Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[GBPUMPKIN]

I would love to Free Range my birds but eventually a Free Range bird around here is a dead bird. I have been raising Backyard Chickens for 44 years in the suburbs 25 miles NW of Boston. Even in the beginning I had them in pens then I added top wire then heavy duty wire. Each upgrade was because some predator got past the security. We have about 9 Coyotes & 2 Foxes that I know off, Raccoons, Opossums, Weasel, Fisher, Red-tail & Coopers Hawks. Predators take birds day & night especially when their young are getting big & hungry. Fox, Coyote & Fisher will hunt during the day so only locking up the birds up at night will not prevent losses. The following I know of happening, a Coyote will grab a medium sized dog off a leash while you are walking them, Chickens are a piece of cake. When I walk our dog I take a walking stick with me to provide some protection. Several Coyotes will take a big dog left alone on a leash if they are hungry enough. A Fox will watch from a distance then make a run for a chicken & take it right from in front of you without stopping. Fox will run birds back & fourth in a pen with large wire holes until the birds get panicked enough to stick their heads out then they bite them off. A Fisher can chew through medium gage wire & will kill, dismember, eat & carry off a whole flock or any combination there off. That is not a good sight to see (I have). There are now at least 4 to 5 times the number of Predators in MA than there was 20 years ago & many other states have the same issue. If anyone would like more details on how pets were taken they can contact me. Think it over well & know what Predators you have in your area before you Free Range. I keep my 20 birds in a 15' X 20' Pen with a 8' X 6' Coop attached.

 

[emach0301]

Beautiful dog!
I use a Maremma x Great Pyreneese mix

She is only 6 months old, and very calm around the birds. I just know that at this age, anything can happen. Chickens are so easily injured. Here she is a couple of days ago after warning us about a stray dog, therefore saving any losses.
I threatened the neighbour who had not went after her lose dog. I said I am not responsible if my dog kills her dog. It is my property, and if her dog is on my property - it's fair game.

I agree with you, I threatened our neighbor with the same thing, this was back in April, and I havent seen the dog since. I actually caught the neighbors dog running off with one of my chickens in its mouth... I was furious!

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

We live in the woods and do both. When we are at work, all are in their coop/run, safely tucked away from predators. The first one home lets everyone out to freerange until they go to bed. It would be nice to let the range all the time but we have too many dogs that run free as well as many other predators. This year we have 2 roosters and these boys are really maturing and taking care of their girls. I like to watch them as they are alert to everything, sometimes before I even know there is a problem! We still get the benefit of tasty eggs, a lawn and woods that are gleaned daily for bugs and weeds and the neighbors get their woods cleaned as well. I think its all an individual choice.

 

[aoxa]

I agree with you, I threatened our neighbor with the same thing, this was back in April, and I havent seen the dog since. I actually caught the neighbors dog running off with one of my chickens in its mouth... I was furious!

More words came out of my mouth that I would be punished for saying on here, so I will leave it at that

He didn't get any of my birds, but was chasing them. He is actually used to chickens, but I can not take chances. The neighbour is 10 houses or so down and has free ranged RSL hens. That doesn't ease my fears at all. Especially seeing this darn beagle with a scent and deaf to the world around him. My corgi tackled him and we were able to get him under control.

 

[emach0301]

More words came out of my mouth that I would be punished for saying on here, so I will leave it at that

He didn't get any of my birds, but was chasing them. He is actually used to chickens, but I can not take chances. The neighbour is 10 houses or so down and has free ranged RSL hens. That doesn't ease my fears at all. Especially seeing this darn beagle with a scent and deaf to the world around him. My corgi tackled him and we were able to get him under control.

Jeez,
Ya, if its one thing I cant stand, is when people cant control their animals. I explained that to my neighbor too. My husband awoke to the gun safe opening and me trying to rush out the door with the .45 in my hand. I had every intention to use that gun, and this wasnt the first time I had problems with this dog... The only thing that blessed that dog a little longer life, was my husband tackling me to the floor and grabbing the gun. FURIOUS I TELL YA!!!

 

[Dawnbird]

We allow our 8 girls to free range.

Last year in the fall we did lose 2 of our RIR's, (Henny & Penny) to a fox or foxes on the same day, and I was home (with 4 dogs who never alerted me to the "ruckus" outside).
Broke my heart, they were so sweet.

Once that happened, I "banished" the girls to their coop, with a huge fenced, covered run area for the rest of the winter. (They were miserable) !!

In the spring, I did (reluctantly) allow them out again, and all has been good (so far). Very happy chickens again !!!
Although, a few mornings it has been cool out (low 50's), so I've waited to let them out till it warms up.

They just LOVE following me down to feed the horses, running after the buggies flying up from the grass.
They do their dust baths in the paddock, (so funny to see the clouds of dust when they shake off)!

They do get locked up in their pen/coop at nite

 

[TMCMURRAY]

We free range our chickens on 5 acres. We have over 50 of quite a few breeds they can go where ever they want. We have net wire around the whole place except the back where there is a river. They usually stay close to their barn where they have netting over a 50 x 50 ft area in case a hawk or eagle come near and where their nest boxes are.Our dogs warn us at night if something is lurking around. Most of the time it's a deer or my moms cat. You'd be amazed how just a bark or two from a couple of big dogs will detour a predator. We really put the hurt on the coons and skunks this last yr so lately they haven't been bothering us. But we are seeing tons of them getting killed on the highway this yr. Neighbors dogs are NO problem here. At night all the ladies go into their pen and we lock them in for the night. They seem so happy to be free range chickens we would hate to keep them locked up. It's funny to watch them as their running across the fields in the mornings after bugs or a fresh blade of grass. We are always getting compliments on how our ladies eggs taste,how wonderful the whites stay close to the yolks, how nice the yolks are and also they are always looking to see what different colors the eggs are. Chickens are just wonderful!

 

[aoxa]

Jeez,
Ya, if its one thing I cant stand, is when people cant control their animals. I explained that to my neighbor too. My husband awoke to the gun safe opening and me trying to rush out the door with the .45 in my hand. I had every intention to use that gun, and this wasnt the first time I had problems with this dog... The only thing that blessed that dog a little longer life, was my husband tackling me to the floor and grabbing the gun. FURIOUS I TELL YA!!!

She actually saw the dog get loose and didn't go after it. When we went to bring it back - she was sitting there reading a book!! She said it wasn't her fault and that the dogs were wrestling and the collar came off. I called animal control and gave her the tongue lashing of my life. Pretty much guaranteeing death of said dog if it was to ever step in my yard again. I don't even own a gun, bu the dog would be relocated to an SPCA in a different province!

 

[emach0301]

She actually saw the dog get loose and didn't go after it. When we went to bring it back - she was sitting there reading a book!! She said it wasn't her fault and that the dogs were wrestling and the collar came off. I called animal control and gave her the tongue lashing of my life. Pretty much guaranteeing death of said dog if it was to ever step in my yard again. I don't even own a gun, bu the dog would be relocated to an SPCA in a different province!

Oh I hear ya!!! Theres nothing more than a "uncontrolled" dog feeding on my chickens. I understand wild animals, such as coyote and fox, thats their nature. Its mother nature! But when you take in a dog, you are accepting responsibilities that come with it! I looked into some laws where I live, and found out that I could have possible gotten back lost money due to the dead chickens since its a "source" of income. Something about poultry and livestock are protected in this law, but theres a lot of tricks to it... If I would have shot the dog, I would have had to call the Sherriff, and paid a fine... So... next time, it will just disappear. VANISH!!

 

[vtchickenlvr]

I have free-ranged my chickens since I first started keeping them 7 yrs ago. In fact, I usually refer to my girls as "extreme free-rangers" as they have been known to travel quite far afield! I think penned chickens, even w/ a good-sized run, run a higher risk of getting parasites. They are also more prone to bullying and eating their eggs. This summer we have only lost 1 hen to a fox. She was young and just happened to walk right in front of the fox, so the fox dropped the rat that was in his mouth and replaced it w/ my young golden red. We have 3 dogs that I encourage to "get foxy!"- this entails lots of running around and sometimes a decent fox pursuit. I like to think that this harassment minimizes our losses. During 1 particularly bad fox summer, we did have to clip the hen's wings to try to keep them in the pen. They worked very hard to get back out and no matter how high we made the fence, they managed to fly out and over! My girls LOVE their freedom, and I think w/ reasonable precautions (weedwacking tall growth that predators hide behind,etc) they are better off loose. I do lock them in securely at dusk every night.