Pros and Cons of Raising Free-Range Broiler Chickens Without a Coop
Thinking about free-range broiler chickens? Weigh the disease and plant damage risks against lower feed costs, meatier birds and natural insect control.
Broiler chickens are raised for their meat, although many people also collect their eggs after the birds are culled. Raising broilers is admittedly more complicated, as with any meat chicken. Poultry farmers have to pay attention to housing and feed to keep mortality rates down.
People have long assumed that raising chickens, whether broilers or layers, always requires a coop. Today, however, you can raise broiler chickens without a coop, an approach known as the umbaran (free-range) system. In the umbaran system, chickens roam freely to forage for food without any coop. Here are the pros and cons of raising broiler chickens free-range.
Cons of raising free-range broiler chickens
- More prone to disease
One challenge for poultry farmers is unpredictable weather. These conditions bring outbreaks of disease because the chickens' immunity drops, which leaves them at high risk of getting sick. Once disease strikes, it spreads easily and quickly.
Also read 5 Ways to Prevent Broiler Chicken Diseases
- Easily damage plants
One possible downside of the free-range system is damage to your own plants or your neighbors'. Broiler chickens naturally scratch at the ground to find food, and while foraging they sometimes wander into gardens and damage the plants. That is why raising broilers free-range requires extra supervision.
Benefits of raising free-range broiler chickens
- Meatier birds and better eggs
Did you know that raising broilers without a coop can actually produce better, healthier meat and eggs? That is because the broilers keep their natural behavior and are free from preservatives. Farmers still provide feed, but not as much as for chickens kept in confinement. On top of that, broiler meat from free-range birds is much meatier.
- Lower feed costs
In chicken farming, a reliable feed supply is essential, because without feed the chickens' productivity drops. But if you raise broilers without a coop (the umbaran system), your feed costs will be somewhat lower. The logic is that free-range broilers can find food more easily by scratching at the ground.
- More agile
Free-range chickens and chickens kept in a coop all the time clearly differ in agility. Free-range broilers tend to be more agile because they keep their natural behavior. The most obvious example is their habit of scratching at the ground for food. Chickens kept in a coop, meanwhile, tend to depend on people for their feed.
- Makes the soil more fertile
As explained in the second point, broilers keep their natural habit of scratching at the ground for food. That scratching has another benefit: it helps make the soil more fertile. Broiler droppings can also be used to make manure fertilizer.
- Natural insect control
Raising broilers without a coop can cut your feed costs. Free-range broilers can also help get rid of insects, because they eat the many bugs roaming around. So raising broilers free-range gives you two benefits: lower feed costs and insect control.
Do not just look at the benefits of raising broiler chickens without a coop. You also need to consider the downsides of this system. That way, you can weigh everything carefully before deciding whether to raise broilers without a coop.
Also read 4 Ways to Raise Broiler Chickens for a Faster Harvest
