Distance chickens will range away from coop?

[Bullitt]

I can't confine my birds using electrified fencing but can still keep them on a three acre patch if enough food, water and cover are centrally located on area they are desired to range in.

You call that a patch? That is a pretty good sized area. What type of chickens do you have? Why can't you confine them with an electric fence?

I am sure the breeds that are closer to wild breeds, such as jungle fowl, probably free range a greater distance. Leghorns are a little more wild than a lot of breeds and can free range most of their food. The heavier breeds, as mentioned, seem to stay closer to the coop.

 

[centrarchid]

Birds in question are American Games and they can fly over any fence I can afford. American dominiques and an experimental clock representing a selected cross is also present. The games are very good foragers and could feed themselves without my efforts for much of year. For them to do so they would spread out a lot more. It is not out of character for the games to range 1/4 mile if they have to scrounge up their own eats. Allowing such would make predator management more difficult and get some neighbors upset. The dominiques range much less but will do better when mixed in with w flock of games. I want them to all to get a big portion of their needs by foraging and have another 6 acres or so planned for their use but cover and roost sites must be in appropriate locations to ensure they want get over harvested by wildlife. I have dogs that help a lot but chickens scattered out in multiple flocks are tough to protect.

 

[Bullitt]

Birds in question are American Games and they can fly over any fence I can afford. American dominiques and an experimental clock representing a selected cross is also present. The games are very good foragers and could feed themselves without my efforts for much of year. For them to do so they would spread out a lot more. It is not out of character for the games to range 1/4 mile if they have to scrounge up their own eats. Allowing such would make predator management more difficult and get some neighbors upset. The dominiques range much less but will do better when mixed in with w flock of games. I want them to all to get a big portion of their needs by foraging and have another 6 acres or so planned for their use but cover and roost sites must be in appropriate locations to ensure they want get over harvested by wildlife. I have dogs that help a lot but chickens scattered out in multiple flocks are tough to protect.

It seems you really are free ranging your chickens. I know that the Dominiques are a little lighter than most dual-purpose breeds, and that breed used to be very popular on family farms because they can forage for much of their food, fly into trees, produce their own offspring, and they are good egg-layers. The Dominique has that nickname "America's first chicken breed."

Are you crossing the games with Dominiques for the experimental flock you mentioned?

 

[centrarchid]

It seems you really are free ranging your chickens. I know that the Dominiques are a little lighter than most dual-purpose breeds, and that breed used to be very popular on family farms because they can forage for much of their food, fly into trees, produce their own offspring, and they are good egg-layers. The Dominique has that nickname "America's first chicken breed."

Are you crossing the games with Dominiques for the experimental flock you mentioned?

American Dominiques may have free-range advantages on the larger breeds but they are having a tough time as juveniles against Mr. Fox. When I have a mixed flock represented by roughly equal numbers of American Doms, American Games, and birds of my experimental project; virtually all doms are lost before half the crosses and the first game is lost. The crosses are nearly as large as doms and fly a little better but simply do a better job of getting into safety of trees. The pure doms just run about or make short flights that end up with bird back down in danger. This something I am selecting and appear to making head. My dogs are used as part of selective process.

The cross started with about 2 parts American Dom, 1 part American Game and 1 part California Grey. Type got clobbered by crossing but is being restored. Give me another 20 years and type will be up to snuff with SOP. For fun and due to genetics of true dom being brought to fore by segregation, I will be allowing black without barred birds to persist in breeding program.

 

[Bullitt]

American Dominiques may have free-range advantages on the larger breeds but they are having a tough time as juveniles against Mr. Fox. When I have a mixed flock represented by roughly equal numbers of American Doms, American Games, and birds of my experimental project; virtually all doms are lost before half the crosses and the first game is lost. The crosses are nearly as large as doms and fly a little better but simply do a better job of getting into safety of trees. The pure doms just run about or make short flights that end up with bird back down in danger. This something I am selecting and appear to making head. My dogs are used as part of selective process.

The cross started with about 2 parts American Dom, 1 part American Game and 1 part California Grey. Type got clobbered by crossing but is being restored. Give me another 20 years and type will be up to snuff with SOP. For fun and due to genetics of true dom being brought to fore by segregation, I will be allowing black without barred birds to persist in breeding program.

Wow, you have a long process planned.

You use dogs? I am guessing you have your dog run at the chickens and you select the ones smart enough to fly into a tree for breeding, right?

 

[centrarchid]

The dogs go bowling regularly through flocks of juveniles as dogs run about doing their business. I look for birds that consistently fly strongly and into trees or other elevated locations. I also like to see birds that fly up into trees as part of play. Birds are easily distinguishable based on appearance at this time and birds with best escape response also in general have longer feather in tail for a give stage of development. I guessed in beginning that feathers would be character changed through selection and this appears to be born out by testing. Problem is that birds with more functional flight feathers lack crisp barring desired for dominiques. A gene coming from games may help with this to a degree.

 

[houseofknauss]

well, I have Sussex, rir, barred rock and leghorn mixes that range about 3 to 4 acres between the pond, house and lower field.

 

[Bullitt]

well, I have Sussex, rir, barred rock and leghorn mixes that range about 3 to 4 acres between the pond, house and lower field.

It is starting to seem that 3 or 4 acres is the area that a flock covers when they are let out of the coop and allowed to free range as much area as they like.

My grandfather had a flock of Rhode Island Reds on his 1-acre property. He would allow them to free range sometimes, and the chickens always remained on his land. I do not know why the flock did not leave his property.

 

[centrarchid]

A small number of birds fed a good quality diet in a location with good cover surrounded by area lacking cover can all work together to keep flock in tight 1-acre area.

 

[Bullitt]

It must have been feeding them well that kept them close. Because next to my grandfather's property was a plum orchard. You would think that would provide pretty good cover.