Does anyone else Free Range?

[Rockpile99]

A couple things to consider for you new free ranging folks... One was just touched on, is the age of the flock, If you have all youngsters they are much more vulnerable being inexperienced. The other thing is the color. I know I didn't think of that when I added a8 1-2mo old chicks. I not only raise chickens for a colorful egg basket but also their feather color. I wanted some white chicks. I had four white chicks in the temporary housing I was using while in quarantine/introducing them to my current flock. I let them out during the day while I was home. In one day I lost two and lost a third by the end of the week. There were no remains or anything, not even any proof I even had them to begin with. It didn't dawn on me until after the third that it was just the white ones going missing. Duh, the rest were all camouflaged. The white ones may have been wearing big neon signs saying "free meal right here, come and get it!" Even with the realization and being more cautious with the remaining white chick, I still lost it within a month. They would have fared much better if they had an adult with them as I had seen one of my EE Mommas fight off a hawk going after her own babies during that same time period.

 

[Sydney Acres]

A couple things to consider for you new free ranging folks... One was just touched on, is the age of the flock, If you have all youngsters they are much more vulnerable being inexperienced. The other thing is the color. I know I didn't think of that when I added a8 1-2mo old chicks. I not only raise chickens for a colorful egg basket but also their feather color. I wanted some white chicks. I had four white chicks in the temporary housing I was using while in quarantine/introducing them to my current flock. I let them out during the day while I was home. In one day I lost two and lost a third by the end of the week. There were no remains or anything, not even any proof I even had them to begin with. It didn't dawn on me until after the third that it was just the white ones going missing. Duh, the rest were all camouflaged. The white ones may have been wearing big neon signs saying "free meal right here, come and get it!" Even with the realization and being more cautious with the remaining white chick, I still lost it within a month. They would have fared much better if they had an adult with them as I had seen one of my EE Mommas fight off a hawk going after her own babies during that same time period.

That's a really good point. I'm amazed at how well camouflaged some hens are. I have mostly Red Dorkings, Buckeyes, and Speckled Sussex, and they practically disappear in the right background. I've been known to be looking for a hen calling, "Here Invisible Chicken." The Speckled Sussex is my newest breed, and they really blend in. And they're good foragers -- I usually hear them working before I see them. It's a great breed for free ranging because they blend into the background perfectly, both the hens and the roosters, they've got very sweet personalities, they lay lots of eggs in the same place, and the roosters produce a nice carcass (if you cull -- they also produce nice pets, if you don't cull). But there is some variability in the personalities in the hatchery quality birds. My first two roosters were Simon and Garfunkel. Simon was wonderful -- perfect color, nice conformation, respectful to the hens, loved attention from people, jumped on his table to put his head into your armpit to beg to have his neck rubbed, and watchful for hawks. Garfunkel was the devil spawn! He was off color, built like a chunky gamecock, essentially a hen rapist, was very disruptive to the flock, attacked viciously whenever he could sneak up on you, flew at my face whenever he was on a table, but was very watchful for hawks and eagles (and crows and robins and sparrows and airplanes and butterflies). Simon -- he is my foundation rooster for this breed. Garfunkel -- he was delicious, and the flock was so much happier when he was gone.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

A couple things to consider for you new free ranging folks... One was just touched on, is the age of the flock, If you have all youngsters they are much more vulnerable being inexperienced. The other thing is the color. I know I didn't think of that when I added a8 1-2mo old chicks. I not only raise chickens for a colorful egg basket but also their feather color. I wanted some white chicks. I had four white chicks in the temporary housing I was using while in quarantine/introducing them to my current flock. I let them out during the day while I was home. In one day I lost two and lost a third by the end of the week. There were no remains or anything, not even any proof I even had them to begin with. It didn't dawn on me until after the third that it was just the white ones going missing. Duh, the rest were all camouflaged. The white ones may have been wearing big neon signs saying "free meal right here, come and get it!" Even with the realization and being more cautious with the remaining white chick, I still lost it within a month. They would have fared much better if they had an adult with them as I had seen one of my EE Mommas fight off a hawk going after her own babies during that same time period.

You are "dead-on" about the white birds RockPile. I was watching pullets for a friend while he got his winter coop up for two weeks this past fall. In that two weeks' time I had a resident hawk on a branch every morning waiting for those young ones which contained a White Rock, venture out (My crew was already out and free ranging when he would show up--thank goodness-- but it unnerved me he had "found" us and I owe much of that to that White Bird. Lesson learned I will NEVER do white birds for where I live. We got the young flock with the White Rock delivered back to their new home after their vacation here at our house...and since they've been gone...no more visits from aerial predators...well except for that silkie loss. And I don't think that other silkie I have has experience to free range. She's the same age as my other birds but...I think before she came to us she was a penned bird. When the others leave the coop walking down my shoveled paths she just stands in the door frame of the run and cranes her neck to see where they've went...not wanting to leave the safety of the run. She's institutionalized. LOL. I'll maybe work with her this spring bringing her to them when this snow clears. Whenever that may be.

Ricky Racoon scuttled across the main road near my house today as I took the kids to school. So those dang things are waking up from a long winter. ugh. He or She is in for a rude awakening though here in a few hours as we're going to get about 6-8 inches of snow in the next 36 hours.

 

[centrarchid]

I am not so certain coloration is all that important when chickens are walking about in open. Movement is betrays even cryptically colored birds. Roosting / sleeping birds, hen brooding and birds literally hiding and thus being very still will be at an advantage if coloration works with background. During this time of year when ground partially covered by snow, my brooding whitish / grey hens are harder to see than wild-type hens.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I am not so certain coloration is all that important when chickens are walking about in open. Movement is betrays even cryptically colored birds. Roosting / sleeping birds, hen brooding and birds literally hiding and thus being very still will be at an advantage if coloration works with background. During this time of year when ground partially covered by snow, my brooding whitish / grey hens are harder to see than wild-type hens.

I would both agree and disagree. If a predator is focused on an area, movement will be seen regardless of camouflage. However, a casually scanning predator could easily miss well-camouflaged movement, but it isn't going to miss a color that obviously contrasts with the environmental background. Other than in the snow, a white bird is a great big "here I am" sign, and actively draws in the focus of the predator. There's a reason that advertisers use contrasting colors to draw in your attention, and the military uses camo clothing to hide in plain sight. There's a reason certain color patterns survive in nature and others don't, and a lot of it is predator pressure driving natural selection. If you survive, you have a chance to reproduce. If you're eaten, your color phenotype dies off with you. There are even certain species of birds and mammals that molt/shed out twice yearly to take advantage of this principle, wearing white in the winter snow, then returning to their wild type coloration when the snow melts.

 

[Rockpile99]

I would both agree and disagree. If a predator is focused on an area, movement will be seen regardless of camouflage. However, a casually scanning predator could easily miss well-camouflaged movement, but it isn't going to miss a color that obviously contrasts with the environmental background. Other than in the snow, a white bird is a great big "here I am" sign, and actively draws in the focus of the predator. There's a reason that advertisers use contrasting colors to draw in your attention, and the military uses camo clothing to hide in plain sight. There's a reason certain color patterns survive in nature and others don't, and a lot of it is predator pressure driving natural selection. If you survive, you have a chance to reproduce. If you're eaten, your color phenotype dies off with you. There are even certain species of birds and mammals that molt/shed out twice yearly to take advantage of this principle, wearing white in the winter snow, then returning to their wild type coloration when the snow melts.

That was my point exactly. I don't deny that we had hawks before, we did, I saw them almost on a daily basis, but I hadn't lost any other birds to them. And if color didn't play a role in the hunting of the young chicks then why were the white ones the only ones that disappeared?

Not having white chickens won't preclude you from having predator issues, but from my experience having white chickens in a free ranging flock is an open invitation for the predators to come check out your tasty treats. I still want white chickens but they'll have to wait until I get them a gigantic pen to stay safe in; or until I move to Greenland! LOL

 

[Bogtown Chick]

White Rocks would be okay for me in one season. Winter. LOL. But they'd want to stay in a covered run during that time anyways.

I have seen proof they do not work for me spring, summer, fall. Hawks will always be around detecting movement. yes. But when I looked out my window during that time that white rock was here my eye drew to her like a target. Very easy to see. My vision is nowhere close to what a Hawk can see. I won't get a white bird.

 

[aslbow]

Absolutely right. We had 6 young birds last spring and two of them were white Bard Rocks. They disappeared over one day. We have never lost any others to predators. We have a donkey in the crew this year so we hope that it helps with our sheep and chickens in the pasture. We also have speckled Sussex hens and roosters, and they DO camouflage in the brush and woods. I am worried about our turkey hen now. She is about a year old and pure white. That's a BIG meal walking around. Although she never gets very far away from her tom who is a Bronze breasted heritage and weighs 40 lbs! We have two very good roosters who are speckled Sussex, father and son. Great looking boys who take good care of their respective hens. The son was one of the young'ins last spring. His harem is the rest of last years crop. We have a hen sitting on 9 eggs in a crate upstairs in our log cabin. They should begin hatching today or at least this week. She is a good momma as she did well with last years babies. These babies will eventually be the sons hens as well. That gives both boys 9 or 10 hens apiece. We do a lot of baking, bread and such, and use many eggs. We also sell them to our friends up and down the mountain on our dirt road. Our barn is new last fall and houses the sheep(5) and the chickens (12) except the one upstairs in our cabin, and both turkeys as well as Ajax our new(last week) miniature donkey. I will add to the barn in the spring a new. larger double coop with separated areas for both boys and their girls, and a shady roofed in area for the four legged ones to lounge out of doors. I also am planning to build a side by side double coop for the ducks and the turkeys to get the turkeys out of the barn permanently. They are very smelly!
in addition to all of that I will clear two more acres of pasture. Busy year ahead!

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

I have 14 that of course love to free range. But after a rough winter of many hawks, one attack....no losses....some of them are paranoid to be out for too long. The main flock has a large run, 30'x32'...fenced and covered with bird netting. I have seen hawk damage to the bird netting, but none got through. They seem to feel safe in the run. When they do get to free range, on our 1 acre....we have the hawks and the many neighborhood dogs. We have lost to dogs before.

The main flock, of 10...I keep 2 older roosters for protection. They are very good roosters....and both work jointly to protect their 7 hens. The head roo even tells me when he wants to put them back into the run. I have to sit out with them, since the hawk attack.

Their run cover was brought down in the ice and snow storms of February this year. They had 2 weeks of no run access. I had to let them out the people door to free range 3 hours a day. They were not happy about it either. After 2 weeks of that, we finally were able to get the netting repaired and rehung. Now they are back to free range when I can sit outside for 2 or 3 hours.
When they are out, they never go any further than they can see the run. And I have trained them to stay in the back of the acre, as the dogs are all across the street. Most of the time, the birds stay in back. Sometimes, I have to remind them to get back to the back.

They are so much happier and content when they get to chase their bugs and eat grass. And of course, fight over the rare frog or lizard they find.

The rest of the flock is 2 chicken tractors of breeding pairs. I have to let them out separate as the 2 roosters will fight. But the 2 roos and cockerel in the main flock have their pecking order all sorted out. The head roo...chases the 2nd roo.....and the 2nd roo.....chases the cockerel! The cockerel knows he is not allowed to crow, or mate, and know to eat last and go to bed last. They have him well trained.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I am worried about our turkey hen now. She is about a year old and pure white. That's a BIG meal walking around. Although she never gets very far away from her tom who is a Bronze breasted heritage and weighs 40 lbs! We have two very good roosters who are speckled Sussex, father and son.

I need to look into these speckled sussex! They've been off my radar for birds. I'll have room possibly for 3 new birds this year...and was thinking a barred variety, a welly and GLW, or maybe some buckeyes. But I do like the look of the speckled sussex too! Too many drool worthy breeds out there.

For the Wild Eastern turkey their most successful predator is the great horned owl. I think size does help your turkey and what will take it on. What your turkey is doing possibly though if it hangs with the chickens is drawing a predator eye to the chooks. That's her down side... Oh it would neat to have a turkey or two around here but I don't think they'd work with us. We had a chicken get blackhead last summer. Low swampy --lots of earthworms around here that the birds pick up.