Chickens free-ranging near the road.

[Saskia]

I've had my 4 hens for over a year, and they free range sometimes all day. They are not fenced in, and until recently stayed in our small woods in our back yard, and not too far from their coop. In the last couple of months, they have gotten very bold, and ventured to our front yard, and even in the ditch by our mailbox next to the semi-busy road. I've heard chickens don't venture into roads, but not sure I trust that. I don't want to have to build a fence... we have a chicken tractor and it moves all over the place... a fence is impractical. Plus the cost. Any suggestions??

 

[Marcymom3]

They will definitely go on the road! My neighbor has a flock of about a dozen leghorns. They regularly hop over the little chickenwire fence he has and go into his front yard. Their property is on the corner of our quiet dead-end street and a fairly busy road. When the guy across the street from them mows his lawn, the chickens run across the road. They follow his mower eating their fill of the bugs and then they cross back over the street to go home. They almost caused an accident the other day when they were scattered all over the street.

 

[Saskia]

uh-oh... not what I wanted to hear. :-/ will have to come up with a plan...

 

[Tiss]

I've had to stop on rather busy roads before and honk to make the chickens move.

My coop is set back from the road and my chickens don't usually venture up that way, but last winter, a driver struck a deer which died near the road on the property next to mine. It was there for a couple of weeks and my chickens found it irresistible! Whenever I let them out, they would beeline for that deer buffet. I finally got so fed up, that I loaded that nasty dead thing in the wheelbarrow and dumped it next to the coop.

I've not seen the chickens near the road since, but I get a sinking feeling every time I drive home from running errands that they will all be up on the road waiting for me to pull in.

 

[TroutsChicks]

All 16 of my 19 week old chickens went out into the road either following the dog...or maybe she was herding them trying to keep them out. I only knew this cause a truck came to almost to a stop on the road and then went slowly, so i ran up and busted them all! booted chickens and dog out on the road yelling at them the whole time. Its just a country lane that some people fly down but they slow down for animals. If any would have gotten hit...we would have had a chicken dinner sooner!

 

[Saskia]

Well, I think the handwriting is on the wall.... I'm going to clear an area in our woods and put up an inexpensive fence, making it big enough so the chickens will feel 'free' and have access to lots of worms, bugs, ticks, etc. They get so fussy when I don't let them out of the coop. Maybe they'll miss going into our foundation gardens and under the bird feeder, but, then again, not sure they are able to 'miss' things. They are my pets, and eating one of them who had become road kill would be out of the question.... only a proper burial would do for my chicks.

 

[TroutsChicks]

I would put something up, they just get into everything!!

 

[centrarchid]

Try to shift range by providing food in location(s) away from road such as along lawn / woods border. Green to left is woods, grey to right is roadway. Ovals repressent range.

First image of range is approximated now.

Scatter feed by hand daily or make so multiple feeding stations as repressented by triangles.

 

[Saskia]

what a great idea. I'll put out scratch and dried worm treats at woods edge to see if that keeps them in that area.
thanks