Agree - I'd like to know what you decide.Please update us as to how it turns out!
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Agree - I'd like to know what you decide.Please update us as to how it turns out!
maybe...but....One side sees them as pets that each have a different and unique personality that should be cherished and preserved. The other sees them as livestock that have a purpose and can tolerate. I'm in the middle. I have never seen feather picking or any stress-associated behavior in my flock. Maybe a pecked comb here and there but I wouldn't call that unusual since my dominant hen can be a real B with the bit of RIR in her.
@Living_Legend , not trying to be bossy or anything but I noticed you said dominiques are in your mix. They don't get very big at all and they absolutely looove to forage so you might want to bump up your ranging time as much as possible for those busy bodies.
I own 5 acres surrounded by 50 acres of woods. I am basically having the equivalent of a daycare inside of a prison. I have every predator known to man completely surrounding me. I feel like they can only free range when i am there and only free range in a controlled area i created that is fenced in and will have netting over top of it.
I personally see hawks, deer, groundhogs, skunks, foxes every single day... I hear the coyotes at night.
I hear ya, just giving you a heads up you've got some wall bouncers in your mix.
This ^. It's better to have more space than not enough, whether your chickens are seen as pets or livestock.maybe...but....
I see my chickens as livestock, not pets. I butcher them myself, eat tgem, rah, rah. BUT, I greatly prefer large square feet per bird because then it is SO MUCH LESS WORK!!!
If the birds are crowded and a nasty behavior starts it is VERY difficult to get the bad behavior to stop. Nightmare. I want less work and productive chickens and that is why I am such an advocate of more space. You can also go WAY longer between coop cleanings.
Something to consider would be an area fenced with electric wire or netting. Won't stop the hawks, but it could help with ground predators.I own 5 acres surrounded by 50 acres of woods. I am basically having the equivalent of a daycare inside of a prison. I have every predator known to man completely surrounding me. I feel like they can only free range when i am there and only free range in a controlled area i created that is fenced in and will have netting over top of it.
I personally see hawks, deer, groundhogs, skunks, foxes every single day... I hear the coyotes at night.