Can 2 separate flocks free range together?

[FarmFamilyof4]

Hello all. This is my first post.

We have 9 laying hens and 1 rooster. We allow them to free range our 2+ acre property spring-fall. We live in farm country and they occasionally venture into the fields as well.

We plan to get 60 freedom ranger meat birds this spring. They will be kept in a separate coop around 230 feet away from our laying hens. This area has no fence and we're not planning to add one for the mere 12+ weeks that we'll have these birds. Our plan is let them free range if they wish.

Will we have an issue with both flocks free ranging the same property simultaneously? Can we expect vicious fights? Our hens and rooster rarely venture to that side of the property, but I'm concerned that they'll head that way more frequently once they see other chickens.

2nd related question: After we butcher the meat birds, we're planning to put 10 turkeys on the same side of our property that the meat birds had been (probably in different housing). We'll have the same free ranging situation. Do chickens and turkeys free range well together?

Thank you for all your wonderful expertise! Reading these forums have been very helpful to us since we started raising chickens a couple years ago.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

After we butcher the meat birds, we're planning to put 10 turkeys on the same side of our property that the meat birds had been (probably in different housing). We'll have the same free ranging situation. Do chickens and turkeys free range well together?

Yes and NO.. turkeys are vicious and focused once they get something in their head. All are individual.. My friends turkeys killed several of her chickens and have cornered and beat up her Chihuahua pretty badly, noting the Wawa, was asking for it!

Good luck keeping turkeys on your property without enclosing them.. even on two acres.. your mileage may vary, and training most species is awfully helpful since we are ALL creatures of habit. Maybe your outer fields won't have as much as issue as neighbors often do! Beyond my fences is predator domain.. and for that reason alone is why I keep ALL birds on my side of the fence.. I cannot afford to feed the local wildlife or provide chew toys for the domestic predators.

Depending on your location and time of year.. early spring, hawk migration is when I see the most losses in JUVENILE birds. Usually I accept the risk.. and lost nothing for the first 7 years or so. Since then I usually loose at least 2-3 juveniles each spring.. Hit's start coming daily, I go on lock up for a couple weeks until hawks realize there's not an open buffet here and move on.. plus more stuff is being born as spring progresses offering them more choice than my "early" babies.

Check with your local agriculture department if Black Head.. is of concern in YOUR area.. and treat your chickens to prevent it in your turkeys IF needed.. It's not an issue on my sandy soil with lots of rain in the PNW.. but soil type, weather conditions, stock density, and many other things can impact YOUR conditions.

I would personally add in at least a portable E fence.. to protect my rangers.. everything under the sun likes free chicken dinner. Oh but I realize you meant DAY time. Still it could be easily sat up and removed seasonally as needed with minimal effort and not TOO much cost as compared to actual fencing.

Vicious fight will NOT happen before 12 weeks of age... regarding "roosters", the youngsters aren't THAT hormonal and stupid YET to try and stand their ground to a dominant cock like they will each other. If the elder flock finds the youngsters.. they may eat their feed, chase them around a bit to set some dominance.. the rowdy young cocks IF feeling any frisk *may* TRY to sneak a mount of an unsuspecting elder fertile hen.

The elders in my flock like to chase off any youngsters and enjoy the space I set up for them. The sheer number of rangers though *should* spread the pecking and focus out enough to prevent serious issue.

For the most part, youngsters learn quickly to avoid the big's.. and then on my (1 acre) they move throughout different locations at different times.. mostly NOT intermingling.. if the big's come the little's leave..

However, size of group sometimes impacts how far they venture and such..

I have zero experience with rangers as a breed and also not with raising that many chicks at one time. The larger groups I have raised often divide into smaller tribes.. Usual harvest age for me is not before 16 weeks but sometimes 30.. less hormonal birds are WAY easier.. noting I've had some crow as young as 3 weeks and mount not much after that!

Since I raise heritage birds (no ranger experience) which are always mating age at time of harvest.. I have a permanent stag pen/bachelor pad.. where all the grow out boys go to mature and horse around with each other. Get harvested at MY convenience (time, freezer space) and according to their antics demanding it.. more so than "size". Pin feather status is ALWAYS a consideration for age of harvest and varies by breed, and sometimes individual.. Pin feathers are the WORST for plucking.. and THIS is when pin color plays a role to how well your carcass will dress.

Might you consider hatching and raising your own chicks.. in smaller batches.. instead of buying from big chicken? Why keep a rooster with your ladies if not hatching? I know plenty of reasons why, just making conversation!

Sorry for my disorganization.. it's frustrating trying to keep it all together.

 

[FarmFamilyof4]

Wow, so much wonderful information! Thank you!

I'll look into Blackhead for our area. I've heard of its problems with Turkeys, which is why we're probably going to house them in a separate building, but of course, they'd be in the same free range space as chickens, so I'd better check.

Thanks for the tip on the temporary fencing. I hadn't thought of that. We haven't had a huge predator issue with our chickens so far, even with free ranging. They are, of course, shut up at night, as will be the meat birds and turkeys as well. In two years, we've only lost 1 hen to a hawk. But I'll certainly take a look at that as well.

As for why we keep a rooster, there are two reasons. #1: predator protection for our hens. #2: the farmer's daughter in me loves to hear roosters crowing on our farm. It brings me silly joy That said, we have discussed hatching our own chicks. We don't have an incubator, though, so we'd have to rely one of our hens going broody, which I gather is unusual with sex link chickens, and that's what we have. I'll need to do some research in this area, I suppose.

Thank you so much for all the great information to think about!!

 

[Chickassan]

Sure, but everytime I try it it ends up just one big flock.

 

[Mrs. K]

I too am going to suggest not doing 60 meat birds all at once. It is a huge job, and will require a lot of space in the freezer all at the same time. To each there own way of doing things, but I have found that I like doing a dozen at a time. And even that, I stagger the butchering, but I am the only one that does it. So that works best for me.

My cornish cross meat birds, are very easy to catch, they are slow moving, and kind of dumb. I keep them locked up, unless I am RIGHT THERE, as all predators would love to snitch one or more of them away.

I don't have any advice on turkeys, but have had several friends say they take quite a bit of experience. Some times it can go very wrong. Might be better to start out smaller and see how it goes.

I would want fencing of some kind around them, to keep them away from the layers' feed.

Mrs K

 

[MissE]

I would put some kind of fence to keep them separated. Electric poultry fencing works well and can be moved and stored easily. I had rangers and pulleys that had just started laying last year. Every time a ranger would sneak in to where the girls were, it learned the hard way what a bad idea it was. I had poultry netting around the whole area and a 3 ft fence dividing the two groups. Every now and then someone would fly over the divider. They never tried to fly over the electric fence though.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They never tried to fly over the electric fence though.

While most do learn quickly to avoid E fencing.. keeping a stag pen with boys that go through the changes.. there are a couple of exceptions..

Some can learn that going directly over without being grounded is no different than any other fence... a single wing clipping allowed him to still get over a 4 ft fence. Close bilateral clipping removed enough boost from the large fowl to stay on his side of the 4 ft fence. One wing clipped reduces how far they go in a straight line. Both wings removes the boost best.. they still hop pretty good... in my experience. Noting out of several hundred birds I've only ever had to clip 3 or 4 ring leaders and only their first season before they had accepted their boundaries/limitations.

The other time is when a dominant is chasing a subordinate.. and the e fence is the lesser of the threats.. then they may do a panicked flapping and leap and accidentally make it over.. often not realizing how, they just get put back in their pen when discovered. ON occasion one will figure out how he accidentally got there and attempt to repeat it.

We don't have an incubator, though, so we'd have to rely one of our hens going broody, which I gather is unusual with sex link chickens,

Incubators are cheap.. the farmers' daughter MUST want to hatch some chicks!

Sex links can and do go broody.. they just aren't AS likely as some other breeds.. but it does happen ALL the time! Hens can even crow and grow spurs or mount other ladies. Roosters can sing a bit of an egg song when startled or joining in with the ladies.

Sex links aren't known for their longevity though and known to be prone to reproductive issues. They *tend* (there's exceptions) to live fast and hard.. consider putting them in the soup pot or a casserole when the time comes (this fall before molt) and picking another breed to start with (this spring now, and laying by fall/winter, ready to hatch following spring).. or slowly adding in a breed you might be interested in hatching from?? My first incubator was a Hova bator 1602N delivered for $75. Basic, simple, VERY effective! There are smaller automated ones for the same price or less.. one example..

https://smile.amazon.com/ESTINL-Inc...d=1&keywords=incubator&qid=1611684337&sr=8-19

The Bielefelder were a little slow to lay but dressed well at a young age (16 weeks, no excessive mating attempts or separation needed before harvest). You could sell extra female chicks at hatch to cover cost of raising the boys. Wyandotte are fantastic table/yard birds. Rocks have been great moms.. and brood circles around Silkies ALL day long BUT not excessively so. Barred ladies of any breed can be used to make your own sex linked chicks. I can go on and on because the birds are so fascinating to me.. But mostly I just hope you have a fantastic adventure WHILE feeding your family. It's super rewarding in sooo many ways!

 

[FarmFamilyof4]

Thanks for everyone's input! You've given me so much to consider.

Looks like we should definitely look into some sort of fencing.

We'll also consider doing a couple smaller batches of meat birds, rather than one larger batch. We raise approximately 30,000 hogs each year (without hiring any help), so 60 birds didn't seem like much...but we also send the hogs to a packing plant for slaughter, so I can see where butchering 60 birds at once by ourselves could be a lot. We do have the freezer space for it, though.

My first incubator was a Hova bator 1602N delivered for $75.

Thanks for this incubator info! I'd love to hatch some of our own.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Thanks for everyone's input! You've given me so much to consider.

Looks like we should definitely look into some sort of fencing.

We'll also consider doing a couple smaller batches of meat birds, rather than one larger batch. We raise approximately 30,000 hogs each year (without hiring any help), so 60 birds didn't seem like much...but we also send the hogs to a packing plant for slaughter, so I can see where butchering 60 birds at once by ourselves could be a lot. We do have the freezer space for it, though.



Thanks for this incubator info! I'd love to hatch some of our own.

If you do that many hogs you can do 60 meat birds. I did 100 this year. I split them up into 4 meat tractors with nipple waterer systems. We got our chores down to 20 mins twice a day; move to fresh grass and feed. harvest was split up to about 20 birds each time for two adults and a young teen.

20 is also a fridge full for aging.