Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[yokohamamama]

My dogs actually ran something off last night, great predetor control. However my girls only get to free range under strict supervison! as long as I have a few hours on my hands I willl let them two or three at a time so I can keep and eye on them (my cat helps me watch lol, he also helped me get an escapee back in the run thismorning) I am more than happy to follow them around with a .22 for a few hours. Otherwise the local feral dog and cat population kind of deters me from letting them wander about on their own, not to mention the owl pair I have raising their young in a tree somewhere on my property, long story short, I WISH I could free range my flock, would tremenously cut down on feed costs, but for me its not pratical. Good thing about supervised ranging..... .... lots of Pretty pictures!

 

[RangingChicks]

It really depends on what kind of predators you have, if you have protection from a rooster or LGD, and if you are willing to loose a couple.

 

[MarieNC]

I live in the woods of NC and there are many predators here, not to mention my neighbors' dogs who come to visit. My chickens and ducks are confined to their coop/run (it's very large) when I'm not home. There is a large fence around the coop/run to keep the neighbor dogs out, and when I'm home and supervising them, I let the chickens and ducks free range in this fenced in area. There is no way they would survive otherwise.

 

[Yukonchick]

Now that all the Cornish meat birds are gone, my Red Sussex crosses

don't seem to be as gluttonous about their chicken feed so my feed bill has gone way down. I like giving them fruit and greens which they really seem to like.

 

[Yukonchick]

I hear you there. I,m way up in the Yukon and we got lots of bears this year. A very bad season meant no berries for them to eat. So far 19 bears in the Whitehorse area have been shot and another 50, I think were re-located. We're an hour south in a little place called Carcross and we got wolves, weasels wolverine, lynx grizzly, and a variety of birds of prey. No snakes, racoons or skunks though. My chickens have a covered 30 ft run and an 8 by 10 house that I built like fort knox, LOL. I also hooked up and automatic chicken door that I can hook up to the timer but so far I just cut the power with the extension cord that runs into our house and each time i plug it back in, it activates the door. Its nice cause i don't have to leave my house to open or close their door. And to top it off, I've even got a baby monitor you can see in one of the photos, just to make sure the door is working and they're all happy. LOL, oh also out side on their fence I have an owl decoy watching over them. I think it keeps the weasel away. A bit much?????LOL

 

[CityGirl35]

I too fear that the hawk that is bedeviling my girls is also a juvenile. He could have killed one of the gals, or the squirrel that was just in his face screeching at him, but he didn't. He's hungry and smart but doesn't quite seem to know what to do. I know he couldn't carry off one of my fat ladies, but he could kill them and 'dine in' in my backyard. They are on lockdown until I figure this out. Free-ranging is the ideal, but with only 5 chickens (rather expensive heritage birds), I can't be philosophical about losing one. And then another..... etc. So for now, they're in the pen with a nice airy run.

 

[CityGirl35]

Lordy!! Now YOU'VE got predator problems! I feel kind of goofy complaining about my ONE juvenile hawk! I am impressed and happy at your fabulous Ft. Knox house and the baby monitor is very cool. Good luck! Wow, the YUKON!

 

[Sk8inChick(en)]

I got a good deal on a bunch of strong used chain link fence and covered it with chicken wire. I also have a decoy of an owl sitting watching over my flock. Seems to work well except for this small bear I caught clawing at the fence. I set the dogs on him and ran him off the property. Dogs are excellent for taking care of intruders.

The owl decoy is a good idea!

I've hears that chicken wire is hard to make secure. Have you had good results with using it? I'm just curious.

I'm sorry, this is off-topic, but is that dog a Leonberger?

 

[cutlerfam7]

I live in Central Mass and I let my chickens free range all day long. However, usually someone is home at my house when they are outside or the cat is even with. However, they do alert me by clucking very loud if something is in the yard that shouldn't be there. An example would be that I was upstairs the other day putting in my contacts and I heard my bantam Buttercup "screaming" so I ran out like a mad women to defend my babies when I realized that there was a huge blue herring standing right next to my in ground pool. I just stared at it for a minute in disbelief and it flew away. After it left my babies came out from hiding and everyone was just fine. When I say babies they are all in the 13 week to 20 week range.

So I think free range is the best unless you like the landscaping in your yard. My chickens have DESTROYED the landscaping at our house and have exposed the roots of most of our beloved plants. However, I know that if I only had them in a run they would destroy the grass that I had the run over and I dont have the patience or time to move a run around my yard. They would hate it anyway because they are SO USED to free ranging and they would be so sad if I stopped giving them the privelage. However, they have started to explore the small patch of woods that I have at my house and have been taking over that which is WAY better and has made life easy again!

 

[Yukonchick]

I only use chicken wire for on top of my run. Chain link for the sides.