Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[maidenwolfx80]

I have a nice run with plenty of room, I let mine out under supervision every evening for 2-3 hours. They need that foraging time and to be able to do what they do. Sometimes free ranging is not possible for some people and that is their opinion but I am building a bigger run next spring and make it so I can move it to give green pasturewhile giving the grass a break in an area. I do love to watch them forage and run and fly..

 

[real_redhead]

I prefer to let my girls out in the yard as much as possible. I live in the city and have a small lot that is fenced in and they love to run around. When I am not at home they are in a very secure covered run. At night they are locked up in the coop. Even though I am in the city we have lots of predators, coons, dogs, foxes, opossums and HAWKS! They have lots of cover to hide from the hawks and usually the crows give a warning. When I first got chickens I would only let them out a little at a time, over the last year I have found that if I am home they are out all day. They prefer it and a happy hen makes me happy.

 

[karlamaria]

My girls are out from 1:00 in the afternoon ( when i get home from work ) to nightfall when they head off to bed. I have a nice grassy yard and they enjoy eating grass and the tomatoes I throw out to them every day.( I grow lots of tomatoes just for my girls) I also sprout wheat for them, and give them yogurt and alfalfa pellets softened for extra bright orange yolks. There in there large pen until I get home and when they hear the car pull up they go nuts lol.

 

[Gofygure]

I live on 24 acres surrounded by fields and woods. I used to let the chickens free range but I lost too many to the local fox population, and now they're confined to a run. The run is large enough for the greenery to sustain itself, and they do still get to go out in the evenings, but the consequences of free ranging are too much for me to accept.

 

[Vicky2479]

it depends on how many you are willing to lose to predators, if you have all the protection you can provide eg game fencing, plenty of cover for them to hide under and a dog or 2 and it wont bother you too much to lose the odd 1 or 2 then go for it, for some people this is just not acceptable or feasible, which is fair enough.

 

[sdsmowen]

We have a 1/4 acre farm yard that they free range in during the day

 

[fowlsessed]

Someone mentioned about free ranging in the woods, that's pretty much what mine have(with a small clearing), I live in the boonies. I have a dog though, she takes care of most land predators.

 

[RaeRae2]

95% coop/run, 5% free range here.

Over the years, I have literally lost EVERY one of my hens to Red Tail hawks, except for two. Well, three actually. One was killed by a mangey fox that moved into the barn. The other two are still with me. All the others (anywhere from 4-10 hens per year) were killed by the Hawks. I have come home to see hawks eating my chickens right on the driveway.

We built a very large, really nice run - it's 24x27x6 feet high. It is partially roofed in steel, and the rest is bird netting. They have a huge indoor chicken house that is extremely secure. They have free access to the house during the day, and are locked in there at night.

I will ONLY let them free range when I out there a couple hours in the evening before bed. I had a Red Tail try to swoop in and take a chicken last year while I was standing RIGHT THERE. He almost slammed into me in his swoop.

I use mealworms and my birds come RUNNING when they see I have the mealworm bag. I constantly keep bringing them back up close to the house or the barn, and feed them treats, and I hardly ever turn my back on them. One day a week or so ago a hawk swooped right over where I was sitting under the apple tree feeding them mealworms. They jumped into my lap and huddlled around me as tight as they could. The hawk made two passes directly above us, looking for an opening to come grab one.

FREE RANGE IS NOT AN OPTION HERE. All the sparkly stuff, livestock dogs, geese, and electric fences in the world will not protect you from mature, breeding pairs of Red Tails hungry to feed their young. Once they figure out you have a free buffet, they will NOT leave your property. But over the years I have discovered that they aren't active in the late evening nearly like they are in the morning. The day last week they swooped us, it was early afternoon - like around 2 p.m. or something, I knew better than let them out, but they wanted out SO bad. But if I turn them out really late, I never see the hawks, but I still stay out there constantly.

People say Red Tails can't attack if they don't have a clear open flight path to dive in. NOT TRUE. I have watched the Red Tails sit on top of the silo and nab pigeons as they come out. No swooping, or diving required. I have also seen a Northern Harrier sit on the ground under a bird feeder and grab them underneath a bush. I saw a Red Tail sitting on a stop sign, hop down and nail a mouse on the ground right under the sign. They are very efficient predators. If you plant a bunch of trees and bushes for cover, they will just perch in your bushes and hop down on top of your chickens. Their preferred method is slam into the back and break their neck, but they absolutely will eat prey alive if that's the only way they can grab them.

 

[RaeRae2]

it depends on how many you are willing to lose to predators, if you have all the protection you can provide eg game fencing, plenty of cover for them to hide under and a dog or 2 and it wont bother you too much to lose the odd 1 or 2 then go for it, for some people this is just not acceptable or feasible, which is fair enough.

For me, losing the "odd one or two" would not be acceptable. Every one of them are pets, they have names, they are extremely tame, and friendly. They each have personalities and preferences. I can't free range mine because I can't accept the odd loss here or there. I did used to do that but I was buying older birds at a farm swap or something, that weren't tame and I only really had them so they would eat bugs. But this batch I raised from chicks are definitely pets.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

95% coop/run, 5% free range here.

Over the years, I have literally lost EVERY one of my hens to Red Tail hawks, except for two. Well, three actually. One was killed by a mangey fox that moved into the barn. The other two are still with me. All the others (anywhere from 4-10 hens per year) were killed by the Hawks. I have come home to see hawks eating my chickens right on the driveway.

We built a very large, really nice run - it's 24x27x6 feet high. It is partially roofed in steel, and the rest is bird netting. They have a huge indoor chicken house that is extremely secure. They have free access to the house during the day, and are locked in there at night.

I will ONLY let them free range when I out there a couple hours in the evening before bed. I had a Red Tail try to swoop in and take a chicken last year while I was standing RIGHT THERE. He almost slammed into me in his swoop.

I use mealworms and my birds come RUNNING when they see I have the mealworm bag. I constantly keep bringing them back up close to the house or the barn, and feed them treats, and I hardly ever turn my back on them. One day a week or so ago a hawk swooped right over where I was sitting under the apple tree feeding them mealworms. They jumped into my lap and huddlled around me as tight as they could. The hawk made two passes directly above us, looking for an opening to come grab one.

FREE RANGE IS NOT AN OPTION HERE. All the sparkly stuff, livestock dogs, geese, and electric fences in the world will not protect you from mature, breeding pairs of Red Tails hungry to feed their young. Once they figure out you have a free buffet, they will NOT leave your property. But over the years I have discovered that they aren't active in the late evening nearly like they are in the morning. The day last week they swooped us, it was early afternoon - like around 2 p.m. or something, I knew better than let them out, but they wanted out SO bad. But if I turn them out really late, I never see the hawks, but I still stay out there constantly.

People say Red Tails can't attack if they don't have a clear open flight path to dive in. NOT TRUE. I have watched the Red Tails sit on top of the silo and nab pigeons as they come out. No swooping, or diving required. I have also seen a Northern Harrier sit on the ground under a bird feeder and grab them underneath a bush. I saw a Red Tail sitting on a stop sign, hop down and nail a mouse on the ground right under the sign. They are very efficient predators. If you plant a bunch of trees and bushes for cover, they will just perch in your bushes and hop down on top of your chickens. Their preferred method is slam into the back and break their neck, but they absolutely will eat prey alive if that's the only way they can grab them.

I totally agree with this. I have not lost any to hawks but we have ALOT around here and that is always on my mind because I too have seen how well they catch their prey. They learn different tactics to every obstical you present, there is no getting around them they are alot smarter than people give them credit for. I am building a what I call my "BIG BADASS COOP MANSION" next spring and would love to see pics of yours, I'm not going fancy, I dont need to match the house I just want efficency, comfort and a bunch of super happy chickens.
I let mine out in the evening too so they can forage for 2 or 3 hours and I stay right there watching over, I do not leave them unattended. I use the mealworm bait too lol works every time..