Interest in small- and medium-scale free-range poultry production for local and regional
markets is growing, and alternative feeding methods should be considered. Free-choice feeding
is a method that offers birds separate feedstuffs, such as grains, protein concentrates, and
natural vitamin and mineral sources, from which they can self-select a diet suited to their changing
needs. Free-choice feeding may prove useful in production systems with outdoor access
because nutrient needs change widely due to temperature fluctuations and bird activity. Many
small producers do not have access to the nutritional services that large producers do and may
have specific goals in regard to nutrition, such as using farm-raised feed ingredients and pasture
forage to provide nutrients. In addition, most organic programs do not permit the use of synthetic
amino acids in feed. Free-choice methods have been used historically and can be useful for
alternative producers, making use of farm-raised feeds to improve savings and increase nutrient
cycling. In the current study, a fully formulated diet and free-choice diet were compared in a
free-range system using slow-growing meat chickens. The formulated diet was a commercial
product (20% CP), whereas the free-choice diet chosen by birds was much lower in CP (13%).
Final live weights did not differ between treatments; however, ready-to-cook yield and breast
yields were higher in the birds from the formulated treatment, most likely due to amino acid
supplements in the formulated feed. The diet chosen by free-choice birds was less expensive
than the formulated diet.