aquaticneko
Veteran
Some say the free range birds taste better but to be honest I haven't noticed a great difference. I think the welfare standards are improved in this country. Although caged hens are still permitted for egg production in the UK, birds for the table are not kept in cages. To be honest, as the poor little things are only going to be alive for 33-38 days if kept indoors and a minimum of 58 days if free range, does it really matter that much? A chicken can live up to 10 years! And then there are capons. Virtually impossible to find in the UK.
I often get chickens from friends who raise chickens themselves. I'll talk about two of them specifically. Let's call one Anne. Anne raises her chickens on commercial meal she buys. Her chickens grow like the beanstalk in that fairytale. She once gave me 6 pound chicken. The meat was incredibly fatty. Took me ages to finish that thing. Second friend is Bob. Bob raises his chickens completely free range and even has a pet chicken that has a bad leg. His chickens are smaller, much more lean. The taste was incredible. It's almost like a whole other animal. Although Bob's chicken is more expensive, he's a family friend and I most often get chickens and eggs cheaper than regular customers. Anne's chickens I get every now and then but I try to get her to give me younger chickens.
I do believe that if we could afford to raise our animals better, better food, living conditions etc, they would have more taste.