I couldn't,,they looked great but a neighbors dog came in 2 xs and wiped veryone out so no more free range here.

No ... nor can you tell the difference between free range chicken meat and caged chicken.

It's a matter of freshness. When I lived in Mexico my gringo friends raved about how good the eggs and chicken tasted from their local market. They thought it was because the vendors has small ranchitos where the chickens roamed free.

They didn't know that the eggs and live chickens were coming from the local factory farm ... you could buy eggs in bulk, and live chickens ready to butcher.

At the market, you would buy the chicken, continue shopping and come back to collect the killed, plucked and cleaned chicken to take home. Keeping them clucking until the last minute eliminated the hassles of refrigeration. And it was really FRESH.

The eggs were from the previous day's laying.

Our free range chickens were moist without brining. That was pretty much the only difference. Oh, and I didn't worry about eating the livers because I knew what went through their bodies. Raising them and feeding them cost much more than buying chickens and forget about selling them for a profit --- won't happen.

We also had free-range chickens for laying and that was a great experience EXCEPT that the only way they can stay safe is if you have roosters to protect the flock from predators. Then -- you have to deal with the roosters that want to kill you. I tried everything and couldn't deal with them. The egg yolks were a dark orange but with a blind taste test, we couldn't tell the difference.

This was years ago and I would love to have chickens again if we can move to a warmer climate where we don't need to worry about 6' of snow and the water constantly freezing. Even though the taste isn't different, they are a hoot to raise --- so much fun and I hope to do it again someday (hmmm- without the roosters.).

My husband says he can, I cannot tell either way.

Cheri

This post was edited by cherig22 on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 9:58

I tend to believe so, animal that is humanely treated taste better than its factory-farmed kin. Finding free-range chicken can be hard in some location, if you find trouble finding it, I suggest trying this site:

http://www.agrilicious.org/local-food/free-range-chicken

Here is a link that might be useful: Agrilicious