Keeping Chickens Free Range

[LadyBroody]

A thread for all those people who keep chickens free range! Post, post, post!!



Rules:

1. No fighting! Everyone has their own opinion about everything.

2. There's nothing wrong with people who keep chickens indoors, and don't allow them to free range. This thread is to encourage those who don't free range their chickens, not drive them away. If you have any questions about converting to free range, you're welcome to ask questions here!

3. Have fun!

 

[duluthralphie]

Yep. I've had people contact me to let me know they were in the road. Ya think?

And yeppers on the trees, too. The only way to keep them home, imo, is in a covered run.

I had a guy pull in here yesterday and tell me 'You have some birds on the road". Then he said " I am afraid they will get hit, I nearly hit one"...

I said, " yep some of them will".

He looked at me weirdly, So I asked him where he was from, he said he lived in Minneapolis. Then I explained Guineas always go to the road, they are like mosquitoes being attracted to light.

He asked what I did about them getting hit.


I told him I bring in 30 new ones every year to replace the dumb ones that get hit.

I am thinking he did not understand me. I was speaking "farm" he was speaking "City".

 

[LadyBroody]

This is my first time with any sort of flock and I was wondering how long they should be penned up before letting them free range so they no where home is?

Keep them penned up for about a week, and then let them out to roam around a bit. Always feed them in their coop so that you can easily get them back in again.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am not sure if I am going to free range I'm still on the fence but I am leaning towards it. We just bought this house and they had a 6 ft high chain link fence with a dog house in the middle with 3 hens and a guinea. So I aproned the outside of the fence with a strong chicken wire and buried it under the gates and I am building a 8 by 8 coop that is 2ft off the ground with hardware cloth over the windows. So I plan on locking them up in the coop at night and there are a lot of trees for cover too. I am going to get my chicks Saturday. What do you think?

Should I leave them in the run or free range we have alot of fox around here I would be heart broken if they died!?

If you cannot bear the idea of a chicken dying or being killed, it is best you never free range. There are some losses.

I try to limit my losses by locking them up every night and not letting them out until it has been light for a couple hours.

I want my chickens to live the life I would like, as a chicken. I know I would be safest never leaving my house, never driving, never seeing other people. Life would stink, but would be safe.

The chickens in my idea are the same. I could keep them locked in a closed fence and coop, and they would live to the ripe old age of 3-4. OR I can let them out. Keep them as safe as possible and allow them to live a good life. That is why I free range. I would rather live a good life than a long life.

Wow, I sound like a philosopher!

 

[jtn42248]

What about the ecological balance in our backyard flocks.

I can fully understand them not wanting wholesale slaughter of hawks, but it just isn't right for people to not be able to defend their own livestock.

I agree with you 100 percent. I own guns in order to defend my home if needed. That defence extends to my animals. Not just my dogs but to any animal I have committed to providing a safe environment in which they can live and be at peace. I have dispatched four legged predators that did not have the good sense to leave the area when I fired a warning shot. I have seen a pack of coyotes circle and attack a calf and literally rip it limb from limb and, had I been armed, I would have shot at least one of them. I want to respect the law as much as any sane person. But, if I am ever armed and there is a flying predator attack on my flock I am not going to ask for a breed ID first. It may be a crow or an owl or a rabid starling but it is going to at least get shot at if not actually shot. I will not go online and brag about it, I will not put a Youtube video online with my kill. I will simply dispose of the carcass and move on with the care of my home and flock. If I get is some sort of trouble for protecting my home I will go to court and fight it and let a jury of my peers (farmers) decide my fate.

Sorry for going on and on, but...

 

[lazy gardener]

Personally, I find the bold print much easier on these old feeble eyes. I know that the techies think that bold print is a way of yelling, so please, continue yelling at my eyes. They don't hear very well.

 

[duluthralphie]

The tree Sussex is out of the tree!

I thought she had 4 babies, She brought out 11.








I will get the baby pictures as soon as I can.

 

[lindalouly]

I use a fake owl to keep my chickens off my patio table. When we have company, I move it to the back door so they don't try to sneak in the house. It has worked so far

 

[Big Head Boy]

. They waiting own their evening treat

 

[duluthralphie]

Animals pay the price for neglectful or uncaring owners. That includes dogs that run,

A dog that does not stay home is nothing more than a predator. I try to scare a dog off the first time. It could be an accident, it slipped its collar/kennel or a hunting dog that got lost. 2nd time is not an accident. I would then invoke the three S's.


A power augur is fast and works well to dispose of the evidence.

I am not judging people that cannot kill a dog. I understand it. I love dogs. I grew up on farm, way back when, All the farmers said the same thing back then. A dog that chases and runs is worthless. When I was a kid some dogs came and chased and killed a few sheep. Our dog joined in the fun of sheep chasing, He was the first dog to die for the crime.

My Dad knew two of the other dogs owners. Farmers also. He called them, (party Line so everyone knew I am sure) they took care of their dogs when they got home. A dog that starts chasing and killing livestock (chickens are livestock) are very hard to break from it. And back to my first rule, dog that runs is worthless.