3 hrs of Free Range Enough?

[FlockinWild]

Hey everyone!

Hopefully I can keep this short and sweet.
We have 9 chickens total. 8 pullets (various breeds) & 1 roo (white Polish named Fabio)
Hen house bi-level is 30 sqft total
Attached Run 32 sqft

We keep them locked up in the coop and run most of the day and naturally at night.
We used to let them free range our .25 acher till predictors (bobcats & Raccoons) started showing up.

They are getting roughly 3 hours a day of free range with supervision. Is this enough?

Best,

 

[TalkALittle]

The question is really, "Does 3 hours of free range per day make up for being contained in a coop that offers 3.3 square feet per bird and a run that offers 3.5 square feet per bird for the other 21 hours of the day?"

In my opinion, no. I have 6 standard hens and 2 bantam hens in roughly 90 square feet of run space and they are cramped. There's not enough room for them to get out of each other's space if needed and there's just not a lot to keep them busy. I'm expanding my run before winter to give my girls more room for when snow makes free ranging impossible. I don't want the behavior issues that often develop due to confinement in a small space. Especially since my girls are used to having the whole yard much of the day.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Any time out is better than no time, it sound like your chickens are still young, the problems will come as they get older and a bit more hostile towards each other, crowded and bored chickens will peck each other, sometimes to death, not saying that this will happen just that it's something that does happen a lot and you have to watch for it . Those are pretty small areas for chickens who really do need way more room than the recommended sizes, perhaps you could work on enlarging their pen a bit. Let your chickens behavior be your guide. I too had a polish rooster named Fabio, unfortunately he was too much on my hens. Good luck.

 

[junebuggena]

Make them a proper sized run ASAP. It doesn't have to be Fort Knox since it will only be for day use and not for nighttime roosting. You need at least 10 sq ft of run space per bird. It's best to avoid over crowding. Once they begin to have behavior problems due to overcrowding stress, it can be very difficult to stop. It's best avoided if possible. A few T-posts, a fence pounder and some chicken wire can work just fine for a daytime run.

 

[ECBW]

Supervised? You mean you take 3 hours out of your day to watch over them? Commandable.

I give them what I can. It is getting shorter with fading days. But they are fine. No need to over think it.

 

[FlockinWild]

We have talked about making a bigger run, but I'm wondering if it would be more affordable to just downsize. Which of course I don't want to do.

We do unfortunately have to make it a "bomb shelter" since the predators are so determined. Had raccoons try to get them through our run in the middle of the day (2 o'clock) and so we had to line it with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. Very expensive!!

Then the d@mn raccoon tried digging under the run, again during the day. So we had to line the bottom with hardware cloth.

The birds are young, like 4 months old.
Prior to getting the chicks we had 4 adult hens, one was taking in the night by a raccoon. Two taking during the morning by Bobcats.

When the children go outside to play we let them out, so naturally I'm watching the children and the flock.

 

[FlockinWild]

Would a deer cloth work on top to keep raccoons out?

 

[chickmomma03]

I would make a good run for them with plenty of room. I have to worry about hawks, owls, and other predators here. I built mine a decent run that they stay in from the time I get up in the morning until almost sun down. They go back into the coop on their own when it gets too dark for their liking. I go out every evening and close the coop door. I check on them throughout the day, talking to them, bringing them treats, etc, but free ranging completely isn't an option here, so I made a good run. I don't think 3hrs a day of being out of the coop is enough (did I read that right). If you have to worry about things digging under look into hardware cloth. I have heard it's good for keeping diggers out. I bought some to add in around my run, but haven't gotten to that point yet (I just bought it). I am going to be digging ground up though and putting some in.

 

[chickmomma03]

oh goodness, I don't think I read that right. If they're in the run most of the day I don't think that's too bad. You have to do what you have to do to protect them. As I said in my other post, I can't free range mine, it's not safe at all (the hawks and owls already hang out in this yard, and that was BEFORE chickens, now there are more, they just wait and watch, makes me nervous).

 

[barneveldrerman]

It should be just fine but your coop and run are a little small for the amount of chickens you have. The coop needs to be a MINIMUM of 36sq.feet total.The run should be around 90sq.feet for the amount of chickens you have! So if you cant build your run a little bigger than no 3 hours of free range is not enough.

Sorry that your coop and run are a little small.

Hope this helped