Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[Beekissed]

That's why folks out in the country have screen doors...keeps out flies and chickens.

 

[Hayduke27]

Screen doors? Never heard of 'em, but I'm gonna look into this!

 

[Mathew544]

I think it depends on your reasons for having backyard chickens. Both free-range and penned in birds can have a good, humane life. I really enjoy watching my chickens interact with their environment around the farm. I haven't had any predators yet so until there is a huge issue they can roam around to their heart's content!

 

[Beekissed]

Screen doors? Never heard of 'em, but I'm gonna look into this!

Seriously? Your not joking?

You can get them at Lowe's in all different styles, from wood, vinyl to metal. The cheapest can be around $20 and the most expensive? Well..not sure but they can run a couple hundred dollars if they are real fancy.

http://www.lowes.com/Doors/Screen-D.../N-1z11pp6/pl?rpp=32&UserSearch=screen+doors#!

 

[bruceh]

my chicken are freed ranged in my 1/2 acre yard. the enjoyment of watching the birds run ,jump, fly around is the best entertainment in the world.. they get under shrubs and trees to get in the shade. they scratch like mad and gather their own food.. the best part is when they have to lay an egg. they run across the yard in a mad dash to the coop.( a 30 ft shed ). the interaction of the flock's dynamics is a site to see.
my circumstances permit me to let the birds out. however if you are in a situation where the birds are not safe then you have no choice but to pen. the only reason i am not for penning is most humans suffer from poor chicken math. they say well my pen is this big and can fit 5 chickens comfortable with plenty of room. the next thing you hear does anybody have this type of bird. then that coop that held 5 turns into 11-12 birds and the birds suffer.
yes you feed all the feed you want to maintain the birds. however there is more to it then feed to maintain a healthy flock.that is a whole other subject.
my 2 cents.

 

[obeloinkment]

We let our birds free range if we're going to be in the yard with them the entire time. If not, back in the run, which is 100% surrounded with 1/2" mesh. There are simply too many predators in our area for any sort of "free" free ranging.

 

[bops]

Mine were free range until two years ago.
I found my favourite hen massacred, feathers leading down the passage. And my other hens were petrified, and it took me over an hour to locate them all. Poor babies were terrified

 

[City farm]

my chicken are freed ranged in my 1/2 acre yard. the enjoyment of watching the birds run ,jump, fly around is the best entertainment in the world.. they get under shrubs and trees to get in the shade. they scratch like mad and gather their own food.. the best part is when they have to lay an egg. they run across the yard in a mad dash to the coop.( a 30 ft shed ). the interaction of the flock's dynamics is a site to see.
my circumstances permit me to let the birds out. however if you are in a situation where the birds are not safe then you have no choice but to pen. the only reason i am not for penning is most humans suffer from poor chicken math. they say well my pen is this big and  can fit 5 chickens comfortable with plenty of room. the next thing you hear does anybody have this type of bird. then that coop that held 5 turns into 11-12 birds and the birds suffer.
yes you feed all the feed you want to maintain the birds. however there is more to it then feed to maintain a healthy flock.that is a whole other subject. 
my 2 cents.

X2!!! Free range..
I do believe that the sun is a important part of a animals & human lives.. I have seen chickens in cages that seem to be sick..
They can not do their dust baths.. The person said the chickens have not been outside in so long that they were trying to dust
in their water.. How sad is that?? However, I did tell one of my dearest friends the other day that if we went on the road in like
a R.V. For retirement we would build a area for three chickens on the back.. Where ever we stop we would have a collapsing
tractor so they could free range on the road.. Chicken crazy right! There is nothing like farm fresh, organic, free range eggs..

 

[hannahrn02]

I would be devastated if my girls got hurt - but I just love seeing them roam around our 1.3 acre land. They actually always stay together and under large bushes, which protects them. We have our 2 labs and I am told predators will stay away because they know the scent of the dogs, plus the dogs would go crazy if anything tried to get them, they go crazy with just a squirrel. The chickens just seem so healthy to be out there , and they come running when we let them out. I am going to start letting them out later, like 10am to avoid them laying outside their coop- I actually do want their eggs and do not have time to go hunting for their eggs all over the property- they should be old enough to lay in the fall. What amazes me is that they have never stepped foot off our property! This is good because the neighbors are not all that thrilled we have a backyard farm- the goats and lambs put them over the edge I think when they joined us a few weeks ago!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Tips to successful free ranging...and the key word is successful. This is a post one can use for a guide but is not meant to spark controversy on favorite breeds, LGDs, terminology or methods...just a helpful set of things to help those who want to truly free range avoid high predation incidents.

NOTE: The words "free ranging" seem to have been changed to loosely mean birds loose in the yard without benefit of a fenced run or tractor to protect them. That is not true free ranging..that is birds loose in the yard, close by structures and human interference, but free of being confined. They are still foraging but they aren't leaving the safety of duck and cover just yet...but they soon will.

True, dedicated free ranging is exactly that...a bird ranging out and foraging, and foraging is most often a lengthy, all day long hunt for food in various areas that have not been depleted of insect, worm and plant varieties. This foraging can take a chicken far from coops, runs, porches, buildings and other points of safety and so must be more fully supported with a plan for the bird's safety~as much as this can be accomplished. If only free ranged close by coop and home, the amount of available protein soon becomes severely limited in this over used area and birds must go further afield to look for food.

One really needs the right breeds/birds, the right rooster or dominant hen, the right place, the right dog, the right perimeter fencing(if in town), the right hide outs/duck and cover places and the right attitude in order for dedicated foraging through free ranging to be successful and as safe as possible.

Right breeds/birds~birds that are docile, slow moving, overly fat, used to being picked up in the daytime hours and have no quick reactions to alarm calls and aerial danger flying overhead are just sitting ducks for hawks.

Silkies, overfed BOs, Polish (they can't see overhead as well) or any other such birds with a slow, friendly, docile manner or obstructed vision, flight or mobility that are used to shadows overhead(humans) stooping over them and picking them up. All they will do is duck down and freeze, instead of run for cover as they should be doing. You'll want flighty birds that instinctively move away from any and all potential predators..including you.

Right rooster or flock master(can be a hen)~ A good rooster will sound the alarm before you even see the threat and will have trained his flock to listen and act on it. He's worth his weight in gold when it comes to free range. Most will not fight a dog or other 4 legged predator, but the rare few will stand off a hawk, challenge a hawk or sacrifice himself for the flock. Mostly they will get the flock to shelter when a pred is in the area. A dominant hen can take over this role if she's the right sort.

Right place~ Areas that have plenty of trees, fence rows, shelters, shrubs, etc. where a bird can run and duck under to avoid the stoop of a hawk. If these are not available, they can be simulated with the use of man made hides under which to run and duck into cover. This is essential when they range out far from structures of safety.

Right dog(or guardian animal)~ A dog that lives outdoors all the time, is safe around the birds and sees them as living in his territory, so they are automatically protected from predator threats..even those from the sky. He is watchful all day and night and his constant vigilance lets area preds know this is a risky place for a meal. He doesn't have to cost a lot nor need some high dollar training or have to even be a LGD breed...mine have all been lab mixes that were unwanted by someone else~read FREE~and served years of unfailing, loyal service to the flocks and to the family. Loved companions, good dogs, fierce flock protection and have saved my flocks over and over. I'd never try to even have chickens~be they penned or free range~without a good dog to watch over them when I am gone all day and sleeping at night. They are indispensable to having livestock on your land....and that's just what chickens are.

Right fence~ The right fence can and will slow down most canine preds from doing a quick grab and snatch of your birds and also keep your birds contained. They don't usually fly over a fence, they fly to the top of a fence and drop down on the other side, so removing any surface that makes for good landing at the top of your fence is imperative~even if you have a 6 ft. high fence. You can string light wire there above the hard top of the fence/gait to discourage the hop up. Chickens, even adult ones, can regularly roost in trees and barn rafters, so a 6 ft. fence does not mean it is going to stop this behavior. Even clipping wing or wings can sometimes not deter a determined escapee.

If you have a good fence and keep your birds contained, if you get a neighbor's dog breaching those defenses, you have a leg to stand on when it comes to the legal aspects. A good looking, cheap and effective way to protect suburban birds from 4 legged preds is a simple electronet poultry fence on a solar charger...you can move it to different areas, you can put it away and use it another day, it lasts up to 10 years with good care, you can place it around your coop and not worry about coons, foxes, possums, etc at night and it will shock the vinegar out of even a black bear...and it will definitely keep the chickens in if you leave it energized.

Right attitude~ To free range, one has to accept the risk of possible loss. If done correctly, those losses are very few...I've lost 3 to preds in the last 10 years or more. Two of those are questionable if it was an aerial pred, as they were young and prone to wander off into the woods out of the dog's boundary of defense~we have a local grey fox. I've lost 1 bird at night because she roosted in the barn loft where the dogs could not defend her and got picked off by an owl. All of these were acceptable to me because these birds didn't heed the dangers of leaving the flock and the flock protections that are always available. In other words, they were too dumb to live and so they didn't get to do so.

Another important attitude to have is that you are going to do everything possible to avoid predation, not just turn out your chickens to the grass with a kiss for luck~ then cry to all and sundry when it goes wrong, telling anyone who free ranges they are putting their birds at risk and are negligent. (This happens more than you could possibly know...people try it once, the wrong way, and then announce it can't be done safely.)

Free ranging can be done and done well for many years if you have the right system in place that insures your birds are just as safe as they are in a coop and run...and many, many stories of predation start right there~in a coop and run~so these are not fail proof places to keep chickens.

There really is no such thing as a Ft. Knox coop unless it is, indeed, in the middle of a Ft. Knox gold vault. A black bear or a determined pack of dogs can show you in about 5 min. how safe your coop and runs really are. Chickens in a coop and run are like fish in a barrel to predators and there is no possible escape there...at least out on free range they have a chance to run, fly, duck and cover and you may not lose all your birds in one devastating attack .
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