How to Raise Free-Range Chickens? A Detailed Guide to Breeding Methods and Key Technical Points

1. Breed Selection

For raising free-range chickens, it is best to choose dual-purpose (egg and meat) breeds. Dual-purpose breeds carry no risk and make it easy to shift production direction: when eggs are expensive, sell them as “traditional eggs”; when “traditional live chickens” are expensive and in short supply, sell “traditional live chickens.” In addition, dual-purpose breeds share the common traits of being healthy and sturdy, having a strong appetite, tolerating coarse feed, being highly adaptable, and having strong disease resistance.

2. Feed Development

As the saying goes: “To raise chickens, first secure the feed; the more you focus on it, the more effective it is.” Free-range chickens are mostly not fed complete compound feed; crushed corn, bran, green grass, and wild vegetables are usually their main feed, so the protein nutrition in their diet is generally insufficient. Therefore, finding every possible way to develop protein feed resources is one of the key issues in raising free-range chickens well.

3. Feeding Management

Raising free-range chickens should follow the principle of “three parts feeding, seven parts management,” applying scientific chicken-raising techniques in every step. Chicks, laying hens, and meat chickens should all be managed scientifically.