Keeping Chickens Free Range

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Today I went out and couldn't find my chickens, I have 19.

No one was in or near the coop and I couldn't hear any of the normal chicken noises.

I start searching around and notice they are all over the back fence to my property taking an afternoon nap under a thicket.

It took a while to lure them back by the coop and quite a few treats
 
Yes it is cooling off and the animals are trying to eat more and really demanding the corn as it really helps them keep warm and it was held back all Summer and to them it is better then candy but I still make them eat the regular feed that I soak in water for several days except the morning meal that is three way rolled corn wheat and barly that is warmed in the morning and mixed with layer pellets to make a mush and some ACV is mixed in and it seems to vanish in less then five minets so something must be right and still getting 6 egg's a day from ten hen's and one has chicks and two are building nest under the shed so I can't get to those egg's ......
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Oh and the chilling temp is now down to the low 90's on the front porch at 9 AM yester morning and at 3 AM this morning it is a freezing 87 F out there ya I had to put on a hat to go out and stop a cat that was chasing some geese around the yard I hope I did not wake to many neighbors but the cat is not going to bother the geese anymore .....
 
gander007 said:
Yes it is cooling off and the animals are trying to eat more and really demanding the corn as it really helps them keep warm and it was held back all Summer and to them it is better then candy but I still make them eat the regular feed that I soak in water for several days except the morning meal that is three way rolled corn wheat and barly that is warmed in the morning and mixed with layer pellets to make a mush and some ACV is mixed in and it seems to vanish in less then five minets so something must be right and still getting 6 egg's a day from ten hen's and one has chicks and two are building nest under the shed so I can't get to those egg's ......
cool.png


Oh and the chilling temp is now down to the low 90's on the front porch at 9 AM yester morning and at 3 AM this morning it is a freezing 87 F out there ya I had to put on a hat to go out and stop a cat that was chasing some geese around the yard I hope I did not wake to many neighbors but the cat is not going to bother the geese anymore .....
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I would melt in those temperatures, but then I am pure sugar, in my warped mind.


I have had to stop free ranging for a bit. I hate it. The birds hate it.

My chickens are starting to lay eggs and I need them to learn what nest boxes are for. I also made my two flocks into one flock. They have always free ranged together and acted like one flock during the day, but at night they were two flocks and heaven help the poor chicken that tried to go into the wrong coop.

Brutus stood guard at the door to his coop and ran off any bird that did not belong in there. Lucky would do the same in his coop, but was not as totalitarian as Brutus. Brutus is now the self appointed dictator of the newly combined flock, luckily for me I moved Brutus's flock into Lucky's coop. Lucky accepted them with no problems, moving them into Brutus's coop may not have worked so well.



I made a 9x70 ft covered run on the west side of the coop for the birds.

I have also taken some damage from Eagles in the last 2 weeks and I am resting better knowing they are under cover. I figure I will leave them in the coop for about a month before letting them free range again. Hopefully, the eagle will have moved on by then, or flown into a highline wire!

I think in a month Brutus's flock should return to the coop every evening.

BTW it is really freezing here, none of that 87 degrees freezing!
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duluthralphie said:
Quote:
Minnesota, wow You must have free grass growing in the yard how nice and with lakes so close by I do not think my ducks would stay in the yard for very long or the geese for that matter ...


A bit of the flock ....




As you can see we havent any grass with in miles .....




This photo I took last spring after the morning feeding ....


Eagles wow all I have to wory about are the red tailed hawks I guess I am lucky there as I would deffently have to put up some over head cover or the yard would just turn in to a dinner plate but with the hawks I just feed these guys and yes they are egg snatchers ....



I took this in July when the pair showed up with six new trash spreaders so I try to only use metal cans as the lids stay on much better .....


Oh I had to move to a place where it was warm as I have internal cancer and the cold just tears me up something fearce ..... So enjoy your cold and sitting by the warm winter fires .....
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SmColorInDaPan said:
I would imagine, like children at school, disease :oops:  would be MUCH more likely with penned chickens. 
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Love the analogy

I free range 2 flocks of chickens, and 4 ducks. The younger flock of chickens lives with the ducks and have a pen attached to their coop. I like the option of being able to keep them locked up but able to forage but prefer free ranging them... I'd like a pen for the other coop so that if there's predators lurking I don't have to keep them locked in, I just like options.
 
Today when I was out doing chores I heard the turkeys calling the predator alarm so I stood there and watched turns out there was an eagle circling over the flock. All the hens were hiding in brush,coop and with the pigs. Turns out you don't need a rooster get a turkey.
 
holm25 said:
Today when I was out doing chores I heard the turkeys calling the predator alarm so I stood there and watched turns out there was an eagle circling over the flock. All the hens were hiding in brush,coop and with the pigs. Turns out you don't need a rooster get a turkey.
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I've heard Turkeys are LOTS smarter than Chickens. Great you have so many places for them to hide!
 

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