Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[Nickeyo]

in the uk we call them fizzy drinks or just drinks or we refer to them via there names eg cherryade/coke/fanta/tango etc

 

[Farmer Marcia]

Oh dear, we lost one of our girls last night, RIR. We think a hawk got her. We raise barred rock and Rhode Island Reds, six of each and it is hard when we lose one. We take such care with them as all of you do and just got them this past spring. We have a barred rock rooster that got injured trying to help her, but he will be okay. He got part of his waddles ripped a little but other than that he is okay. Don't know if we should freerange or not - it is such a hard decision. I think we will let them out for a few hours a day and then build a bigger run next spring. It is a wonderful way to get in touch with God and nature raising these wonderful creatures, they are so interesting and keep us newly retired couple busy. Take care all and hope you can freerang safely. We are out in the boondocks and an easy targe.

 

[outdoorsii]

Oh dear, we lost one of our girls last night, RIR. We think a hawk got her. We raise barred rock and Rhode Island Reds, six of each and it is hard when we lose one. We take such care with them as all of you do and just got them this past spring. We have a barred rock rooster that got injured trying to help her, but he will be okay. He got part of his waddles ripped a little but other than that he is okay. Don't know if we should freerange or not - it is such a hard decision. I think we will let them out for a few hours a day and then build a bigger run next spring. It is a wonderful way to get in touch with God and nature raising these wonderful creatures, they are so interesting and keep us newly retired couple busy. Take care all and hope you can freerang safely. We are out in the boondocks and an easy targe.

Sounds like you need to invest in trying to get some crows to move into your neighborhood, we haven't had a hawk problem really, b/c we have TONS of bluejays & crows & supposedly they annoy hawks to the point of the hawk moving away; sorry you lost one I know how ya feel, lost my whitey to a fox a while back

 

[aoxa]

Sounds like you need to invest in trying to get some crows to move into your neighborhood, we haven't had a hawk problem really, b/c we have TONS of bluejays & crows & supposedly they annoy hawks to the point of the hawk moving away; sorry you lost one I know how ya feel, lost my whitey to a fox a while back

I LOVE bluejays. They ate an hornets nest and I didn't have to worry about getting stung

Also love Crows. They are great at helping with any flying predators.

 

[bruceha2000]

I LOVE bluejays. They ate an hornets nest and I didn't have to worry about getting stung

We have a few crows, I've not seen any hawks but then I'm not out when they are most days. I think my wife saw a red-tail in the spring. I don't know when they migrate but that brings up a question:
Are there aerial predators in the Northeast in the winter? I know the ground predators can still be around but it would be comforting to know that I don't have to worry about "death from the sky".

Clearly we need bluejays. We had a wasp nest outside the bedroom door to the deck, in the lamp over the door to the barn, under a rubber flap over a latch to another barn door, under the deck. My daughter found a wasp (fortunately saw it first) on my wife's purse in the entryway this morning.

On the 'plus side'

apparently the bedroom is now a haven for ladybugs. We kept finding them last winter. Nice to know we have them since they are great for the garden, sad that the poor things are just going to starve to death over the winter. How do you explain to a ladybug that they need to go outside in the cold and hibernate??

Bruce

 

[Yukonchick]

This is what i have for deterring weasels and birds of prey.

 

[Our Roost]

In reply to your question about hawks that live in the Northeast in the winter. The answer is yes! More than one breed I'm afraid. They can be more active if the food supply of critters becomes scarce also. Check out coop designs and look at some of the Florida rooms as I call them. The addition of one is a safe haven for your birds when you are not there to watch over them for a while.

 

[litmisredneck]

My babies free range all day. From about 8 am till it gets dusk. But most of the time they dust bathe or aggravate the cats. lol

 

[Jajika]

Regarding "free range" I remember a post about roaming in a large, but confine space.

My chickens are penned in a 900 sq yard part of our orchard. the fence is 12 feet high and I have poultry netting accross the top. There are five fruit trees and multiple bushes in the area.

I have two coops inside the yard, so the chickens get the benefit of "free roaming" as there is a lot of room, plus the protection from predators. I also have about
15 NiteGuard lights all over the fence, inside and out. Never had a problem after I bought them.

The lights keep the nocturnal predators away and the top netting keeps the hawks out.

However, they sleep in the coops, they sleep in the trees.

Geri

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

I free range my chickens during the day. At night they go in their coop and I lock their pop door and close the door to the wire enclosed run. In the morning, they are tap dancing to be let out, we open the run door and then the pop door and get out of the way, LOL! It's an 8 o'clock rush hour of chickens bailing out of the coop. They are allowed to range all over the property but rarely do I see them further than the horse barn, they occasionally lay eggs in the hay feeders, or the front yard. Once in a while, a red tailed hawk has come by and taken a bird, I just kind of figure it goes with the territory.

Our coop is pretty much Fort Knox for Chickens though, we have it set on a concrete slab, have hardware cloth all around the outside of the coop and run to stop someone from digging in and have a roof on top of the run to keep out trouble from above. At night they're very safe, in the daytime you can only do so much.

I love my chickens and really love their eggs, but I don't think I'd want to keep them if I had to keep them in all the time. I think I'd feel like a jailer, they wouldn't be able to get out and get into things. They come running up to me in the yard, looking for treats the shameless beggars, and their antics keep me laughing all day. I don't think they'd be the same kept inside all the time.