free range distance, natural chicken barriers

[ThomsonKylie]

Hi
I am new to chickens and have some questions on "free range". My main concern is keeping the chickens on my property, will they wander through thick sections of bush/forest to my closest neighbor? or will they be content just wandering my yard?(the cleared section the coop is on is about 1 acre) Next...my chickens are friendly in the coop and are fine being handled, but once outside they tend to avoid me, how do I manage to get them back to the coop if they wander to far? Third is predatory birds, I have a large number of eagles that fly overhead often, are my two large dogs enough to keep them from my chickens?

all info is greatly appreciated
thanks

 

[eviemethugh]

When our chickens free range "usually" they will set up camp near the closest source of shade and water. So from the same coop we will have a small group go to the ac unit, a small group go under the deck, a tiny group go under a bush, etc. occasionally they wander over under a tree to mess with our dog and eat his food/drink his water. We have had them wander a good ways when their coop is farthest from our house, they will walk allll the way to our garage when they want to check on where their dinner is. I also find they tend to wander in the direction their door faces. Like once they walk through it they can only see the possibilities in front of them. This isn't always true, but the field they are in touches our neighbors lawn and they haven't gone exploring in that direction.
After only a few days staying in their tractor ours don't have a problem coming home at night. The biggest problem we have now is they come home based on the sun, so lately that has been about 8:45 pm. Pretty late to be waiting! Slowly but surely they all show up and settle down for the night. There would be NO way to get her 50 chickens at say 5 pm though. Even with fresh dinner they never all come to eat.
Finally, the predators. A lot of that will depend on the desperate-ness of the predator, your dogs, how often you are outside, and how close they stay to busy areas where prey have seen you/cars/dogs etc. we have owls and Hawks and have never had an air attack. We did buy "guard geese" this year to watch the air. They honk when something is wrong and will attack we've heard. But that is in an electric fence, I don't know how they would do free range or if they would even stay with the chickens free range.

 

[ThomsonKylie]

thanks thats all great information, how long did the chickens stay inside their coop/tractor before you let them free range

 

[eviemethugh]

We are very... I don't know if laissez faire does it justice...basically chickens are made to chicken. So we just let them figure it out. I think we let one big group spend their first week outside in the tractor at 3 weeks old. After that, honestly we probably went zero to one hundred. But I would say if you need to be sure, let them out close to bedtime (an hour before? An amount of time you can stay out with them if you want to), they won't make it too far before something drives them to find a place to sleep. Hopefully it will be the tractor/coop/whatever. Most breeds want a safe familiar place and will come back. Then let them out earlier as you are comfortable. We put 4 idiot turkeys in a new home today, let them free range immediately, ran out during the rain storm to throw them back in the coop (dang turkeys!) and lo and behold at bedtime, 6-week old turkey strutted up to the coop, and stepped into a brood of 24ish 3 month old meaties (big hens really!) everyone made their peace with a VERY new arrangement and went to sleep in opposite corners. they can do what we want, often won't if you are trying to herd them!, and probably shows I'm way too laid back

things don't always go that perfectly, but bedtime always works! Always!

 

[Folly's place]

Start letting them out late in the afternoon, so they will be interested in going in to roost at dusk, and will gradually get comfortable with your yard. They prefer shrubs and wooded areas to wide open spaces. You may need to fence to keep them from the neighbors. Some breeds will roam further than others. Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Post a satellite image showing distances and cover patches.

 

[mechanic57]

I put my first 12 pullets in the outdoor coop a while after they were fully feathered. I got them in March so I waited until the over night temps were consistently above 60 degrees before putting them out. I just felt more comfortable with that temp, since they were still younger and smaller than full grown birds. Once in the coop, I left them in it for a week with no access to the outside run. After that, I opened the pop doors and let them out into the run which is 36x10 with netting on the top to keep birds out/in. 10 out of 12 returned to the coop on their own the first night. The other 2 huddled together in the corner of the run. I returned them to the coop after dark. After that, they all found their way back in on their own. A week after they all found there way in on their own, I started letting them free range. First I'd do it 1 hour before they normally went in and I'd stay with them. Then I'd do it earlier and earlier in the day. They gradually explore further from the coop, always in groups. I have 2 acres that's partially wooded, clear around the house, and access to the 36 acres of unoccupied wooded land behind me. The coop is at the edge of the woods in constant shade. They tend to stay within sight of the coop, though they do go in all directions away from it. Once they were big enough that a hawk or owl couldn't fly off with them, I let them out and wouldn't always stay out with them. They spend most of the day outside now and during hotter parts of the day, I find them dust bathing or relaxing in the run or just outside the coop, even though they have a huge area to roam. I'm glad they know where their home is. My property is on the corner of T intersection of 2 country roads. The main road traffic moves fast, like they are trying to set land speed records getting to the next town. There's a lot of traffic because the road leads to a nuclear power station. They stay well away from this road because the noise from the traffic scares them. They don't go past our house, which is 75 feet back from the road. The other road, the side road, has little traffic but they haven't wondered across it yet. The main road seems like a barrier in that direction. Theirs nothing else around that they could get into that they shouldn't.

There are smaller farms in the area that sit at intersections that have 4 way stops. I've noticed their chickens wonder in the road with no regard for the traffic. I think its because all the cars stop at the stop signs and are moving so slow, that the chickens get used to walking around with the cars right there.

 

[ThomsonKylie]

thanks for all the tips, I started letting my chickens out in our fenced off garden area and they don't seem interested in flying over the three foot picket fence which is good, our coop is at one edge of our property with an empty two acre lot directly behind it but separated by about 50 feet of thick trees and bushes, to its left is the side yard/back yard and then about 100 acres of woods. In front of the coop they have to roam about 2 acres of lawn before hitting another tree/shrub line 50 feet thick where our neighbours side lawn begins. I am hoping that they will want to go to the left of the coop towards the back of our property and the woods....maybe wishful thinking

 

[mechanic57]

Talk to your neighbor and make sure they are ok if the chickens wander over. Some people aren't cool with it, especially if they leave poo everywhere. Also find out if your neighbor has dogs or other animals that may injure the chickens. It's best to discuss these things before it becomes a Hatfields and McCoys issue.

My chickens love the woods. They go in the bushes and turn over the leaves and find bugs, snakes and frogs. It's shade on a hot day too. They haven't gone so far into the woods that they couldn't find their way back.