We originally fenced in that area to be a dog run, but our Golden Retriever has grown out of her digging habits, so it fell to disuse. It made for a perfect fit for a chicken yard.
Regarding 'free ranging', while I was constructing the coop and our 5 chicks were getting crowded in their brooder box, I would let them roam about the yard - at that age, they could easily get through the wire fencing in the chicken yard. I was amazed at how quickly they would trash our plants and flower beds - our rhubarb was decimated (between the chicks and the few hail storms we had this spring). Once we saw just how destructive they could be, we decided to limit them to their secure run and the chicken yard. Now that they've plumped up a bit, they can't squeeze though the chicken yard fencing and they seem very content foraging under the raspberries, in the compost, and other various weeds and such they have access to. I intend on cleaning up their yard a bit and planting something more interesting for them to forage, but for now, I think they're happy.
Regarding birds of prey, we have lots of red tail hawks and other large raptors in the area (I usually see one or two big owls a summer) and we have bald eagles on the south end of town - haven't seen any near my house. I usually try and keep an eye to the sky when the chickens are in their yard and I never leave them out when we're not home. If we started losing hens to hawks, I'd consider installing some netting, but at this point I have no intention to do so...
I'm still a newbie at this and hope our chickens are happy and safe. It would be a major downer to lose some/all our birds before getting one egg. Our chickens will be 20 weeks on or around Labor Day...
Regarding 'free ranging', while I was constructing the coop and our 5 chicks were getting crowded in their brooder box, I would let them roam about the yard - at that age, they could easily get through the wire fencing in the chicken yard. I was amazed at how quickly they would trash our plants and flower beds - our rhubarb was decimated (between the chicks and the few hail storms we had this spring). Once we saw just how destructive they could be, we decided to limit them to their secure run and the chicken yard. Now that they've plumped up a bit, they can't squeeze though the chicken yard fencing and they seem very content foraging under the raspberries, in the compost, and other various weeds and such they have access to. I intend on cleaning up their yard a bit and planting something more interesting for them to forage, but for now, I think they're happy.
Regarding birds of prey, we have lots of red tail hawks and other large raptors in the area (I usually see one or two big owls a summer) and we have bald eagles on the south end of town - haven't seen any near my house. I usually try and keep an eye to the sky when the chickens are in their yard and I never leave them out when we're not home. If we started losing hens to hawks, I'd consider installing some netting, but at this point I have no intention to do so...
I'm still a newbie at this and hope our chickens are happy and safe. It would be a major downer to lose some/all our birds before getting one egg. Our chickens will be 20 weeks on or around Labor Day...
