Free-range is a term used to describe chickens on family farms where the chickens were hatched from eggs laid in the barnyard, grew rustically by eating what they found in the barnyard and roamed in the open air even in contact with other animals. Today, the term free-range is used to describe a form of chicken keeping that has access to the open air for at least part of the day, regardless of whether the chickens choose to go outside or not. The chicken you choose at the supermarket because it is labelled ‘organic’ must be ‘free-range’, but not all ‘free-range’ chicken is also ‘organic’.
