Does anyone else Free Range?

[ClukClukChickee]

I love our 6 free range chicks! My husband lets them out at day break and they go in on their own at dusk. We lock the door after they are in to keep predators out. They will lay in the nest boxes in the coop and one likes our goat barn. The goats don't mind. We get about 3-4 eggs per day. We give them a treat in the morning and early evening. Warm cooked steel cut oats on cold days or cold greek yogurt on warm/hot days. They come running/flying when I call them. They might make a mess on our porch but it gets hosed off daily. I like that they are scratching for scorpions and such. If the weather gets realy bad, they will stay on our covered porch or garage. They enjoy hanging out with our goats!

 

[aslbow]

tHANKS FOR THE TIP, we are going to get some of those covers today!

 

[Searsmom]

my one is out all the time apart from when there is bad wheather I live in new zealand and I have no problems

What kind of predators do you have?

 

[judepardee]

My hens love to be outside even in the cold. If there is snow on the ground they congregate on the porch and make a mess there. As others have said, they put themselves to roost in their henhouse when the sun goes down. I leave the door open all day and they enter the coop to lay in their egg boxes. I have five hens since July 2011 with none lost (yet) to predators. A hawk struck one when she was following me as I watered outside, but it was a small hawk (Cooper's?) and apparently couldn't grip or raise the hen. When I heard something and turned around the hawk was rising and the hen was on the ground, freaked out but uninjured.

 

[ClukClukChickee]

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What kind of predators do you have?
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What kind of predators do you have?

In the evenings raccoons. By day, I have seen hawks at a distance and haven't really seen them too close to our property. We are outdoors quite a bit, perhaps this help. By the way, we don't keep roosters.

 

[Sydney Acres]

My hens love to be outside even in the cold. If there is snow on the ground they congregate on the porch and make a mess there. As others have said, they put themselves to roost in their henhouse when the sun goes down. I leave the door open all day and they enter the coop to lay in their egg boxes. I have five hens since July 2011 with none lost (yet) to predators. A hawk struck one when she was following me as I watered outside, but it was a small hawk (Cooper's?) and apparently couldn't grip or raise the hen. When I heard something and turned around the hawk was rising and the hen was on the ground, freaked out but uninjured.

Sooo lucky!!!

 

[TnTom]

Nothing pains me worse than indiscriminate killing of wildlife up to and including predators. They are all part of the eco system and I go out of the way to accommodate pesky possums, coon and any of the rest. Im not saying I wont shoot them but if they are only stealing cat food and not trying to get into the coop at night or the likes of I'll live trap them and carry them a few miles out and release them.

Any threat now even minor will be crossing the red line and I will use comprehensive "negotiations" to resolve the problem at hand probably 00 or #4 shot .

 

[coop410silkies]

I free range although during winter all but six are confined. Consider making available patches of dense cover well away from property boundary. This will help keep them in a predictable foraging pattern making easier to monitor them. It also keeps them away from property boundary beyond which your dog's provide no help.

Great reminder.

 

[coop410silkies]

I've seen and read a lot on here about coups and runs, but very little about free ranging. Mine are all out during the day and they head to the coup at night.

Does anyone else do this?

Quack House, I live in northern Colorado along the eastern slope of the Rockies, and my flock of 20 free range about an acre of fenced in field. Their coop gets opened in the morning, and they return to roost at dusk, like clockwork, when I close their door. My first attempt at raising a flock was devoured by coyotes; I had not taken enough time to acclimate the chicks to the coop and their new coop mates (it takes more than just a few days). We have hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, coyotes, and fox here, but none have done as much damage as my incorrigible dog. Even so, I believe she might serve as some sort of a deterrent to predators. I also post Night Eyes about the coop. My flock is a happy flock; they don't peck, squabble, or get sick - and most of them love to get out of the coop in even the most foul of weather. They visit their nest boxes throughout the day to lay their eggs, and I free feed them layer pellets from a feeder hung in the coop. They like to hang out around my two old sheep and in the sheep's loafing shed. I feed them MANY scraps everyday, and they are friendly and comfortable around people. It is my belief that they eat less feed, are more exercised, and are healthier, both physically and psychologically, when they are allowed to free range. Be flexible with your landscaping.

 

[aslbow]

Exactly. We do the same things and ours are easy to pick up and tote around and they don't get sick either. I am actually going to build a retirement coop this summer for our old girls!