If you have purchased eggs from a retailer recently,
then you know that the most expensive eggs for sale are the ones known as
“cage-free” or “free-range." Why should these eggs have a higher
value than the average commercial eggs? Part of the reason for this
higher value is because these eggs cost more money to produce; however,
they are better, healthier eggs all the way around. They have a
higher nutritional value and the hens themselves are healthier than the
caged birds kept under artificial light and fed a steady commercial diet.
True free-range chickens are those that range outdoors on pasture.
Meaning they do what all chickens do naturally: eat bugs, greens, and
whatever leftovers they can scrounge or scratch up. The challenge
for the homesteader, however, comes in the form of keeping and managing a
flock of free-range chickens in order to reap the benefit of their eggs.
The nutritional value of free-range eggs makes this
challenge a worthwhile endeavor for the homesteader wanting to produce
higher quality eggs for a healthier diet. Recently, Mother Earth
News did an egg study comparing free-range eggs to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs. The
findings showed that free-range chicken eggs produced the following
results:
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta-carotene
Besides the obvious nutritional benefits, free-range
eggs simply taste better! The most likely cause of the differences
between free-range eggs and those from caged, commercial-production hens
is the diet the hens consume every day. Basically, you are what you
eat. After all, the free-range chicken’s diet is all natural and
varied, while the caged hen eats only what is placed in front of her.
Free-range hens are also usually healthier than their cousins kept in
crowded cages in commercial poultry houses. The feeds given to
commercial hens are the cheapest possible mixture of corn, soy, and/or
cottonseed meals, with many types of additives mixed in. These
additives often include growth hormones, meat and bone meals, as well as
antibiotics and chemicals, like arsenic, to keep the chickens awake longer
and producing more. The commercial chicken has a much shorter
lifespan due to stress, illness and general disease than does a free-range
hen - unless, of course, the free-range hen falls prey to a natural
predator.
This brings us to the how of raising free-range
chickens on a homestead. There are a couple of options available to
the homesteader for keeping free-range hens away from common predators
that can often quickly decimate an entire flock. On our homestead,
we have a large Anatolian/Pyrenees dog that lives with the chickens and
helps to keep the predators at bay. Be warned, however - if you
chose to keep a dog as a guardian for chickens, it takes a considerable
amount of time to train that dog not to be a chicken predator themselves.
Training a guardian dog for chickens can often unwittingly mirror the
effort of training a retriever, especially when you return to the
homestead one evening to see your favorite hen hanging between the wet,
slobbery jaws of your security-guard-in-training.
Our homestead allows the chickens a basically
no-holds-barred lifestyle. They do not have a coop, per se, rather,
they have a special roosting section in the barn. Our hens come in
at dusk and roost in the barn next to the goat pens. We installed
nest boxes in this same area for the hens to lay in, although they do not
always cooperate. They like the hay bales in the barn as an
alternative area for laying, and we have been known to have to do the
occasional egg-hunt out in the woods.
We started our flock by purchasing young chicks and
putting them in heated stock tanks; eventually moving the chicks to small
cages as they got older and no longer needed the heat. Then, when
they reached a large enough size, we placed the cages out in the barn
below the chicken roosts, next to the nest boxes. They lived there
for 3-4 weeks, while we fed, watered, and cared for them. After we
were certain that they recognized this area as their home, we let them
loose with the older hens. This training ensures that they return to
this spot every evening, thus protecting them from predators that would
have an easier time catching them outside in the dark than during the
daylight hours with their security guard nearby. We also have three
roosters with our approximately 50 hens. Roosters look out for the
hens, and each rooster has his own group of hens that accompany him out
and about the homestead. The roosters watch the sky for hawks, owls,
and other predators that they recognize as dangerous. These
practices have worked well for us thus far, however, there are other means
of keeping free-range chickens than the methods that we use.
Another option the homesteader has is to use portable
chicken coops and runs. Many homesteaders wish to keep free-range
chickens but lack a barn and/or security dog. An alternative for
these homesteaders is the portable coop. Portable coops can move
about the homestead allowing a wider range-area for the hens. If the
portable coop is the security point for them, the hens will return each
evening to be locked safely away at night. If your homestead is
still too dangerous to let hens runs loose during the daylight, don’t give
up - a modified free-range is still an option. Not only can a coop
be portable, but a run or pen area can be, as well. Portable fencing
options are available to a homesteader with a little effort, providing a
modified free-range approach. Chicken-wire and plastic fencing have
made this alternative a quick fix for many homesteaders. A small
fenced area made with one of the aforementioned fences and small,
hand-placed electric-fence rods works well to rotate around the range
every few days. This option not only helps to protect the chickens
from predators, but also helps to work and fertilize the ground for future
growing spots that an organically focused homesteader might choose to use
at later date.
No matter which type of predator protection you
choose for your homestead, proper care and maintenance are still very
important for your chicken’s health and egg production. Chickens
require water and need a source readily available while afield. A
natural creek or stream in the area is great, but if that is not available
then you will need to keep shallow pans around the grazing area as a fresh
source of water. Depending on the weather and winter environment on
your homestead, your chickens might need some type of feed supplementation
in the winter months. The best option for this would be some type of
plain corn; chicken scratch is usually more expensive than chopped corn
and often contains additives that simple chopped corn does not. If
feed supplementation is necessary, then try to spread it out around the
chickens’ range-area so that they don’t get accustomed to the idea of just
staying around the coop for a free handout. Be warned, however, that
once they get used to you feeding them, they will stalk you hoping for a
free handout!
If you are just now thinking about how to start egg
production with free-range chickens, the most important step is planning
what breed of hens to purchase. We always start with young chicks -
either ones that we raise ourselves or ordered from a hatchery. When
choosing chickens, it is best to choose a hardy breed type. Bantams
and the fancy, decorative breeds of chickens are better suited for cages
and shows than they are for production and life on the range.
Darker-feathered chickens are also a better choice than your standard
commercial laying white chickens. White chickens tend to be a
walking buffet for every hawk, owl, and other predator in the vicinity due
to their highly visible nature. Usually, the best choices for
free-range hens are Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Barred Rocks,
Black Giants, and Australorps. These breeds are large and resilient,
are usually very good egg producers, and are well suited to the free-range
lifestyle.
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