How to start free ranging

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Mine come running to "bock bock". But it's true, not for every member of my family.

Once they are "homed" they will stay close by at first. Then they will follow the adventurous chick. But they will ALWAYS stay in a group and try to get back to each other if they get separated, often squealing loudly.

My big fear at that age is arial predation. I also have 1 acre with neighbors. If you can't put up a whole fence, electric poultry netting can be very affordable and many people love it. It keeps out predators as well as keeping chickens where you want them. And it can be easily moved which is a tremendous help in pasture management.

It's always scary at first. But with each subsequent brood, I gain more confidence in how the chicks act as a flock.

Happy chicken keeping!

SheenaHinn said:

I am wondering the same thing. I live in Montana. The temp right now really varies. I've had my chicks for about 2 months. They are feathered, but I don't have my run up so I've been keeping them in the coop. I'm out in the middle of the sticks and have no neighbors within a mile of our place. I've been too nervous to let them out in case they don't come back! Do you think they'll return to the coop if I let them roam a bit. If so, is dusk the perfect time to start?

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Before you let your chickens out, it would be wise to teach them to come to you when you want them. This is surprisingly easy. When you offer scratch grain, use the same container every time, shake it so they associate the noise with their favorite treat and come to recognize the container. Also, for good measure, use a verbal cue when you do this.

Spend a few days on this training, and it will give you the peace of mind and assurance that you can get your chickens to come back to you whenever you need them back.

I live in a very wild setting with lots of predators. I am able to get my chickens back in short order with just hollering at them to come on in. Like training a dog, they always get rewarded with treats for following my verbal cue. This is called reinforcement. Chickens are easy to train and they remember.

I just let my chickens out one day, left their coop door open and discovered they really don't go far from their home base. I live on 11 acres, with 150 acres adjacent of forest and they don't stray more than 200 feet from their coop door. To put them away, I round them up with 4' long bamboo garden stakes in each hand. It sort of gives me a 12 foot wingspan to direct traffic and get them moving back to the coop.

I have a 5 acre lot but it is narrow and long. I left mine in the coop for about three weeks then the first time I let them out it was about 1/2 hour before dark. I did that a few nights then I just started letting them out whenever I was home. They never wander more then 100 yards or so from the coop. If I am not out there before dark to put them up they will go in by themselves. They have a good internal clock, even if they are all spread out to different parts of my property at a certain time they all start walking back to the coop, line up and go in. I was worried the first couple of nights but after I saw how close they stay I quit worrying.

SheenaHinn said:

I am wondering the same thing. I live in Montana. The temp right now really varies. I've had my chicks for about 2 months. They are feathered, but I don't have my run up so I've been keeping them in the coop. I'm out in the middle of the sticks and have no neighbors within a mile of our place. I've been too nervous to let them out in case they don't come back! Do you think they'll return to the coop if I let them roam a bit. If so, is dusk the perfect time to start?

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Your birds might not wish to free range until they can see the ground again. Mine do not enjoy walking on snow when it's as deep as it is now. They don't mind a little snow.

However, when I started to free range mine I did it in the evening about a half hour before roosting time. After a few days I let them out a couple hours before roosting time. A few days of that should prove that they will return to the coop to roost at night.

As mentioned, it's a good idea to teach them to come when they are called. I started that when they were little chicks. Every time I fed them or gave them food I'd say "Here, chicky, chicky." When they got older they'd come when I called them. Until this winter we were snowbirds and my neighbors would take my chickens for the winter. The first spring when we came home after being gone for 6 months I cleaned the coop and run and got it ready. Then I noticed that the neighbor had let all the chickens, his and mine out for the day. I yelled "Here, chicky, chicky" and all my girls came running across the field to come home.

The dangerous part of free ranging is predators. We regularly have issues with foxes during certain times of the year. I often keep my birds in a large area surrounded by electric poultry netting. Have never lost a bird to 4 footed predators when they are inside the netting.