Chickens Allowed to Roam in Yard??

[thesoundd]

silkiechicken -- You write encouraging words!

I've already come to terms with the fact that I will, indeed, need to provide some sort of enclosed run for my chickens that attaches to their coop. However, if I were not able to let them roam the yard for at least a portion of the day, I doubt that I would adopt the chicken hobby. I would feel terrible if I were forced to permanently confine them to a small living quarters. Plus, I believe that half the fun is going to come from watching the chickens explore the yard!

As far as picking a docile bird, it sounds like many people have had luck with the black australorps. Is this a favorite breed?

 

[hoosierhen]

Australorp roos have large combs and wattles, and therefore are more prone to frostbite.

 

[silkiechicken]

Breed/line of bird can make a big difference in how the birds act. But I find most heavy breeds to be pretty calm given lots of attention.

Just test out the free ranging and if they go too far, let them out a bit later. The favorite spot for mine are on in the hay, in the car port, on the porch, and in my garden that is fenced off... everywhere you don't want them to be!!!

 

[ams3651]

i let mine out for a little in the morning or afternoon, when they see me with treats they go back in the run and i close them in. My coop isnt completely done so every morning I find a couple outside, they figured it out so I usually have to leave the run open and wait for them to go back in and close it behind them. Their coop is about 100 feet from the road, even though theres little traffic here i still dont let them roam for more than an hour and I keep eye on them. Oh and if I let them out in the evening, right at 8pm the roo rounds them up and they go in to roost.

 

[maine egg man]

they will stay close to home but you do need to keep them in the coop /run area for a few days
mine range about a acre and a half the half being the nieghbors yard but they don't mind free bug control also they will be getting free eggs, they will come home at dusk almost never fails, they come home I lock them in like clock work they have been coming back sooner the days are getting shorter now, good luck with your flock

 

[JennsPeeps]

I have a fenced back yard but the girls were really good about finding any holes when they were smaller. So far I've had no recent excapes.

You can always FR carefully supervising the chickens, but with winter approaching in a couple of months, your chickens will more likely be spending a lot of time in a small space anyway.

 

[silkiechicken]

I dunno about them staying in a small space in the winter. Year round my birds go as far as they want. Not even snow deters them from heading out:

But of course, winters in the seattle area aren't very harsh so if it is weeks on end of temps in the teens, they may stay in more.

 

[clifonti]

Quote:
I have Australorps, Brahmas, Buff Orpingtons & Americanas. The Brahmas and Orpingtons are the friendliest and love being stroked and held. The Australorps are very shy and would prefer I don't handle them. They stick together and I still have trouble telling them apart at 12 weeks. Chickens personalities change as they grow so who knows - they may in time warm up to my husband and I.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Quote:
I have cochin bantams and they do just fine in MN winters which can get unbearable like NY at times. I keep a heated water bowl in the run which is tarped off to keep snow and wind out and a heat lamp in the coop but know others around here who have nothing more then a windbreak from NW winds and a light bulb in their coops and theirs do just fine. They even have a japanese hen who is outside and does fine but i personally think japanese are tooo delicate for subzero temps. Brahmas are another cold hardy personal favorite.


ETA: my pet chickens website has a list of breeds and info about them as well as how hardy they are temp wise.
www.mypetchicken.com

 

[LilBizzy]

My 4 older chickens have a coop and run. They were locked in the run for a few weeks before we let them out. When we let them out, they always return at dusk and put themselves to bed. ( except for one last week, but shes another story)
They took just a few days before they started wandering in the neighbors yard. They cannot see their coop from the neighbors yard. So yes, they will wander out of sight of their house. Luckily, the neighbor loves them. They have ended up under decks, around fences and inside garages of neighbors.
The little ones are still in the shed and temporary run, and it gets cramped, so we open the door every morning. They too have always put themselves to bed. They wander thru the neighbors yards that the big girls dont hit. We are in the process of making a huge run for the little ones, but will continue to let the older ones out to free range. This is mostly because I don't want to wear out the welcome with the neighbors.
We have 250 feet from coop to road, and I have seen all the chickens wander toward the road, but never closer than 50 feet. The big girls wander through the neighbors yard and do get awful close to the other road at times, but they seem to be smart enough to be afraid of the cars. Besides which, with my acre, the neighbors acre, and the other neighbors half acre... LOL they have enough interesting things to play with.
As for winter.. I guess we'll play it by ear.