Free range newbie

[LunaMoon]

New to chicken raising. How far will my chickens travel from the coop? We live on a busy highway on 1.5 acres. Should I be worried that they will bother my neighbors on the opposite side of our yard? Will they go on the road? TIA

 

[sourland]

Chickens can be wanderers as they forage. I'd be prepared for the worst case scenario just in case. Good luck.

 

[PoultryLover1012]

We live next to a highway as well but our chickens have never attempted to cross it. The reason for that may be that we have a seasonal creek between our house and the road, but probably not because they go across all the time (and hide their eggs!!

 

[630004]

I have 2 acres and the chickens need to be fenced because they will either destroy a specific area (if left there too long), lay eggs in the middle of nowhere or go walk about with the neighbors.

All the chickens have now had both wings clipped and have a defined area they can roam in each week.

We were initially worried about hawks and the like (we have a lot here in Washington) but have found the crows chase them away (we do feed the crows as they essentially look after the chickens).

I have had one chicken killed by a critter when we let the chickens get really close to the trees on our property, so now we always keep their fence a bit away and its been fine.

Here are a few pictures for context.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have 2 acres and the chickens need to be fenced because they will either destroy a specific area (if left there too long), lay eggs in the middle of nowhere or go walk about with the neighbors.

All the chickens have now had both wings clipped and have a defined area they can roam in each week.

We were initially worried about hawks and the like (we have a lot here in Washington) but have found the crows chase them away (we do feed the crows as they essentially look after the chickens).

I have had one chicken killed by a critter when we let the chickens get really close to the trees on our property, so now we always keep their fence a bit away and its been fine.

Here are a few pictures for context.

View attachment 3103173View attachment 3103177View attachment 3103175View attachment 3103174

Great set up and pictures showing your fencing!

It's electric I assume. What a beautiful area you live in.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

New to chicken raising. How far will my chickens travel from the coop? We live on a busy highway on 1.5 acres. Should I be worried that they will bother my neighbors on the opposite side of our yard? Will they go on the road? TIA

YES.
My birds will happily travel at least 300' in any direction from their coop. That's about 6.5 acres. When there's a predator "near miss", they will stick much closer to the coop for a bit, but as they get mor comfortable, they will range further. Its possible they exceed 300' on ocassion, but I can't see them when they do it, not all of our acres are cleared (most aren't, in fact).

 

[630004]

Great set up and pictures showing your fencing!

It's electric I assume. What a beautiful area you live in.

Thanks. Yea portable solar-powered energizer.