Free ranging pros and cons?

[bruceha2000]

IMO, a coop is a butcher's room; once a critter gets in, MANY chickens will be killed or at least injured.
In 5-6-7 yrs, I have only, in the last 18 mo., lost 2 Older hens AND A Roo that Religiously set on the back porch instead of the tree, where everyone set.

After Senior Roo-roo was gone, they all moved to a taller tree, CAN'T call them stupid.

I'm also faster to let out the dogs! They take dust baths wherever, really appreciate not having the cost of that worry. I do have acreage though.
Originally, They were penned for long enough to get their adult feathers, keep themselves warm, then loose all the time. We had HUNDREDS of grasshoppers the first year I was here and why I chose Chickens. The eggs were only realized when someone mentioned it. Silly me.

The yolks are YELLOW and when NOT refrigerated, last longer.
I may be set in my ways but I'm home & more laid back, than most?
Oh, yeah. My Cats run for the hills when the chickens even look their way so, despite claims otherwise, Not a prob. THESE guys, they Do get out of the way of!

Those be some funny looking chickens, I would have guessed they were turkeys!

I have lost 2, nearly 3, of my original 12 to foxes. One late April 2013 and the other plus the near miss (only because she screamed and we got outside to scare off the fox which HAD ripped out a lot of neck feathers trying to grab her) late April this year.

The first loss was in the evening not 40' feet from the barn door, only found a few feathers the next day. The second was farther out around a (in poor shape) fence. Never heard a thing from either. Three large piles of feathers from the second. One where she was hit, one around the next corner of the fence and a third farther down the outside of the fence. The grass hadn't yet come up and the fox had a clear shot at the birds but you would THINK they would see it coming.

The "near miss" was ~50' behind the house, in front of the fence to the area where the second was taken (same evening). There is NOTHING fox proof about that fence. I have since repaired the fence around the barnyard and pond though it IS chicken wire and is only 36-42" high with no "dig prevention". But with the weeds growing thick on both sides, it is a summer deterrent. I now keep the chickens in that area if we are not home and only let them out to range farther when we are. I am still taking a chance but they are happier and healthier.

They ALWAYS go back to their coop in the barn at night. It IS predator proof. It is a converted horse stall with 4' high plywood walls, Upper openings covered with 2x4 welded wire AND 1/2" hardware cloth. There is hardware cloth over the bottom of the floor joists above and on the floor under the horse mats and pine shavings that run up the walls and is poultry stapled to it. The only way a predator will get in is through the auto chicken door and at least to date, none have done so.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Bruce,
You did an lot of work! Did you know I am up for ADOPTION? REALLY!
YES, those are wild turkeys, in the photo, cobblers of chicken scratch unless a dog is sicced on them.
My first Chicken gone missing was a broody on Steroids! She had a bush she sat in f-a-r from the house. Easy Fox pickings. Saw him on the private rd, carrying her away. Have the 4 now, IF counting 2 tiny lil bantam Roos. They roost in a tree about 40-60ft up, during the night. With the dogs, i am not worried about where they roam, Especially with my Walker Hound out and about. If she smells something not usual for our area, it is BEST NOT TO GET IN HER WAY! Times chickens have been 'got' she was inside, I was TOO SLOW!
Lucky you to have a barn for them in winter. No such luck for me.
Take care & thanks for the Humor!
SCinDP

Those be some funny looking chickens, I would have guessed they were turkeys!

I have lost 2, nearly 3, of my original 12 to foxes. One late April 2013 and the other plus the near miss (only because she screamed and we got outside to scare off the fox which HAD ripped out a lot of neck feathers trying to grab her) late April this year.

The first loss was in the evening not 40' feet from the barn door, only found a few feathers the next day. The second was farther out around a (in poor shape) fence. Never heard a thing from either. Three large piles of feathers from the second. One where she was hit, one around the next corner of the fence and a third farther down the outside of the fence. The grass hadn't yet come up and the fox had a clear shot at the birds but you would THINK they would see it coming.

The "near miss" was ~50' behind the house, in front of the fence to the area where the second was taken (same evening). There is NOTHING fox proof about that fence. I have since repaired the fence around the barnyard and pond though it IS chicken wire and is only 36-42" high with no "dig prevention". But with the weeds growing thick on both sides, it is a summer deterrent. I now keep the chickens in that area if we are not home and only let them out to range farther when we are. I am still taking a chance but they are happier and healthier.

They ALWAYS go back to their coop in the barn at night. It IS predator proof. It is a converted horse stall with 4' high plywood walls, Upper openings covered with 2x4 welded wire AND 1/2" hardware cloth. There is hardware cloth over the bottom of the floor joists above and on the floor under the horse mats and pine shavings that run up the walls and is poultry stapled to it. The only way a predator will get in is through the auto chicken door and at least to date, none have done so.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yeah I'm thinking the future will bring an LGD. Both to protect the chickens and chase out the woodchucks. Those things raid the chicken feeder and have made tunnels all the way from the upper part of the barn under the coop and the alley (all dirt) and out the other side of the barn. 2 weeks ago they popped a hole RIGHT in the middle of the alley. I can only imagine all the interconnected tunnels they have just waiting for someone to drop into and break an ankle.

I agree my chickens are lucky. The barn isn't in very good shape (built mid 1800's and not properly maintained) but having the chickens down in the alley means they have an indoor run, mostly snow free in the winter. Old barn, means gaps! I'm glad I didn't have to figure out how to give them enough "out of the coop AND the weather" winter space. I open the barn door every morning but if there is much snow on the ground, they choose to hang in the lower part of the barn.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some years I lose some to a wayward coyote, I have donkeys in my shed, some years they chase coyotes others they ignore them. I have a lot of hawks, but my chickens have things to hide under, cover and good roosters, keep hawks at bay. A few losses over the years, but I enjoy watching my chickens be chickens, running, scratching, making their own decisions, penned up chickens are like animals in the zoo, you can make it nice, but it isn't quite the same.

 

[twincreekfarm1]

This is a topic I worry about. I got my first 9 hens in Feb. and raised them in the house. They went to a very large and sturdy coop (previous farm owner bought this Amish made building to store piles of Alpaca fiber and it is STURDY. I kept the babies in the coop for 2 weeks after the first 10 weeks in the house (cold outside) and then let them out of the coop into a fenced and netted (overhead) run during the day for months. I taught them to come inside at dusk by offering scratch grains, petting and my voice. Now they follow me around like I am Madonna. I lock them up EVERY NIGHT. (dark and spooky here

One day they dug under the fence and escaped to the adjacent fenced pasture (boredom and the grass WAS greener on the other side of the fence). That pasture had 3-4 layers of fenced paddocks below and beside it.

2 hens disappeared without a trace, in the day. There are no stray dogs here, no roads, 26 acres. I have seen coyote and fox going along a path deeper in the woods to the 2 springs I have. I kept the hens confined out of fear, but they stripped their pasture bare and started looking for ways out. I am amazed at their ingenuity with these triple fences with buried wire that were made for Alpaca cria and their mommies.

They are now comfortably free-ranging near the coop, house, backyard and in the edge of the woods just below. They stick close to home, stay together pretty much and have started coming to the front of the house to talk to my 5 dogs through their dog fence.

I am reading all of these posts and thinking that I may get a good sized flock of guineas and a roo. My fence guy is coming soon to finish fencing (most of it is done) so that there will be perimeter fence around about four acres enclosing house, barns, run-ins and all livestock paddocks (there are many). My dream is to have the horse, donkey, goats, chickens and guineas all free-ranging in the day when the weather is nice.

These hens seem much more savvy now that they are 7 months old and laying. They seem to have their wits about them and are pretty good about using the ample cover. I also notice they go back to the coop a few times a day to rest.

I am praying I don't have a catastrophe.

I live in VA and the weather is gorgeous right now. They are a very happy group. I am looking into a Maremma to guard the whole farm. I have ONE YEAR left to work before I retire and wanted to wait until then to train the LGD.

There is so much to think about with these hens. We raise them and then grow to love them. They are beautiful, intelligent pets. I am torn between boring confinement and a glorious life for them on this gorgeous farm. I do have the advantage of working from home and checking immediately on any ruckus I hear.

I think about it like this: If I lock my kids in the closet in their bedroom and allow only access to the bedroom, bath and closet.....bring them food every day.....they probably won't get in a car accident, get hit by a bus, get killed in a terrorist attack (equivalent to being attacked by a coyote, fox or bear "lone wolf"); get hurt doing something risky, get hit by a tree falling or lightening, etc, etc........but their quality of life would be lousy. I feel the same way about chickens cooped up in a dirt lot and building.

Where is the happy medium between quality of life and joy and safety for them? I am still thinking about that AND carefully considering all of your input. I will keep you posted.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine all free range, most years I'm left alone, but when the coyotes find me the only thing that stops them is getting shot at, luckily my husband enjoys that. I have donkeys in my shed, it helps keep things from coming into the shed, though they have been seen grazing with a coyote walking past them, they have in the past killed ducks, and my goats are pasture separately, they have also gone after one goat who got out of the fence into their pasture, that goat drags his legs on one side. So be aware that one donkey will probably take care of your critters, multiple donkeys are kinda a hit and miss, they also will stomp my dogs if they can.

I would certainly get a rooster or two, as they will go missing first, most roosters will run out to confront predators, some can be successful, others give their lives. Never had guineas, so I can't comment on them. I will never lock my chickens up, a penned life is no life in my opinion.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Quote:
Exactly. There are ways to keep them as safe as they are in a coop and run situation and, most often, much safer. When predators breech a coop and run they are finding a flock that have no defenses at all...can't run, can't hide...just run in circles until they are slaughtered. Like fish in a barrel.

Here's a few tips on free ranging that I've learned over the years: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/bees-key-points-to-successful-and-safe-free-ranging

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

I heard vehicles my PRIVATE rd, also ran into someone hunting coyotes on the county Rd. Although I TOLD the new folks, earlier this year, that I SAW a fox carrying away one of my hens, He sicced his 'Buds' to hunt the coyotes Thieving their chickens?? 4-5, few acres over..
Also have a bob cat up here somewhere. Reminded the She side, AGAIN, that there are PLENTY of predators out here in the Mountains, AIN"T going to change cause her hubby beats his chest and gets upset.

Been a bad year, I've lost about 5. The latest one & survived so far, was penned in a cage a lil bigger than a bread box, b4 i got her, poor thing. She's having a great time foraging all over, laying for me, every other day. RIR, aren't the best layers, I Guess? She tucks herself behind a truck door I have on the back porch. Since my hound dog would go BERSERK if ANYTHING got THAT close & she knows we lost one Mini Bantam since she's been here, Think she's got something Behind those eyes!

No, she won't go back into the 3 hen size hutch I had her in shortly after she came 'home'.
Next year will get more. Cie le vie! The way things go, with Free range. Kudos, BeeKissed!

 

[snhchick]

My 3 Silkie flock is down to 2 after a fox carried off one of my hens today in the middle of the afternoon. These are my first chickens, and I started letting them free range this winter when they would huddle miserably at the gate of their pen. I just started really enjoying the chickens over the past week or so as I started to teach them to come when called by throwing some feed. Now I don't know what to do. The chickens are so much happier free ranging, but I fear that I will just be serving them up to the fox if I let them free range. Is there a particular season that the fox will be so brazen or will this be a permanent problem now that they have discovered the chickens? The chickens were definitely in a danger area: away from the house and near the treeline. We live in a rural area in southern New Hampshire. My husband just happened to look out the window as the fox grabbed the chicken. I now have a roo and a hen. I don't expect to ever have a large flock, not that that necessarily makes it easier to lose a bird. I guess I'm wondering what other's experiences have been in similar situations. Is it really just let them live happily until something eats them as they free range or are there some guidelines for keeping them safer as they free range? Any chance that they will stay closer to the house now that a fox has taken one? I'm thinking of getting them a tractor to keep them safe, but I know that they won't be as happy and I won't enjoy them as much. Not sure that there is a right answer but thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Best to keep them locked up for a bit, the Fox will continue to look for more.