afraid to let chicks free range!!!

[rosyposyosy]

i would not be afraid. your chickens are 3 weeks away from laying? they are fine... just gotta face it.... they're growing up, they just arent chicks anymore

they grow up so fast!! lol but seriously they'll be fine.

 

[Ferrn]

I understand completely!! We were letting ours free range but then we would leave in the eveing and come home and have girls just GONE. It was too sad! Since then I am very nervous about letting them out. If I do it is in the evening while we are there and I sit outside on the porch and read and watch them ( I Know they are chickens but... ) Not to mention, when the see a bird over their heads, they duck and run so I think a hawk got ours!! Time will tell.

Good luck!

jen

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, its a trade off, let them out but have to face the fact that there will be losses. I've lost birds to hawks and coons, but I still let them roam the acreage they can reach with no fences. Mine are silly though and they just move from their night coop and spend the other 80% of their free range time under a car or truck, or IN another coop that belongs to the babies!!! Silly things!

 

[OHChick]

Ditto for me. Was terrified to start to free range mine. We have them in the barn, have been opening the door for a few hours since Saturday. So far they haven't gone more than 6 ft any direction, so they haven't even made it to the grass. LOL

Any little noise they go running back into their pen. I guess that's why they're called 'chicken'.

haha

 

[Wildsky]

I thought I'd re-start this thread..... cause I'm terrified to let my girls and boy out to free-range, I'm mostly TERRIFIED of predators, although I've never SEEN any - I've heard Coyote's at night once or twice, and owl now and then - and OH the dog from down the road that comes to visit our place......

We have tree's and such - do you think they would fly into a tree to get away from a dog or cat or ?

 

[Nefertiti]

Chickens tend to be creatures of habit as much as the rest of us. Feed them in the coop as always, maybe scatter some scratch and such in their yard, provide additional clean water in areas you 'would like for them to hang out' (in addition to water in coop/yard ) Call them in at night before it gets to be roosting time , maybe 1/2 hr-hr before dust. Feed birds where they've always been fed, and they'll keep coming back. To eat, and to roost.
If your birds haven't been bothered by the owls or coyotes while penned, they really shouldn't be bothered by them if your coop door is shut. Free-ranged chikens need their home still.
It's a transition period for you as well as for the birds. You can't expect them to get their 'street smarts' as they walk out the door and into the world. You may make a few mistakes while you work things out, you may even suffer loses, but you most definitely will see some very happy hens.

 

[Wildsky]

I'm gonna give it a try - we have snow on the ground so I don't think they'll venture very far.....

One of my reasons for getting the girls - other than FUN and eggs was to help get rid of bugs - and I KNOW they can't do that in their run!
(I bet in no time, at least by summer they'll find the horse poop and the FEAST therein!!) They'd help spread it all around with all their scratching and that would totally help us out !!!

I'm SO so worried about losing my girls - or having a hen with injuries I've seen pictures of on the forum - that terrifies me - I don't know HOW I'd handle that!

 

[kayri]

My chickens are semi- free range, that is I have a 4 ft electric fence that they fly over when I'm moved the coop to an area they don't like. I often then sigh and let the one good hen that doesn't fly over, out. I have warned my neighbors with dogs that my chickens are out on my property and even though I like their dogs and dogs in general, I don't want them to eat my chickens. It seems that dogs can't resist chasing chickens. Must be the flapping, running flying thing about 1 ft off the ground that gets them. My neighbors have been very good about containing their dogs.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
We're new to town, I don't want to "ruffle any feathers" the folks down the hill from us have three border collies and no fence at all! I've seen one of their dogs run into the trees on our property, and I've seen foot prints......

I don't want to start any upset.... if I had MY property fenced all round they wouldn't get in either.... we have three sides with barbed wire and tree's - one side with barbed wire no trees but the driveway entry is not fenced at all.

 

[devora]

Wildsky--
As I see it it is not your responsibility to fence your land to keep dogs out. It is the responsibility of the dog owners. We live in open land where folks fence gardens to keep out deer but that's about it. And some chicken owning neighbors have killed dogs that came onto their property.

It is terrible to lose a bird. It's worse to lose it b/c someone else was not responsible in taking care of their dog.

Wow, I sound so grouchy. It is a touchy subject for me and I have given neighbors an earful on this: if you choose to have a dog you must take care of it.

But you can train your birds to stay close to home. (see my earlier post on this thead)