Afraid to let my girls free range- and that was our plan from the beginning!

[McChooky]

Just wanted to share my experience today that is unfortunately relevant here as far as hazards of free ranging. It's not just predators that are a risk - chickens can do a runner for other reasons. I have read more than one account of frightened chickens just running off into the forest never to be seen again, presumably either getting eaten eventually or just getting lost and going elsewhere.

I have 6 pullets, which is not safe to properly free range since they're little derps and definitely don't watch for hawks. Instead, I have been letting my birds out closely supervised for a half hour here and there, and thought they knew how to run back in the coop if they got scared as they've done this many times to date when scary things happened or when I've spotted something and herded them back. This morning, there was a really loud nose caused by a chicken knocking something over, and they just ran outwards in all different directions and kept going. Utter chaos in an instant and then trying to catch birds before they completely left the clearing for the forest. Got 5 out of 6 back but the 6th was missing without a trace. Hawks in the area heard the commotion and immediately moved in to fly low and look for snacks. After a lot of walking in the forest and an incredible amount of dumb luck, I found my chicken hiding under the branches of a fallen tree. She was silent and well hidden, so at least she had good instincts on where to hide for safety, but the odds...I found her after I'd given up and was heading back. I was not prepared for the hit of suddenly knowing I had to beat every predator in the area to finding a lone chicken in 20+ acres of forest. I don't think I can rely on the same degree of luck in the future, so I immediately ordered a large run extension kit and that will be it for letting my chickens run around out in the open (at least until I have a rooster to help me out).

I'm guessing if you're away from the forest it may be less of a risk of what I just experienced. It's so much harder to chase a bird through forest than grass. People nearby free range and don't lose birds as far as I've seen, but they do so from much bigger cleared areas with just a tree and shrub here and there. They also have older birds and most have roosters with them. My impression is a small group of hens is just not very safe on its own.

Human raised chicks vs flock raised chicks .The latter are the smartest.

 

[Penpal]

There are red tailed hawks here, and a bald eagle. None have ever bothered my chicks or ducklings. However, during mating season this year a great horned owl killed 4 of my half grown chickens. Mating season is over, but I am using electric poultry netting because of the raccoons and fox. You never know know there is a problem until it kicks you in the teeth. In my circumstances they are safe to free range until about 3 in the afternoon when I have to worry about fox. Just be diligent.

 

[abenardini]

I strongly disagree that your small flock will be "just fine" out free-ranging. Especially without a rooster, lgd, etc. to help watch over them, winter coming soon and no tree canopies to help hide them, & wild prey growing increasingly scarce. Your flock MAY get lucky and be just fine, i.e. undiscovered. Sometimes people go years before experiencing their first predator attack; sometimes it can happen the very first day/night. You may be aware of the countless never-ending threads on this forum from heartbroken people who have lost flock members and sometimes their entire flocks to savvy predators.

I have 3 large flocks that range daily through woods and pastures. Losses have been relatively few due to guardian dogs that protect during the day, & fort knox coops at night. But despite mine and dog's best defenses, hawks, roaming dogs and fox have ocassionally been sucessful, always during the daytime while flocks were ranging free. Ive never lost my favorites which would leave me heartbroken, but All losses left me sad.

Its up to you to decide how much risk you are willing to take. Ive made Immediate adjustments after past sucessful predator attacks, including more fencing, more guard dogs, & locking hens up for several weeks until the lgds Finally suceeded in removing the evasive sly fox. My flocks still free-range daily, but i am fully aware of the daily risks. If you decide to let your girls happily roam free (& they will be happy!), just be willing to accept the consequences if they are "discovered." Wishing you the best.

^ This....I tried free ranging on our acreage for a couple years. I lost 30+ birds to various predation. Every person's situation of course is going to be different (sometimes a little, and sometimes a lot). I absolutely cannot free range my flock here where we live in the woods. Even with electrified fencing, roosters, 2 lethal dogs, many places to hide, secure coop, it didn't work for me, and I even took a few years break from chickening because I had to come to grips that I would need to contain them. I am super jealous of folks that can free range without any issue and the idyllic pictures people post of their flocks (yea, I'm jealous! )....I ended up having to do a fort knox for my flock.

They currently have a 8x4 coop and a 38x10 run area that is secure. I'm going to likely get another couple secure runs and expand their area further.

The other thing you have to ask yourself is what you plan to do with your flock. I'm hatching out some very expensive birds (Ayam Cemani this time, Ameraucanas live in my coop/run at the moment). I plan to raise rare breeds. If I lose a single Ayam Cemani bird to a predator, that's a super expensive loss. A perfect specimen can cost a TON of dough.

Just some food for thought

 

[McChooky]

I don't free range. I had a decently large run for my 4 birds, nearly 90 sf. I wanted 3 more chickens, so I added on to my coop and my run. I'm at about 21 sf/chicken, and won't be getting more than another 3 birds, which would make it 15 sf each, still a decent amount.

I've thought about free ranging, and decided against it. Even though I have a rooster, there are a lot of raccoons, hawks, eagles, skunks, possums, and possibly coyotes in my area.

Would my birds be happier? Probably. Do they know that? Nope.

Would I be constantly worrying about them? Probably. Do I know that? Yup.

If you only have 4-5 chickens don't try it . It's not for the faint of heart.