True free ranging, which I define as opening the gate and letting them go, is akin to "running 90 miles an hour down a dead end street" in areas with high predator load. It is a battle of wits........predators vs. the birds.....and generally predators win that battle every time. They are motivated and better at catching the birds than the birds are at avoiding being caught. And the reward to the predator is great, so why not keep coming back? For all they know you put them out for them to eat......like feeding sunflower seeds and suet to wild birds. And generally, there is nothing really to stop them. The brush the birds would go to to hide in also conceals the predators so all they have to do is make a short dash to nab dinner. The fact that so many of them are brazen enough to do that right in front of you says all that needs to be said. They have nothing to fear, or lose, and everything to gain.
And as George says, years ago, when everyone living in the country and on farms had birds and depended on them for food and spending money, varmints.....predators......were dealt with harshly. When I was growing up about 50 years ago, coyote sightings were rare. They had been hunted and trapped into near oblivion. Same with foxes, bobcats, and many other predators. If one did show up, they were shot on sight. Same with hawks and owls. Shot on sight.
Even with that, folks lost a lot of birds to predators. The old Foghorn Leghorn cartoons made light of it, but there was a lot of truth to the gags that ran through those. The chicken hawk.......the goofy dog that was supposed to help protect the flock, etc. It was a fact of life.
When I moved from town to the country a while back, and started raising birds, my mother nearly laughed in my face.......claiming varmints would wipe me out. She had good reason to think that. She had experience......coons wiped her out so many times she gave up. My daughter got birds before me and her free ranged birds were also wiped out. A fox got all of hers.
So here I sit and have yet to lose a single bird to predators of any kind. So what magic am I using? First off, while I let them out to run around in the yard, they are not free ranging. They are yarded. Confined within a yard that establishes a boundary between inside and outside. What establishes the boundary that neither the birds or predators are willing to cross is an electric fence designed for confining and protecting poultry.
A person can make this yard as large or as small as they deem desirable, but the point is, birds do not have to be confined to a run to be protected. They can run around......and the affect is 99% the same as free ranged.......yet they are still protected 24/7. Birds are somewhat fragile and many will still find a way to die......but lost to predators need not be at the top of the list of reasons why.
And as George says, years ago, when everyone living in the country and on farms had birds and depended on them for food and spending money, varmints.....predators......were dealt with harshly. When I was growing up about 50 years ago, coyote sightings were rare. They had been hunted and trapped into near oblivion. Same with foxes, bobcats, and many other predators. If one did show up, they were shot on sight. Same with hawks and owls. Shot on sight.
Even with that, folks lost a lot of birds to predators. The old Foghorn Leghorn cartoons made light of it, but there was a lot of truth to the gags that ran through those. The chicken hawk.......the goofy dog that was supposed to help protect the flock, etc. It was a fact of life.
When I moved from town to the country a while back, and started raising birds, my mother nearly laughed in my face.......claiming varmints would wipe me out. She had good reason to think that. She had experience......coons wiped her out so many times she gave up. My daughter got birds before me and her free ranged birds were also wiped out. A fox got all of hers.
So here I sit and have yet to lose a single bird to predators of any kind. So what magic am I using? First off, while I let them out to run around in the yard, they are not free ranging. They are yarded. Confined within a yard that establishes a boundary between inside and outside. What establishes the boundary that neither the birds or predators are willing to cross is an electric fence designed for confining and protecting poultry.
A person can make this yard as large or as small as they deem desirable, but the point is, birds do not have to be confined to a run to be protected. They can run around......and the affect is 99% the same as free ranged.......yet they are still protected 24/7. Birds are somewhat fragile and many will still find a way to die......but lost to predators need not be at the top of the list of reasons why.
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