On Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:22:30 -0500, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I read with interest his discussion of "organic" and "free-range"  
> products, notably free-range chickens.  Apparently, to be entitled to  
> use the label "free-range" the farmers must allow the chickens to leave  
> their cages and peck in a suitable grassy area for a certain portion of  
> their lives.  The way this works in practice, he says, is that the birds  
> are initially grain-fed, like other chickens, and then the doors of  
> their cages are opened, during the last four or so weeks before they are  
> slaughtered.

If the chicks are raised by humans (as opposed to by the mother hens),  
then this actually makes a certain amount of sense.  Baby chicks need to  
have elevated temperatures during the first several weeks of their life  
because their bodies can't maintain the correct internal temperature and  
they'll die.  If they've got a mother hen cuddling them, no problem.  But  
if they don't, they have to stay in a heated environment.  The heat is  
gradually decreased each week until they're four to six weeks old and have  
all their feathers.  At that point they can roam about freely.  Chickens  
raised for meat can be slaughtered as early as 8 weeks of age, so that  
only gives them two to four weeks to be "free range" chickens.

> The interesting point he makes is that by that point, the great majority  
> of the chickens *do not leave their cages*.  I.e., eating grain in the  
> cage is, by then, all they know.

I just got through raising a small flock of chickens, and they had plenty  
of supplemental food besides the grain-based "grower feed" (basically corn  
and soybeans) while they were indoors.  Now that they've moved outdoors,  
they eat whatever they want.  The grain-based food is still available, but  
it doesn't get eaten nearly as fast now.  The first time I opened the door  
of the coop to let them roam the yard, they were hesitant, but they did  
eventually come out.  All it took was one day outside, and now they all  
come running out as soon as I open the door and say "good morning".  But  
these aren't "meat" chickens.  The chickens raised for meat have been bred  
to grow really fast and not move around much.  So I'm not terribly  
surprised they wouldn't want to go running around outdoors.

Aside:  If you want to see some frantic chicken action, throw them a  
couple of ears of fresh corn.  :-)

> So the label "free-range" actually means that the birds have been given  
> the *opportunity* to go out and peck, but it doesn't mean that they  
> actually did so.  I gather that there is some controversy about this,  
> and some farmers insist that *their* free-range chickens are indeed  
> freely ranging, but I guess the point is that you can't really tell by  
> the label.

As with any other kind of food, the best way to know what's in the food is  
to know the grower.  Food produced by a local farmer, especially if that  
farmer is you, is going to be a lot easier to know the history and whether  
or not you want to eat it -- and it'll be fresher and healthier than the  
stuff you find in the supermarket.

-- 
   Robert Kesterson
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