Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[anniemary]

This thread has been SOOO helpful to me!! I'm getting back into chickens this spring and just can't decide what to do. I would like to move the chickens around the pasture after the cows (ie Joe Salatin), but am so afraid of those hawks!

A couple years ago, we had a flock in a coop by the house and they free-ranged ALL over. We lost maybe 1 or 2 out of 22 to predators. I hated the poop all over the deck and my roosters terrorized everybody. My daughter was literally a prisoner in her car because the rooster would not let her out. So, I really don't want roosters unless I don't have to have much contact with them.

Idea #1) wondering...if I keep the hen population small inside the tractor/run and move the tractors every other day would that help them not feel so confined?

Idea #2) a movable coop with electric netting and a couple roosters. The coop would be raised a little off the ground so they could hide underneath.

Idea #3) Someone said they put a goat in with their chickens. Wondering if I should just keep the chickens and their movable coop with the cows instead of having them follow.

We have 15 acres of pasture.

oh, I'm so torn....

 

[Nickeyo]

This thread has been SOOO helpful to me!! I'm getting back into chickens this spring and just can't decide what to do. I would like to move the chickens around the pasture after the cows (ie Joe Salatin), but am so afraid of those hawks!

A couple years ago, we had a flock in a coop by the house and they free-ranged ALL over. We lost maybe 1 or 2 out of 22 to predators. I hated the poop all over the deck and my roosters terrorized everybody. My daughter was literally a prisoner in her car because the rooster would not let her out. So, I really don't want roosters unless I don't have to have much contact with them.

Idea #1) wondering...if I keep the hen population small inside the tractor/run and move the tractors every other day would that help them not feel so confined?

Idea #2) a movable coop with electric netting and a couple roosters. The coop would be raised a little off the ground so they could hide underneath.

Idea #3) Someone said they put a goat in with their chickens. Wondering if I should just keep the chickens and their movable coop with the cows instead of having them follow.

We have 15 acres of pasture.

oh, I'm so torn....

if u do put space under the coop make sure its not two narrow other wise rats will move in underneath

 

[ShadowSwirl]

There are times when it's handy to free range and times when it's not. I'm really new to this and a old lazy gardener so I'm employing my girls as general rototillers and organic pest control for a fruit & berry crop. When there is no crop waiting for harvest on the vine I'm free ranging 2 birds on a 1/2 acre. I'm throwing scratch grains under my vineyard and my fruit trees and the girls are tilling things up a bit faster than expected. Still there is lots of work for them to do. I'm working them the hardest under my apple tree. Been having trouble with apple maggots. Later this year when I have a crop on the vine they will move into a chicken tractor so they don't get my harvest though I will share some of the berries with them as "Payment for services rendered". In the mean time my wife just got her 2nd egg this morning. They lay "Pretty blue ones!" her words. I don't care that much for eggs till you do something more interesting with them than a plain egg on a plate.

 

[ShadowSwirl]

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

Cool we will stop trying to run the crows off.

Edit: I was just up looking around and the Crows are now under the tree where I last threw the scratch grains cleaning up what the chickens didn't eat and hopefully more insect pests. I'm great with that. Chickens are just recruiting more farm labor for me that I don't have to pay extra for.

 

[wamflock]

I love free range....lots of fun to watch and let chickens be chickens. I had all nine of my girls and 1 turkey free ranged. They went to the coop at night and we shut the door. One evening we lost a girl and decided to keep them shut up the next day so we could figure out if it was an isolated incident or if we had a real predator problem... I had figured it was a fox or coyote since she was taken right at dark, before we shut the door. Sad to say it was our neighbors dogs...and they broke into the pen the next day and wiped out all but 3 of my girls. I feel like if they were free ranging they would of had a chance to get away, but by keeping them shut up they didn't have a chance....We have decided to fence in about 1.5 of our 6 acres and let them run in that...plus our staffordshire bull terrier who is guarding them in a smaller area as of the first attack will also be in that area to protect the girls and what ever newbies we get this spring.

 

[TheStewarts]

Our girls are around 9 weeks and we plan to free range but I am not sure how to go about it. Right now the area around their coop is completely open (no fence to our neighbor) and I have seen a couple dogs 2 hourses down who have come in our yard (frustrating since our dogs HATE other dogs). We own 8.6 acres. The front half and back half of our property is mainly cleared and it is separated by woods and a small creak in the middle of the property. Our chicks started out in a box in our house and then we put them in the brooder box with a heat lamp. Now I am letting them in the coop itself and in the morning I let them out to be chickens for a little but I am paranoid to let them out for too long. Also I am scared to leave them alone and head back to the house. The coop is far off from the road but there is nothing stopping them from going to the road. There is nothing stopping them from going into the woods either. They seem to really like the wooded area too. Maybe they like the tree cover or there are just more bugs there. So I want to free range but I am also paranoid. Are they too young to let out on their own? I feel like they are too little so I limit their time out of the coop to a couple hours. But then I feel bad because they clearly enjoy being out and playing.

 

[cinch920]

I prefer to free range my birds. I have a smaller pen outside their coop that I keep them in when I'm gone, but if I'm going to be around I much rather let them out and find some other stuff to scratch around in. They run to the corrals first and love to go through all the cows poo. (yucky but they're chickens, gotta let them do what chickens do best). The best clean up crew around!

 

[bruceha2000]

Our girls are around 9 weeks and we plan to free range but I am not sure how to go about it. Right now the area around their coop is completely open (no fence to our neighbor) and I have seen a couple dogs 2 houses down who have come in our yard (frustrating since our dogs HATE other dogs).

I don't remember when we got brave enough to let them out unattended. I don't know that it was as early as 9 weeks. The girls went into the coop at 3 weeks because they wouldn't stay in their bathtub (one we didn't use, in a mudroom). I first built a "roughly" 18x18 outdoor run - simply 4' chicken wire on T posts. We sat out with them for some number of weeks and we would open the 'gate' and let them range while we were there. They don't go far when they are young. Then we got brave and would open the chicken door from the barn to the run and they could come and go to the outdoor run with the gate closed. That 4' fence kept them in until they decided they wanted to be on the other side. That is when I found out that a 4' fence keeps chickens EXACTLY where THEY want to be. But if the chickens are used to that space and are being chased by a dog outside the area, I have hopes they will fly in and the dog would get slowed down. No loose dogs here - fortunately. We now just open the barn door any time we are home whether we are outside or not. They go where they please but I have yet to see them farther than maybe 100' from a building, generally within 30' and they haven't decided to see what is on the other side of the road - YET. During the summer, on my way home, I happened upon a rooster and 2 hens crossing the road about 1/2 mile from my place. Very purposeful. I don't know if they were going out exploring or coming home FROM exploring but they were certainly not too concerned about being close to home.

I would NOT leave them out alone if there are dogs loose. Not unless you have a trained Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD). I'll bet money one of your neighbor's dogs will kill your chickens, even if they just think they are playing. Dogs play by chasing and "gently" biting. Chickens die by being chased and being "gently" bitten. If not from physical trauma, from emotional trauma.

Your free range choices:
- Have your neighbors fence their yard - some areas have laws about loose dogs, others don't.
- Have your neighbors get "invisible fence" for their dogs and make sure they run it on HIGH. My sister had a German Shepard that loved to chase squirrels. The invisible fence USUALLY worked but the dog occasionally got up a head of steam and went "through" the fence. Then wouldn't come back in because he knew it would hurt.
- Fence the area high enough the dogs can't go over and bury hardware cloth so they can't dig under. (this will also keep out coons and foxes.
- Tell your neighbors that their dogs are fair game for your rifle if they show up on your property. (I know, this wouldn't be my first choice either. Especially since I own no guns

)

Bruce

 

[roostersandhens]

I prefer freerange and so do my chickens!

 

[oliver4]

Free ranging is great for your chickens, its also really enjoyable to watch them forage around, but having a run for them also is a bonus, it seems like letting your chickens free range gives them a nice brake from being fenced up and they seem to get less bored when they are penned up. Ocasional freedom for the birds really brings out there character, great family entertainment