Does anyone else Free Range?

[heartsizedfarm]

Ha! No, should be comma between work and so! Still getting the hang of this. Norfolk county is pretty. Incredible blizzard eh? I'm so envious of the BYC folks from Texas and California!

 

[Quack House]

I cannot believe how much snow we got. Just yesterday I was cutting drainage canals through the 8 inches of ice all around and the water was running of in the cubic tons i'm sure. ... Now all over again .... more huge snow drifts.

But, the kids were zinging around with the snowmobile ~ and the horses were jumping all around in the snow, too. So I guess it's not all bad.

 

[cstronks]

Do a quick search on BYC and you will discover a lot of free-rangers. You hear a lot about enclosed runs because a lot of us have hard winters and/or cannot watch the birds 24/7. I for one do not have a property that could support an all day free range. I would have neighbors bringing back chickens all day. I do free range them in the spring, summer and fall for good portions of the day when I am outside and can watch.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

How's the dig out from your snow Quack house? We got by on that one I guess. I suppose you get lake affect snow when theres any sort of moisture in the air huh? Warming up again tday here to 44ish. It was 20's yesterday. My pathdown to the coop is packed down snow about 18-24 inches deep. Right now my feet are sliding off the sides and I hit that deep snow. Get's to be a work out. started shoveling a path near the grass surface now as mine is difficult to ambulate on. About 1/2 way done....I should finish it just in time for it to all be melted. LOL.

Hope it all melts fast for you!

 

[airport ranch]

We only have five acres, but our chickens had the run of it all during the day; we lost two to a bobcat... then all of a sudden one day they decided to sneak through a hole in the fence and two MORE got snatched by something at the same time - no clue what it was that time... since then we have just fenced off an acre or so and only let them run in that area. It broke my heart to have to do that, but I would rather do that than continue to lose them!

And BTW, I LOVE your coop!!!

 

[NYREDS]

Free ranging can be an awesome way to raise birds. it allows them to be at their most natural in behavior & diet selection. Free ranged birds usually look great!
However, be aware that free range often means free lunch for some preditor. IMO a better alternative is a large enclosed area.

 

[centrarchid]

NOT FREE RANGING TODAY!!!!!!! Thanks again Mother Nature! Yesterday was a balmy plus 10 degrees celcius ... See avatar picture .... Today ... THIS!!!

That could still be called free-range keeping. Birds have access to outdoors, they simply choose to stay out of the elements. When it gets really bad mine will stay in barn for la week and even then fly over snow to land on fence or tree. During winter of 1976 we had birds that would fly between outbuildings; one had roost, another had hog feed and last had heated water through.

 

[in the buff]

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?

 

[in the buff]

Yes I do I open the coop door at 4:45 am before I leave for wk. I do worry about predators before daylight but so far so good.

 

[Hooligans7]

Ours love to free range and can't wait to get "at it" first thing in the morning. Hens visit the nest boxes when they need to, but then go back out until dusk when they put themselves to bed. We've had a dog as long as we've had chickens, and a good dog makes a huge difference for keeping predators away. Currently we have a Mountain Feist, and nothing gets past her or dares to swoop down.
Our chickens don't cross the road either; they stay in the yard and surrounding edges of the woods.