Free range or large run

[perchie.girl]

I do both. But I live in suburbia. Most people in my area lose chickens to neighborhood dogs. That's pretty easily avoidable where I am, though, with a tall privacy fence and a dog of my own. But I have noticed increased hawk activity of late. They migrate through this area. It worries me, but I don't have a 600sf run. I'm so envious.... I would be in a similar quandary if I had a similar situation.

But the whole reason I got chickens in the first place was to give them good lives. My run is too small to keep them in perpetually, imo, even though they have more than 20sf of space each. And they so love foraging in my yard.

I started this reply thinking I had an opinion about which method you should employ. Truth is, I don't know what I would do, either! Sorry for wasting your time- LOL!

Its not a waste.... Each of our situations is different... Add in to the fact that Not all breeds of Chickens are suited for free ranging.... There are solutions to each situation... Even the biggest fort Knox of a setup has its flaws...

For over head hunters I have seen randomly stretched Clothes line over the run seems to do the trick. Here we have the San Diego Zoo. They use similar practices to protect their birds....

I Would love to keep my birds in a totally free ranged style as Shaderach does... His situation is somewhat unique... His birds are Land race... or birds that are from the area he lives in. There the major predators are Hawks Owls and the occasional Fox. His annual rainfall is good enough to have natural trees growing on his land.

But That is not the case for many of the rest of us.... The types of birds we keep for instance... Are not good fliers or even good runners... So we have to adapt to their needs as well.

so we do what we can do with what we have to work with... Enrichment can happen even in the most limited spaces...

deb

 

[jolenesdad]

Its not a waste.... Each of our situations is different... Add in to the fact that Not all breeds of Chickens are suited for free ranging.... There are solutions to each situation... Even the biggest fort Knox of a setup has its flaws...

For over head hunters I have seen randomly stretched Clothes line over the run seems to do the trick. Here we have the San Diego Zoo. They use similar practices to protect their birds....

I Would love to keep my birds in a totally free ranged style as Shaderach does... His situation is somewhat unique... His birds are Land race... or birds that are from the area he lives in. There the major predators are Hawks Owls and the occasional Fox. His annual rainfall is good enough to have natural trees growing on his land.

But That is not the case for many of the rest of us.... The types of birds we keep for instance... Are not good fliers or even good runners... So we have to adapt to their needs as well.

so we do what we can do with what we have to work with... Enrichment can happen even in the most limited spaces...

deb

Wait @Shadrach has developed landrace style birds? Shadrac do you have a thread about this? Super, super curious about a long term plan towards that goal....

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach my friend, I do not know if you hold credentials in animal husbandry or philosophy, but I like your style!

Thank you Maam.

 

[Shadrach]

Wait @Shadrach has developed landrace style birds? Shadrac do you have a thread about this? Super, super curious about a long term plan towards that goal....

They aren't really land race. They've been encouraged to return to land race style living.
I won't clog up the thread with an explanation but if you are interested I've provided some links which will make my keeping arrangements clearer. I hope you like reading.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/shadrach’s-multi-coops.74344/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-not-about-the-egg-it’s-an-escort-call.74386/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[perchie.girl]

You can find Land race birds in just about every country or region. Shaderach is in Spain and pretty much thats all they have for the area.

I bought a whole flock of Land race birds from my area which is the San Diego High desert. I was tired of loosing birds to predators... This flock was about ten or twelve hens netted out of an old barn.... There was no protective fencing on the property... But plenty of roos to protect their charges. He netted them with a big net

All practically to a a one were bantam cross sizes. Hard feathered and very good fliers. Product of natural selection rather than picking and choosing the breeds to mix. The roos were a bit bigger but VERY good Watch dogs... The pecking order was also established so they got along for the most part. I started with three roos and ten hens.... By the end of the summer I was up to thirty birds of varying ages...

I did have issues with leg mites on this crew and had to do some treatment... That was when I could still Net and inspect my birds. I don't handle my chickens much except in those instances...

Eventually I was expecting to be in a wheel chair by now... But that is changing and I have hopes to restart with some Modifications to my situation.

deb

 

[Parront]

I have 11 chickens that are 14 weeks old and have been in a 600 square foot fenced in area since they were 6 weeks old. They go into their coop every night with no problems.

These are our first chickens and I was originally planning on free ranging them but after caring for them for the last 14 weeks I am pretty scared to let them loose.

With 600 square ft to roam, am I gaining anything by letting them free range? We have 3 acres and great neighbors.

Looks like your chickens have about 55 square feet/chicken, not including their house. That would more than qualify for the most stringent Label Rouge free range chicken in France. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-much-land-chicken-turkey-to-acre-ratio.1218564/
"Access and size of range
All birds have access to the outdoors from 9 a.m. until dusk after 6
weeks of age, and must be outside for at least 42 days of grow-out.
Range requirements are 22 sq. ft. per bird. About 2 acres of land are
needed per house. 1.2 ft. of pophole exits are required for 100 sq. ft.
of building." This is for broilers.
If you buy eggs in the store, the "cage free" hens that lay them only get 144 Inches of floor space https://unitedegg.com/proposed-bill-california-extends-cage-free-deadline/
What you are doing far exceeds what is called "Free Range" on any label of any chicken or eggs in the grocery store. None of them gets to wander free on 3 acres, or even 600 Sq feet! All of our "Back Yard" birds live lives of luxury in comparison! Do what you feel is right to keep them safe from your predators, and enjoy them without guilt!

 

[jolenesdad]

They aren't really land race. They've been encouraged to return to land race style living.
I won't clog up the thread with an explanation but if you are interested I've provided some links which will make my keeping arrangements clearer. I hope you like reading.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/shadrach’s-multi-coops.74344/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-egg-song-it’s-not-about-the-egg-it’s-an-escort-call.74386/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

Love reading about chickens, thank you!!!

You can find Land race birds in just about every country or region. Shaderach is in Spain and pretty much thats all they have for the area.

I bought a whole flock of Land race birds from my area which is the San Diego High desert. I was tired of loosing birds to predators... This flock was about ten or twelve hens netted out of an old barn.... There was no protective fencing on the property... But plenty of roos to protect their charges. He netted them with a big net

All practically to a a one were bantam cross sizes. Hard feathered and very good fliers. Product of natural selection rather than picking and choosing the breeds to mix. The roos were a bit bigger but VERY good Watch dogs... The pecking order was also established so they got along for the most part. I started with three roos and ten hens.... By the end of the summer I was up to thirty birds of varying ages...

I did have issues with leg mites on this crew and had to do some treatment... That was when I could still Net and inspect my birds. I don't handle my chickens much except in those instances...

Eventually I was expecting to be in a wheel chair by now... But that is changing and I have hopes to restart with some Modifications to my situation.

deb

Wow. So interesting thank you.

Looks like your chickens have about 55 square feet/chicken, not including their house. That would more than qualify for the most stringent Label Rouge free range chicken in France. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-much-land-chicken-turkey-to-acre-ratio.1218564/
"Access and size of range
All birds have access to the outdoors from 9 a.m. until dusk after 6
weeks of age, and must be outside for at least 42 days of grow-out.
Range requirements are 22 sq. ft. per bird. About 2 acres of land are
needed per house. 1.2 ft. of pophole exits are required for 100 sq. ft.
of building." This is for broilers.
If you buy eggs in the store, the "cage free" hens that lay them only get 144 Inches of floor space https://unitedegg.com/proposed-bill-california-extends-cage-free-deadline/
What you are doing far exceeds what is called "Free Range" on any label of any chicken or eggs in the grocery store. None of them gets to wander free on 3 acres, or even 600 Sq feet! All of our "Back Yard" birds live lives of luxury in comparison! Do what you feel is right to keep them safe from your predators, and enjoy them without guilt!

Great post. I totally agree do what works for YOU!

Thanks to the OP for a great discussion.

 

[Parront]

What you might gain by having your chickens on the rest of your 3 acres would be the benefit of their grazing and pooping to make your gardens and pastures grow better. Portable electric fencing is discussed for this use, but if you have hawks, it will not protect the chickens from them. Read about this system in "Pastured Poultry Profits" by Joel Salatin. It is free too read if you have Amazon Kindle unlimited.

 

[Parront]

Love reading about chickens, thank you!!!



Wow. So interesting thank you.



Great post. I totally agree do what works for YOU!

Thanks to the OP for a great discussion.

I would also like to thank the OP for a good question!

 

[perchie.girl]

I would also like to thank the OP for a good question!

Yes I whole heartedly agree...