What are the ups and downs to free ranging?

[Qi Chicken]

I don't have RIR or Brown Leghorns but I have the other breeds you mentioned and they all go to bed easily and WAAAYYY too early in my opinion. I can't relax and watch the chickens until the kids are in bed. And the kids are in bed (8 pm) after the chickens. That has NEVER been an issue. I don't know if they are laying somewhere else. If they are we haven't found it yet! THey seem pretty attached to the nest boxes. We got 10/13 today so I don't think so. One I know is not laying yet. (We got our first blue egg today ---Bubbles! Yah!)

If you have large fowl (standard sizes) you need 4 square feet inside per chicken and 10 square feet per chicken in the run. If you have bantams (and it sounds like you do) I am not sure of the numbers. I think it is approximately half that. I'm not sure.

We did find all of our chickens. I wonder if this has happened before as they hid pretty well. Under the porch and in the field.

Make the run and coop the appropriate size. Free range them when you're home. you may not prevent all losses but you will have less cleaning, happier chickens, and fewer food bills. They will love it.

Check Craigs list and Habitat for humanity home store for materials. You have until spring right? You have tons of time and will get exactly what you need. Figure out what that is and just focus on getting it. Easy.

 

[Lbrad7]

Pros....Your birds are much happier and I think much more vigorious and healthy. Cons...you can expect quite a bit more in losses due to predators.

 

[gryeyes]

Imagine every photograph you've ever seen of chickens running or grazing in fields, in little groups, loosely gathered. Pecking at the grasses, scratching in the soil, running towards another chicken to see what it has that's interesting. Now, imagine chickens gathered in a clump behind poultry fencing, all facing the same direction, waiting for their Human to come open the gate and give them a treat. Or pacing back and forth along the fence line.

I like the former mental image better. Don't you?

 

[Beekissed]

I would have to disagree with this last post. "Quite a bit of losses" depends on your flock managing. If you just throw some birds on a field and never take a moment to protect them with LGDs or adequate places to run to for avoiding hawk predation, then I would say this could be true.

But then, who in the world would try to free range in this manner? Why would you invest the money and time in your birds to send them out to play without protection?

 

[featherz]

I am curious - what if you have several groups of chickens who have never seen each other?

Will they fight if they encounter each other while free ranging? I have one coop with young chickens (10-11 weeks) and guineas (same age) that free range all day and return to the coop at night. I have another group of laying hens that are roughly 20 weeks old that I only let out when I am home and around - they are an acre or so away from the other coop but recently the guinea/pullet flock has been straying closer to the hen flock. No roosters in this bunch (except male guineas, and they are all pre-adolescent) - if the two groups meet should I expect any trouble when out in the open?

I know when in a COOP you need to integrate slowly, etc, but wasn't sure what chickens would do upon encountering strange chickens outside.

 

[Sjisty]

I have chickens in three separate coops. They all free range on my three acres every day. They pretty much form their own "flocks." There is almost no fighting. If one of my younger roos tries to hang out with #1 roo's girls, he gets chased away. There are plenty of trees for protection and I have two dogs that free range with the chickens, too. We do lose one or two a year to hawks, but my guys and girls are happy and healthy. I have no problems integrating the separate flocks. Occasionally I move them from one coop to the other when the little ones are big enough to go to the "adult coop." Since they have all met out in the open, I rarely have "pecking order fights" in the coops at night - they just all find a spot to roost and go to sleep!

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I don't agree with this at all, I would just tell buyers they are free range. There could be an off taste at times from something they eat, I suppose. I eat free range eggs every day and have not had this problem -- and mine range over several acres and in a woods.

They will come home to roost and, usually, to lay eggs, if they spend a day or three more confined, so they know where home is. I believe all mine lay in the coop. I did have one who made a nest in my yard, but this cost her her life....

 

[bock]

Thanks everyone! Free ranging definitely sounds like a good idea. I will be selling my eggs just for eating, unless someone just wants to hatch a few mutts. I wanted to get breeds that were good egg layers, were pretty, and give me a variety of colored eggs. With the breeds I chose I should get green/blue, brown, and white. My ducks and geese currently free range, and I haven't lost any so far. I let them out at 7am, they go down to the pond and swim, then at about 3:30pm they come back up. Ducks are generally larger though, they are on a pond, and I have big scary geese to scare off any hawks, so maybe that's why I haven't lost any. I only have three bantams, so maybe I should make a different cage for them, because I really don't think my Black Tailed White Japanese bantam hen will last very long.

Any way, thanks everyone!