In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible cellulose within grass and other forages into meat, milk, wool and other animal products, often on land that is unsuitable for arable farming.
Dairy cattle grazing in Germany
The domestication of ruminants by 7000 BC, like these fat-tailed sheep in Afghanistan, provided nomads across the Middle East and central Asia with a reliable source of food.
The dark green portion of this pasture in New Zealand is fenced off to allow the grass to regrow before it is grazed again.
A Maasai herdsman grazing his cattle inside the Ngorongoro crater
Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day.
On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, thereby technically making this an enclosure, however, free range systems usually offer the opportunity for the extensive locomotion and sunlight that is otherwise prevented by indoor housing systems. Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming.
Commercial free range hens in Scotland
Baby free range chicken in the hand of a person in Ishwarganj Upazila, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
A small flock of mixed free-range chickens being fed outdoors
Free range ducks in Hainan Province, China
