free range chickens

Hi All, We picked up 10 hens of various types from my aunt last week. They have been raised free ranging and getting egg layer AM and PM. We live on 10 VERY OPEN acres. Built them a decent size coop to keep them safe from predators. I am feeding egg layer AM and PM with a few treats like...

I'm posting this for advice but also just to lament the loss of my Prairie Bluebell and Production Red. I did not know how absolutely devastated I would be. The red especially (named Red aka the Colonel) was the sweetest bird. She would run up and greet my husband when he got home from work. She...

Hello! Me and my husband are new chicken owners and I was hoping for some advise. We live in the rural Midwest (Kansas) and thus have an abundance of weeds in our yard which despite our best efforts, come back year after year. Currently my chickens are in a totally enclosed run with an...

I have 15-week-old Rhode Islande Reds and Mixes (5 pullets and 1 Roo) and seven 6-week-old pullet chicks (Buff Orpington, White Leghorn, Barred Rock, Red Sex Link, and one Easter Egger) I have set up a makeshift cage next to my bigger chickens run. I started putting them next to them yesterday...

I let my 13 week Olds free range today for 4 hours. I normally do an hour and stay with them. But today I had to force myself to leave them. I'm so proud of them! They watched for hawks and stayed near the tree line. I kept an eye on them through the window and checked on them often. I am amazed...

Hello BYC tribe! I wanted to share my ladies :) with you. My flock was first a flock of leghorns, that were rehomed to me from their original owners who were moving out of state. And then we just recently adopted some rehomed hens. A white Plymouth and her 2 polish sisters. I’m new to all this...

We plan to free range some of our chickens, but how do you train them to come back? I understand that we will sadly loose some, but there isn't much of a choice right now. Some will be in tractors (my favorites), and the remainder will be free ranged. Tips and advice for how to do this will be...

My neighbor free ranges his chickens. I almost always see them running around my yard, doing cute little chicken things. However, a few weeks ago, I noticed that I had some extra chickens in my coop. Somehow, my neighbor's chickens got into the barn and decided they wanted to spend the night. No...

Hello, I'd like to know if anyone here has experience with both of these breeds: Icelandic and Dominique. Based on what I've been reading, they share a lot of the positive things that I'm looking for, but I'm having a hard time choosing which breed to go with. Based on my list below, which...

I hadn’t gotten around to making one yet, but after closer inspection and walking the tree line behind their run, I realized they made their own! Good job chickens! I tried googling and looking on here out of sheer curiosity, but couldn’t find anything on HOW chickens make their own bath. Maybe...

Pointe Coupee, LA WILL DEFINITELY CONSIDER TRADES (Doesn't have to be chickens or even livestock) Four Rhode Island Reds. Purebred, not barnyard mutts. Raised from day old chicks, now laying large Organic brown eggs daily. Excellent free rangers. Very healthy. They come when you whistle. Hens...

So I am relatively new to raising chickens, we got our first 6 last March. Early on one was taken by a hawk after I walked inside for only a few minutes. We took care of that by putting a top on their chicken run and moving the coop to the back which had coverage from the trees (We have 10...

Hello! I have two sets of chickens that I hatched. One batch the end of June and the other in July. I recently separated all the roosters we are going to butcher from the rest of the flock. There are still two roosters with my hens but now they will not free range like they did before. They just...

Earlier today a dog got bitten by a snake 2 doors down from us. My girls free range in the the afternoons and our coop is fairly secure, however a snake could easily get into the run. I am currently sitting outside keeping an eye on them, but does anyone have any tips as to how I can keep my...

Hello all! I bought this book years ago, when chickens were still a daydream for me. My chicks are about 6 weeks old now, and I just noticed this book on my shelf and sat down with it for a bit. It’s a beautiful book with lots of photos, and lots of recommendations regarding chickens ranging in...

I have chickens and now it’s starting to get warm again after a long winter, so now they are finally aloud to go outside. But this last week I’ve seen a hawk flying around our place. It’s been a bit colder the last few days so I’ve kept my chickens inside and I haven’t seen the hawk now either...