Free Range or Not? What Does Everyone Prefer?

[Farmer Marcia]

This is our first year of chickens and free-range. One of our girls got hurt by a hawk Saturday, but is doing okay and is still very spry and laying eggs. We are treating her and that is all we can do, but think she is going to make it. The girls seem so happy to be out and also happy to have somewhere to go at night - no delay in coming back in to the run/coop at night, even before we had LB, our Barred Rock rooster. We have about 13 acres for them to roam, but they only go on about 3 acres and loves it. We love our chicks and certainly hope we don't lose any, but we wouldn't like to be penned up all the time and would not do that to them, especially we can offer them so much.

 

[TerryQui]

I would not dare totally free range my chickens on a farm without any protection.
I live in the city and mine are fenced in about a third of my back yard, which is good sized So they get some grass and bugs and fun.
I put an owl in my yard, as once a hawk did show up. That and CD"s for reflection has kept him away.
My little ones are in a smaller penned in area with a net over the top. I can walk in there with them, but they can't get out or taken.
Everyone at my "farm" is happy here. If I moved to a real country farm, I would do the very same thing.
Here there is no coons or wild animals in the day time, but possums do roam.
They are locked in their predator proof coop at night so they can't be harmed then.
My coop has a totally insulated nest box area that is quite large and plenty of space if anyone is cold.
I have tried to think of everything, but there has been losses before I learned it all.

 

[California_chickie]

From what I understand... Free Ranging is natural for certain breeds chicken and not for others due to selective breeding. If you have the land, are ok with losses due to predation, and you have the breeds that are "designed for" or "suited for" evading predators, then by all means... Free Range. There's nothing quite like an egg from a chicken that has been making it's own living.

If you do not have the land... if your birds can't see predators through their unnatural feather configurations, or are too big to fly up and out of ground predators' reach or run fast enough, or agile enough to dodge away from, or otherwise have the instincts or physical characteristics/means to avoid and escape from predators...and you can't bear the thought of losing any of your birds to predators... Then please... do yourself and your chickens a favor, and keep them enclosed.

If you don't, it's like going camping in the Rockies, and tying your shitzu to the tree out front overnight... and then crying in the morning when you discover your dog was eaten by a bear. Poor dog... not poor dog owner.

There are plenty of ways to provide similar benefits of free ranging whilst maintaining a modicum of security for your otherwise unsuited for free-ranging flock. Tractors for pasturing, and oversized or compartmented enclosures are a good start.

I absolutely agree.
I have some chickens that are unable to protect themselves do to selective breeding--- this is my choice, and my responsibility take the extra time to protect them if I want to keep them. I can't expect my bantam Polish to be able to hang out free range without supervision. Otherwise, it's basically considered an "offering" to predators in the area---and all their kin.

 

[Atrayu]

I have 52 chickens that free range. We live on 25 acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota, with lots of predators, including mountain lion, coyotes, fox, eagles, hawks, etc. I have lost about 20 hens and pullets to predators. I have now tried a couple of new ideas that I hope will help reduce the risk of predators. I created two scarecrows that are propped up, one by the coop and one in the larger part of the yard where the chickens mostly gather. The scarecrows heads are battery operated skulls from a halloween section which are motion sensored and the eyes light up and it makes some kind of noise. It took a few days for the chickens to get used to them going off, but they are now used to them. We also have trained our two dogs to stand guard around the coop at sunrise and and dusk when we found that the predators attack the most. Since doing this, I haven't lost a bird, but the scarecrows have only been up about a month so it is too early to tell yet.

What I have noticed about them free ranging is that they never wander too far off. Many never leave the sight of the coop, especially the younger ones. Some of the older ones do go a little further, but they know how to run and seek cover if they sense a predator or see a hawk or eagle fly by. The ones I have lost usually wander a little too far during the early morning or right before they start heading back to the coop before dusk.

I had one young Polish cockerel who survived an eagle attack. He was carried off by a golden eagle and we knew he was gone for good. Three days later he came back to the coop. I assume he was taken so far in flight and was dropped or escaped the eagle's clutches. He is our miracle chicken! We were all shocked but so happy to see him. I think I am changing his name to the spanish pronunciation of Jesus (Hey-Sus) hahaha!

Thanks for sharing all the stories and experiences~

 

[TerryQui]

Quote:
A hawk got a baby here. It just disapeared and I knew that it got it when I saw it after my chickens the next day. I now have a life sized owl out there and have not seen a hawk since.
Has anyone else tried this? I am hoping it is the thing that works.

 

[curiositykt]

I live in a built up suburb, on a 1 acre lot, with nearby neighbors who have dogs. We haven't gotten around to fencing the whole lot yet, so the chickens get an hour or two every day to range while I watch from a nearby chair. They enjoy their time, but generally put themselves back into their run before I need to herd them back in.

 

[pan eden farms]

I free range, Love the eggs. yes, have predators, hate that fact. Free range eggs taste better and make foods rise better, so we free range. It also helps keep bugs to a minimum, and helps break down soil, adds nutrients to the ground and makes me happy to watch them. Does'nt get any better than using birds the way nature prescribed

 

[kellz69]

I let my chickens out to free range at sunrise for a couple hours, then put them in their run. They are almost a year old and I have had no problems expect for a few close encounters with my dogs. They get really LOUD when they don't get to run around a little and dig in the dirt.

 

[ozark hen]

I free range my chickens and ducks but do have a couple big dogs that seem to deter predators. There are days I keep them in the run for my convenience in putting them up on nights we won't be home at sunset or some other event going on in the yard. We live in the middle of 82 acres of which about an acre and a half is mowed so they pretty much stay in the yard. Plus they have plenty of heavy bushes to take shelter under.

 

[MyPettingZoo]

I have 1 RIR roo (who is a real jerk lol) and 6 hens. One of my hens went to setting and I have 5 "adolescent" chicks now. They are kept in a kennel of sort at night; locked in and during the day if I feel like letting them out they are completely out. My chicken/goat pen (I have 1 pygmy doe who I believe thinks she IS a chicken also) is literally right beside my house. They completely free range when they are out and LOVE it. I moved my coop beside my house because I live in the country on a back road and when my coop was in the side yard farther away I lost some chickens to a raccoon. Since they have been closer to my house and with Opal (the goat) I haven't lost a single one, even the chicks. The chicks free range more right now because the pen is enclosed with chain link and they could fit through the holes in it and now can squeeze through any little gap they find My chickens are VERY VERY happy this way. Sometime I forget to close the gate at night but I think the presence of Opal deters any predators.