E 18: Sufficient freedom of movement.
a. All hens must have sufficient freedom of movement to be able, without difficulty, to stand normally, turn around, and stretch their legs and wings.
b. They must also have sufficient space to be able to perch or sit quietly without repeated disturbance to other birds.
That’s, without meaning to sound cute, paltry.
Ah, I should have specified the pasture-raised standards:
R 1: Pasture area
a. Must consist mainly of living vegetation. Coarse grit must be available to aid digestion of vegetation.
c. The minimum outdoor space requirement is 2.5 acres (1 hectare)/1000 birds (~109SF).
g. Birds must be outdoors 12 months per year, every day for a minimum of 6 hours per day. In an emergency, the hens may be confined in fixed or mobile housing 24 hours per day for no more than 14 consecutive days.
Free-range are only required to have 2SF and don’t have a mandatory outside time.
