Feed Management Methods [Poll]

[Ponypoor]

Was unsure of the 1000sq’ but here goes:
12 hens aged 1 to 6, silkie to barnyard mutts, have the run of a 30’x60’ horse stable for 14hrs a day along with a 16’ x 90’ outdoor run for a couple hours weeknights and all day on weekends.

Night time everyone is contained in an enclosed hen house to protect from coons.

Does this help?

 

[Ponypoor]

It has been a while since I had a chicken flock. The last were semi feral. I provided feed ad lib and natural reproduction was successful that every autumn I would send four or five crates of birds to the auction. They were medium sized gamefowl/bantam crosses - primarily BBR in color/type. They sold very well. Cooper's hawks eventually wreaked havoc on the chicks and GHO eliminated the adult birds. My pigeons were never free flown - again eventually the Cooper's hawks put me out of business with them, and I am presently birdless. Predation, especially from raptors, to me is far more of a problem than it was even twenty years ago.

Predation from foxes and hawks are big here

 

[Karianne]

What if mine are kept in a moveable chicken coop / tractor with moveable run? They get moved every day, 2 or 3 currently on to fresh meadow (mixture of natural grasses, clovers, weeds, etc.). I'm contemplating how I might transition to semi free-ranging in the future, but I live in the middle of the woods filled with coyotes, racoons, etc. The coyotes even bother my large breed dogs occasionally during the day, so I'm not sure how long the chickens would last depending on the setup

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

50ish to 60ish birds in 1 acre area fenced. 7 of which are not chickens. Which is shy of 1000 sf per bird. Slightly wooded, lots of open grazing area. Dinky pond with tadpoles 4’x3’, more like a puddle. Both coops have solar auto doors that open at sunrise and close at sundown. If they don’t make it in, they may not be alive in the morning unfortunately.

 

[rural mouse]

Coop, no run, free range over the property (and the neighbor's makes for a couple of acres, they don't use it all). 11 adults, 6 13week olds, 7 7week olds,, includes rooster/cockerels. Winter snow, summer heat, year round wind. Trees, bushes, boulders, grass, woodpile.....

 

[Appalachian homestead]

Would a tractor with no floor,moved every day, be considered a secure house all day everyday?

 

[ManueB]

Predation, especially from raptors, to me is far more of a problem than it was even twenty years ago.

Curious to know if you have some explanation ? Has the population of predators increased, or do they have less to feed on in the wild?

 

[Kris5902]

I’ve got multiple setups, with one large 60+ flock that free ranges and is only secured at night. Three mobile chicken tractors with basically a fully secured night coop/box and run. I also run my meat chickens in mostly secure low 6x8’ tractors as chicks and then free range them after about 4 weeks and only secure them in the tractor at night. And have a secure coop and small run setup for birds with injuries or special needs that I often put in an open fenced apart area (mostly to keep large slow meat type breeding hens away from cockerels they can’t outrun)

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

50ish to 60ish birds in 1 acre area fenced. 7 of which are not chickens. Which is shy of 1000 sf per bird. Slightly wooded, lots of open grazing area. Dinky pond with tadpoles 4’x3’, more like a puddle. Both coops have solar auto doors that open at sunrise and close at sundown. If they don’t make it in, they may not be alive in the morning unfortunately.

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I LOVE your trailer coop

 

[sourland]

Curious to know if you have some explanation ? Has the population of predators increased, or do they have less to feed on in the wild?

Populations have increased with the DDT bans (a good thing), and 'control' is now a federal crime.