Instructions
Feed each bird about 1 and 1/2 cups of whole grain bird feed each day. The birds will find a lot of natural food such as insects, berries and grass while roaming, but the feed will supplement whatever calories and nutrients they don't find on their own.
Give your birds plenty of outdoor space to roam. The more room the birds have, the more natural food they will find and the more exercise they will get. Give each bird at least 10 square feet of outdoor space.
Build a coop to protect the birds. The coop should have a sturdy roof, four walls, a wooden or concrete floor, a secure lock on the door to protect the birds from predators and a container for food and water.
Make the coop large enough for the bird's size. Small birds like chickens need about 1 and 1/2 square feet of housing space and large birds like turkeys need about 4 square feet of housing space.
Cover the floor of the coop with absorbent litter. The litter should be a 2 to 3 inch layer of wood shavings or shredded newspaper. Rake the litter daily to remove soiled shavings.
Place a nesting box in the coop for the birds to lay eggs in. Without a proper nesting box the birds will lay their eggs in random places outdoors. Give the birds a nesting box about 4 feet long, 2 feet high with a small door or opening for the bird to enter.
Build a fence around the free-range field. A mesh net fence will protect the birds from predators and prevent the birds from wandering away or climbing over the fence.
Train the birds to leave the coop everyday and search the field for natural food. Remove the feed container from the coop at night and then lure the hungry birds to the field the next morning with a trail of feed. At dusk, lure the birds back into the coop with the feed container.
Place a container of water in the field during the day. This will prevent the birds from going back into the coop to get water. The more time the birds spend in the coop, the more bird feed they will eat instead of natural food.
How to Raise Free Range Poultry
Free-range poultry are birds such as chickens and turkeys that are allowed to roam freely on a farm without being caged. Raising poultry free-range allows them to eat natural food and get more exercise so they produce leaner, more tender meat. This type of farming is considered to be a more humane way to raise poultry.