Is free range chicken nutritionally better?

[DunkandEggAgain]

I assume it is but I'm getting confused because I can't work out if its free range but still eating the same corn/little bits (I don't know what it's called, sorry!) As caged birds OR that its free range eating grass, slugs, leaves and all the things chickens come into contact with I presume, when out on a field. Are they on a field or are they put on a yard?

I would love to eat grass fed meat, but ive not much money.

I know there are farming MN'ers on here so I'd really look forward to their help, if they wouldn't mind doing so

Think of it more in terms of the chicken having a better life. Lidl and Aldi sell very reasonably priced FR chicken if that helps.

They’re not really free range as in out on a nice farm somewhere scratching about in bushes.

They’ve just got access to outside and enough space that it’s a half decent welfare standard.

There is some interesting reading from The Hen Welfare Trust here. I have a small flock of hens that free range and I doubt they could get enough nutrients from all the scrapping and digging that they do to stay healthy so the girls get access to their layers pellets but are free to disseminate dig up my garden to their heart's content. There are some larger scale places round here that free range their girls but they are mainly hens that lay eggs rather than hens that are slaughtered for the table. The free range eggs producing flocks I see locally have good access to outside, much better than the legal minimum requirements set out by the government.

As a registered nutritionist even I don’t have an answer for you . It depends on what the chicken is fed. Most ‘free range’ birds just have a little more space per bird and generally don’t actually roam and peck around as you would expect. Technically ‘free range’ just means ‘a bit more room’ it doesn’t really have an impact on what the chicken is fed. Due to the birds being happier and healthier however I would always recommend free range.

Grass fed animals (beef, lamb etc) is a different story to grain fed. Always choose grass fed over grain if it’s available/you can afford it. Definitely worth it and may contain more nutrients :).

I am thinking up a meal plan that makes grass fed affordable. We're a family of 6, one hollow legged boy fast approaching teen years and a husband who us very active and sporty.

I thought that perhaps free range was a meet halfway type of thing.

I have never eaten meat, but my dc do, i do my best to give them organic, free range meat, usually from local farms. I do think that those animals that have had a hard, traumatic and painful life, with stress hormones being released continuously into their bodies, probably do taste different and not so nice.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards trying to work something out so grass fed is doable and within budget.