Surendra,

There are some individuals and restaurants who are able to source free range chickens through private suppliers. The problem seems to be that there just isn't a great enough market for free range chickens for anyone to produce them commercially. That said, there are a number of small farms on the mainland that produce and sell their free range chickens locally, in their own area. Watch out though. They get big! The last ones we got were over 6lbs each. As far as I'm aware almost all the chicken feed contains antibiotics, but no hormones are used in chickens in Belize as it is unnecessary because of the breed of chicken they use to produce meat. Using hormones would be both expensive and pointless.

This comes from someone who has a farm in Belize, who posted on this issue on another forum:

"BUT... contrary to local myth, there are no hormones used in the Mennonite chickens:

http://www.qualitypoultryproducts.com/HealthandSafety.aspx

here's how the rumour about hormones in chickens may have gotten started... people bought broiler chicks from the Mennonite hatchery, and tried to raise them like local chickens.

because local folks surely know how to raise chickens, they've done it all their lives!

but... local chickens in Belize are hardy, adapted to the climate and local diseases, and they are good foragers, they're up at dawn to free-range ("The early bird catches the worm")

since local chickens are hatched by a mother hen, they're kept warm under her body, and the mother teaches her babies how to scratch in the dirt to supplement the regular "mash" feed bought at the store, which is 19% to 21% protein.

however, the BROILER chickens need special medicated feed (for coccidosis) and vitamins to attain their huge size in just a few weeks... and scratching in the dirt just ain't gonna cut it!

if broiler chicks purchased at the Spanish Lookout hatchery are raised the same way as local chickens, they'll probably turn out SCRAWNY, with raggedy feathers, bald patches, and a pale sickly appearance.

that's because without a mother to protect them, the baby chicks waste ENERGY struggling to stay warm!

that energy doesn't go into growing the chicken, instead, the feed calories are burned up just to stay alive.

in addition, broiler chickens are specially bred to be sparsely feathered (makes plucking easier), so they don't have much cover to keep them warm.

here's the facts, the Mennonites have a VERY small profit margin, because the price of chicken at the store is regulated by the government... so, they simply can't AFFORD the time, effort and expense to give each one of their chickens daily injections of hormones!

hormones can't be given to chickens in their feed, because they're proteins, and would be digested and excreted instead of being utilized for growth.

anyway, hormones aren't NEEDED, because those white broiler chickens, when properly raised, just NATURALLY grow large.

Cornish Cross white broiler chicks should be kept sheltered from the elements, maybe even in a box indoors, with warming lights for at least the first few weeks.

broilers need to be fed a 23% protein starter ration for the first four weeks and a 20% protein grower ration the remainder of the growing period, w6 to 8 weeks until they're full grown.

if they're fed regular mash, they don't grow so fast, and then rumors start that the Mennonites MUST be using something like hormones to make them grow, but it's not true."

Thanks so much for your insight. We feel better about it. We would still like to get some free range chicken from the mainland if we get a chance.

I see how rumors get spread!

Surendra