The term "free range" when applied to chickens is somewhat of a misnomer.
The term "free-range chicken" may bring to mind images of roaming birds pecking seed at their leisure. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has very few regulations regarding free-range chickens, and therefore, these chickens may live in conditions very similar to their non-free-range counterparts.
Poultry
The USDA requirement for a chicken to be used for meat is only that it must have access to the outside. The USDA does not define the length or quality of that access, so chickens could be allowed outdoors for hours or only minutes a day.
Proving "Free Range"
In order to label their poultry "free range," poultry farmers need to submit documentation describing the living conditions of their chickens. The USDA only requires that the chicken is allowed to go outside for the free-range label to be applicable.
Egg-Producing Hens
No restrictions exist for egg-producing hens. Usually, hens are kept in cage-free environments. Cage-free hens do not generally have access to the outside even if eggs are labeled "free range" and may be kept with as many as 48,000 other hens in a single building.
Tags: access outside, free range, Free Range, have access, have access outside