Does anyone else Free Range?

[GrammyKati]

[I also free range and my 3 chickens rule the yard. I have even seen them sharing wet cat food with the 2 cats and the hens push the cats around. We have many bushes around the fence line in our 1 acre yard. They also get along with our Pug.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

I've free raged from the start. I had a 3 hen coop, letting them out in the daytime, but no longer. Aside from frozen Combs THIS last winter, HARD winter, they do well, seem to really love wandering all over. Like original post, I have loose dogs. Had to tie some victims around his neck but he's got it through his But, 'I'm Starved, MOM!" head now. Like other posters, Air Predators have been the only I have seen. I have heard coyotes within 2 acres of here however my Dogs seem to keep them at bay?
I may need to post this somewhere else,

but question; In the warmer months, my Plymouths, 2-3 yrs old, find other places to lay aside from the hay lines kitty carrier box they usually lay in. Summer of last year, I brought home a Rooster. NOW, I am not finding the eggs in their usual spots. Hiking around, KNOW MY DR TOLD THEM TO DO THIS so I exercise

Should I let them be? Give it enough time to see if chicks wander out before hiking with egg box in hand? One Plymouth seems to be away or missing more from the foraging others. Another thing, they usually roost in a tree very close to the Cabin's back porch. Now, only one Plymouth sets there, the rest, roost on the boxes of kindling on the back porch. They DO roost there during winter ….but NOW?
I REALLY appreciate the posts at this site. I am much more laid back about things than some folks in my area so it is REALLY nice to find others that are the same!!

 

[Hooligans7]

"... In the warmer months, my Plymouths, 2-3 yrs old, find other places to lay aside from the hay lines kitty carrier box they usually lay in. Summer of last year, I brought home a Rooster. NOW, I am not finding the eggs in their usual spots."

We have five hens and a rooster, and ever since one hen went broody and one chick hatched, the others had been laying in places other than the nesting boxes — and I couldn't find those places. Mama hen would run them off even if they wanted to use a spare nesting box. Unfortunately the chick died at 8 days old and the hen is no longer broody. Three out of five hens lay in the boxes again, but two are still laying elsewhere, such as a covered cat litter box that the cats don't use.

Three days ago I accidentally knocked over a plastic trash can that was backed up to a sheet of plywood. When I went to stand it back up, I found 10 eggs! I couldn't believe my eyes, but there they were. That's where most of the hens were laying during those 8 days. So, as there was nothing wrong with the eggs and no one was sitting on them, I picked them up and put them in an egg carton.

Good luck with your egg hunt!

 

[Sydney Acres]

I've free raged from the start. I had a 3 hen coop, letting them out in the daytime, but no longer. Aside from frozen Combs THIS last winter, HARD winter, they do well, seem to really love wandering all over. Like original post, I have loose dogs. Had to tie some victims around his neck but he's got it through his But, 'I'm Starved, MOM!" head now. Like other posters, Air Predators have been the only I have seen. I have heard coyotes within 2 acres of here however my Dogs seem to keep them at bay?
I may need to post this somewhere else,

but question; In the warmer months, my Plymouths, 2-3 yrs old, find other places to lay aside from the hay lines kitty carrier box they usually lay in. Summer of last year, I brought home a Rooster. NOW, I am not finding the eggs in their usual spots. Hiking around, KNOW MY DR TOLD THEM TO DO THIS so I exercise

Should I let them be? Give it enough time to see if chicks wander out before hiking with egg box in hand? One Plymouth seems to be away or missing more from the foraging others. Another thing, they usually roost in a tree very close to the Cabin's back porch. Now, only one Plymouth sets there, the rest, roost on the boxes of kindling on the back porch. They DO roost there during winter ….but NOW?
I REALLY appreciate the posts at this site. I am much more laid back about things than some folks in my area so it is REALLY nice to find others that are the same!!

If you want chicks and the area that they range in is safe, then I'd just let them be. On the other hand, if you don't want chicks I'd look for the nest and take most of the eggs. If you take them all, most hens will just move the nest. On the other hand, if you leave 1-3 eggs in the nest, then they assume the nest is safe and they stay laying in that area for a while. That doesn't mean that they never switch nesting areas, but they do move less. You can leave some ceramic eggs in the nest, or you can mark throw away eggs that you leave in for 2-3 weeks, or you can rotate eggs. If you rotate eggs, you need to mark which ones you leave in with the date it's laid, then pull that egg in 2-3 days, leaving fresher eggs in their place. It'll still be a good egg to use, since it's only been out less than a week (note: do not wash the egg before leaving it out -- the natural coating on the egg acts as a sealant and keeps bacteria out, which is why the egg will still be good without refrigeration).

As long as there's nothing in the tree that's scaring them off, I wouldn't worry about them changing their roosting site. Sometimes the dominant bird just decides to make a change, and the rest follow.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

I looked around some today again although not far, in shorts. Nothing.
At least 2 of the hens haven't given me eggs, in the usual spot, in more than a week, so spotting and marking the younger ones won't work in THIS CIRCUMSTANCE. Will remember THAT trick though. Thanks for the tip on the nesting spot being safe also. I have traipsed through those bushes before, finding and taking ALL eggs. Will search some more, although if I am close to BUYING eggs, will take my weed wacker to those high bushes!! Hope to get chicks since may starve waiting for them!!!

More hens, better Odds for at least an egg a day…?

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

GREAT NEWS!

The missing Plymouth showed up and although I am not REAL SAVVY ON BEHAVIORS, she's got something going on. Feathers ruffled out, Strutting around like she owns the place, Picking here and there @ food. I read on another forum to give her her own food, water. I am fearful if I start plowing around I'll find the nest, upset her. It's her first time and Lordy knows with a bantam Roo if all her trouble is for nil…..Any help from those free range? Will pop over to other forums but HOPE not ' condemned for Free range...

 

[Sydney Acres]

GREAT NEWS!

The missing Plymouth showed up and although I am not REAL SAVVY ON BEHAVIORS, she's got something going on. Feathers ruffled out, Strutting around like she owns the place, Picking here and there @ food. I read on another forum to give her her own food, water. I am fearful if I start plowing around I'll find the nest, upset her. It's her first time and Lordy knows with a bantam Roo if all her trouble is for nil…..Any help from those free range? Will pop over to other forums but HOPE not ' condemned for Free range...

You can watch and follow her to find her nest. It may take a few days, as she may not want to lead you to it. If she's got chicks you should be able to gather up the chicks and her at night and move them to a safe nest, if needed. Typically a hen will stay where ever her chicks are kept. Moving a broody is mostly a concern when she's incubating the eggs, not after the chicks have hatched.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

THANK YOU Sydney! I had an idea it was better to bring the chicks in at night, for warmth if nothing else. She's disappeared again and since there is another identical hen to her…. Think I'll wait till there's more of a Trail (of chicks) to follow to where she has nested. LOL! Dogs and other hens should be very VOCAL should a predator come around….
You guys are a great help!!!

C.~

 

[earlyredrooster]

We are abutted to Chippewa National Forest--vacation area--lots of trees. Neighbors are here and there...but pretty woodsy around here. We have bear, fox, raccoons, weasel, mink, -- the usual suspects. I think the dog in the yard helps with these. But I also believe they get a feel for her patterns...her comings and goings. I'll admit she's in the house and outside...wherever we are usually. The power of her presence makes a huge difference in the yard...that is for sure. We do have one predator, though, that is not afraid of our dog and it is making a comeback. The Timber wolf. Those guys will lure your domesticated dog and the pack will have it for lunch. There's a few stories in our community of Labradors scratching to get back in the house like crazy and then their owners spotting wolves slipping back into the woods. And one lady lost her poodle right out of her back yard--a wolf took it while she watched ...nothing she could do at the time. This Photo taken just right before my driveway after I dropped the kids off at the bus stop. He wasn't at all afraid of me and my car. Unusually, I hadn't let the chickens out to free range yet. I kept them in the coop a bit longer that day and the dog was in the house for a bit....

I hope that you ran him over! ?

 

[bobbi-j]

I hope that you ran him over! ?

That would leave a dent!