How far will they range?

[jstudy]

Hi All,

If I let my chickens out during the day, how far will they range from the coop? Woods surround my yard, but if they go 30 or so feet through the woods behind the coop they'd be the road (I haven't built the fence yet). Would they be content to pick stay in the grass?

Thanks!

 

[Hotwings]

If you have woods near by they will probably go there. Chickens usually stay pretty close to their coop. It all depends on your birds and rooster or alpha hen where they go. Some birds are independent and don't stay with the flock. We have a rooster and he has taken his girls in the woods and he starts to crow! I say dumb bird, announce to the world that KFC has moved into the neighborhood!

 

[pegbo]

Hi there, we live on a dead end dirt road, but my chicks will wander quite far if I let them. Most of them are content to stay in the yard but a few brave ones go to the neighbor's, across the road, in the small creek, or the woods. I try to keep them close to home but it doesn't always work.

 

[keljonma]

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[Foghorn]

Thats a great question! I was wondering that myself. Would they ever wander so far as to not find their way back? Or perhaps, get into trouble being someplace they shouldn't. I don't suppose you could limit their range without some kind of fence.

 

[bigzio]

We free-range our flock with no limits on them at all. My experience has been that they never go farther than 200 yards from the coop. Usually they stay within sight of their coop, however sometimes they go into the woods and find leaf worms, which keeps them busy for hours. They still see the rest of the buildings on the property which makes me think as long as they are in sight they don't feel lost.

bigzio

 

[Foghorn]

I would love to know if that was what others have experienced. I have stonewalls that surround my property. They are about 3 to 4 feet high or higher. (big walls) Would they go over these walls? If they did, they would not see the coop. The angle is such that once they are over the wall, the coop would vanish from sight.

 

[thechickenfarmer]

My chickens go about 200 yards away at the most. They do go out of sight of the coop all the time and have no problem getting back. If you have woods, that will keep them very occupied and they may never get as far as the road. There are countless hours of entertainment scratching under all the fallen leaves and sticks. When it's hot my chickens go to a small wooded area and take dirt baths in all the cool spots. If your worried about letting them out for the first time (like I was) then wait until late in the day so there is only an hour or so of day light. That way they'll stay close and you can increase the time until you are comfortable knowing where they'll go. Jen

 

[Freebie]

Quote:
I am not sure, but I would think if just one or two went over the fence, and found they were lost, they would just make some kind of noise and the others would recognize that and answer and I think they would figure it out. If not I am sure you will wonder what all that noise is about and go investigating. I noticed my chicks doing this last year, I had them in a big tub with a heat lamp and when they got to flying sometimes they would fly to the top of the tub then to the other side and freak out. The others would answer and they would fly to the top and go in the tub again. It was really all quite interesting. I am not sure if they do this as adults, but it would make sense to me if they did.

 

[CarriBrown]

Mine really don't go far. They are either right outside the run or along side it. The only chickens that will wander down by the horses away from their coop is the BRs.