range, but you have to be aware that free-range doesn't necessarily mean sunlight.

    There is a TV ad in my city which shows the chickens from a free-range farm in the town and doing shopping and being sent home from the pub... while I didn't think they actually popped out for a quick middy, I also didn't expect that they lived in a big smelly shed and never went outdoors (which is apparently the case).

    The best tasting eggs come from my sister's hens - they really are free-range. They get to eat all the kitchen and veggie garden scraps and wander around her small property eating grass and insects and whatever else they can find. The yolks are such a bright yellow that they almost look fake!
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
    Options
    Free range or barn, never cage
    In Australia we have regulations around barn laid eggs.
    Chooks must be free to wander and forage.
    The barn protects them from foxes and dingos.
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
    Options
    Organic free range bought from a friend who keeps chickens.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    we have 6 chickens at my house, only 11 weeks old so we haven't gotten eggs yet....they are in a cage, but they get *some* kitchen scraps, and we regularly give them handfuls of fresh lawn clippings. I tried to keep an area in the run free of wood chips, so they could munch on grass IN the coop, but they covered it up.


    we are looking forward to getting our own super fresh eggs later on this year :D
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
    Options
    I get my free-ranged chicken eggs from one of the doctors I work for - all organically fed, no corn. They are honkin-HUGE eggs - one egg is enough to make a small omelet for myself, but two would be too much! THATS how large they are! I pay $2.00/doz
  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    Options
    I've always been told that pasture raised is better term to look for because according to the USDA free range just means that chickens have access to outdoors (or requirement for how long they're outside) and there's no regulation to how big their roaming area is. It's better than caged but not as good as pasture. Pasture raised means they can stay outside, have hen houses for shelter and come and go as they want.

    I think a lot of small farming operations who say they're free range are more pasture raised (in my experience). I only get leery of "free range" when it's used by a large corporation or large producer (unless they specify where their eggs come from).

    Obviously this also depends on what weather/predators you need to be careful of too.

    If anyone's interested (I saw a few people saying they keep their own chickens) there's an amazing book called "Chicken and Egg" about the subject. Has a lot of interesting info and experiences as well as recipes.

    When I was buying eggs, I'd get mine from the farmer's market. They had pictures of their farm available and I know a few people who went to visit it (and let their kids see the chickens). You could also bring your own egg container (I have a ceramic one) or you could bring the cardboard ones back and they would reuse them.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
    Options
    Neither, they both are treated inhumanely and die in the end...

    Name a single animal on the planet that doesn't "die in the end".
  • kamazza
    kamazza Posts: 98 Member
    Options
    Free range, no antibiotics, ground-pecking chickens (for eggs) and the same for the actual chickens. we raise our own once a year and slaughter. The meat keeps us for about a year. We don't use antibiotic feed but instead cayenne pepper in the water when they are day olds til about two weeks. Tasty eggs and chickens!!
  • minkakross
    minkakross Posts: 687 Member
    Options
    Neither, they both are treated inhumanely and die in the end...

    Sorry I just couldn't help myself:

    everything dies in the end and since other humans are treated inhumanely on this planet I'll not worry so much about the eggs.

    prefer to buy from a local farmer AKA free range, in a pinch when I have to buy at the store I buy based on the sell by date.
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
    Options
    Neither, they both are treated inhumanely and die in the end...

    Sorry I just couldn't help myself:

    everything dies in the end and since other humans are treated inhumanely on this planet I'll not worry so much about the eggs.

    prefer to buy from a local farmer AKA free range, in a pinch when I have to buy at the store I buy based on the sell by date.

    Pretty much this. It's exactly what I was going to write.

    If I don't get it from a local farm, I don't pay more for the dubious "free range label". Having been to more egg laying facilities than I'd have liked, I wasn't impressed at the free range conditions in many commercial facilities. In some cases, the caged chickens were less crowded and seemed healthier than many of those laying "free range" eggs.
  • Fausttt
    Fausttt Posts: 101
    Options
    I prefer caged. I find the suffering of the chickens really add to the flavor of the meat and eggs!
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Options
    Neither, they both are treated inhumanely and die in the end...

    Name a single animal on the planet that doesn't "die in the end".

    They die prematurely you dumbass
  • wrecktechno
    wrecktechno Posts: 145 Member
    Options
    I'd prefer to pay more for Free Range because I'd rather pay more for the chance that the chicken has a better life than pay less but know 100% that the chicken lives in a tiny tiny tiny cage.

    We bought some chooks (are Aussies the only ones who calls chickens chooks?!?) from a battery farm. They couldn't walk because they had no strength in their legs. They'd just sit in the one spot but eventually they gained the strength and now are happy, healthy and definitely free range.

    I moved from Oz to London, UK for 2 years and the eggs there, freerange or not, were TERRIBLE. I got home and our eggs from our very happy chickens have bright yellow yolks and are the yummiest eggs you could eat.
  • eresin
    eresin Posts: 104 Member
    Options
    I always buy free range, I do not support caged hens.
    I would love to have my own chickens but I have cats that go outdoors so I don't think they would mix very well :laugh:
  • Kathrynha77
    Kathrynha77 Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    Free range organic. Hopefully organic chickens have a healthier more natural diet, but we are very much having to trust the producers.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    Options
    I'm vegetarian so I will always go for the best option. Local farm where you can see how the chickens are treated.
    The one we go to, the chickens just wander round the whole farm, got to be careful you don't run them over in the car park. :/ lol
    The best eggs ever though.

Categories