Letting chicks outside unsupervised?

[Newchick429]

I have three fairly new babies. About three months old and fully feathered. We’ve had them outside with the ducks and our neighbors free roaming chickens, as well as our rooster. So far so good.

We lost the last three babies when I put them in a coop around the same age. Rats got to them in a flash, middle of the day. I’ve decided with these babies, unless it’s in the large dog crate we have, they won’t be confined.

Are they still vulnerable during the day? They seem happy to hang out on our large patio, but roam a bit. I don’t want to lose anymore.

There’s three other chickens that have adopted us (probably because most people here don’t feed the chickens to take care of bugs) that are at least 6 months. They’ve been coming to our yard since they where tiny. The mother hen disappeared when they where around our chicks size though. All three sate doing great, but I’m worried that was because their mother taught what to watch out for.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[SueT]

No one can guarantee you that there won’t be predators of various kinds, even if there have been none so far. Use your common sense and your intuition.
When I used to let my flock free range, it was with the understanding that they could be taken. I lost 2 or 3 a year, and replaced them. However, when hawks became more prevalent 3 yrs ago, I locked my chickens in the run for good. The hawks still check every day.

 

[Newchick429]

No one can guarantee you that there won’t be predators of various kinds, even if there have been none so far. Use your common sense and your intuition.
When I used to let my flock free range, it was with the understanding that they could be taken. I lost 2 or 3 a year, and replaced them. However, when hawks became more prevalent 3 yrs ago, I locked my chickens in the run for good. The hawks still check every day.

Yes, I know that’s a possibility. There are cats and dogs on the island we live on. There’s not much tolerance for any aggression towards chickens since many people here depend on them for food and eggs.
As far as I know the only predator has been the rats. My neighbors that do use coops have very little shelter, but put enclose them as adults. Here’s a picture of the trio now.

 

[Penpal]

Rats can get into a large dog crate

 

[SueT]

Yes, I know that’s a possibility. There are cats and dogs on the island we live on. There’s not much tolerance for any aggression towards chickens since many people here depend on them for food and eggs.
As far as I know the only predator has been the rats. My neighbors that do use coops have very little shelter, but put enclose them as adults. Here’s a picture of the trio now.

They are quite small. I would not leave them outside unsupervised. What is your island? There are no hawks, falcons?

 

[Newchick429]

Yes, I know that’s a possibility. There are cats and dogs on the island we live on. There’s not much tolerance for any aggression towards chickens since many people here depend on them for food and eggs.
As far as I know the only predator has been the rats. My neighbors that do use coops have very little shelter, but put enclose them as adults. Here’s a picture of the trio now.

Even a shipping crate? I didn’t think that was possible! Looks like they may be in the bathroom for a while longer if that’s the case. Excuse the mess. Cleaning up after them is a full time job!

 

[Newchick429]

They are quite small. I would not leave them outside unsupervised. What is your island? There are no hawks, falcons?

We’re on stone island in Mexico. I haven’t seen any hawks or falcons. Luckily my husband works from home, so they can be outside when he’s there.

 

[Penpal]

By "dog crate" I thought you meant a black wired crate. You are showing a pet carrier. You might as well have them inside a coop or in your garage.

 

[Newchick429]

I really appreciate the comment on dog crates. I never thought about a rat squeezing through those holes. But I can see it happening now. We went and got hardware cloth to over every inch of the coop. So that’s the project for this weekend. They’ll be free range when one of us is outside to try and prevent any problems.

For now, they stay so close to us it’s fairly easy while we’re out together. My next challenge is teaching them to take a dust bath. They try on the porch but ignore the sand in the yard.

I’m hoping they’ll pick it up from the other chickens eventually. They look like raga muffins lol

 

[ltcffl03]

I wouldn't in my area, hawks everywhere, cats and dogs, I built a big chicken tractor to keep them happy and safe.