"Advantages include: Access to an outdoor range and the ability to roam freely, The opportunity to interact socially with more hens due to larger group sizes, The ability to practise a range of natural behaviours, including nesting, foraging for food, perching, and dust bathing.
Disadvantages include: Greater exposure to predators such as foxes and eagles, Harder biosecurity control for farmers because of exposure to outside pathogens, An increased likelihood of feather pecking, infighting, social stresses, and cannibalism."