Free range question

[Joken]

We have our first chicks and I have a question. We would like to let them out of the coop/run now and then when they move from the house. Will they stay reasonably close to the coop or do they need to be fenced in? We have 5 acres and I'd like to have them in the pasture at times. I couldn't find an answer to this question via a search. Thanks, Ken

 

[nao57]

Well the main concern most of us have is predators. Everything tries to eat your flock.

I've lost one to a predator already and I've only had mine about 3 1/2 months. And I'm super careful. Others that are really careful also have nearly lost everything.

And how well do they return to their pens at night when you go to feed them? This is what you'd want to be asking yourself also in terms of how free you'll let them go. I have ducks and ducks are easier to train to go back to the pen; heck, they even do it on their own. So my 2 chickens just follow the ducks which are the majority, so that's easier for me.

But for people with mostly chickens that might be harder to get them used to?

I hope some of the others speak up on this. I don't feel too qualified yet. But I do get that I'm pretty worried about predators already, even without having had them long.

Some people do like to free range still.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Will they stay reasonably close to the coop or do they need to be fenced in? We have 5 acres and I'd like to have them in the pasture at times.

I've had some flocks that would stay within 150 to 200 feet of the coop all the time. I've had some flocks that would forage and roam over 1000 feet from the coop at times. I've had some flocks where some would stick pretty close to the coop but a few would go off roaming on their own. Each flock has its own dynamics. Those dynamics can change by adding or subtracting a few chickens. They each have their own personality and add to the whole.

I like to have a run at the coop where I can lock them in there if I need to. It gives you a lot more flexibility in how you manage your flock.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

They will wander off in search of food, how far away depends on how brave they are. But when the sun starts coming down, they will find their way back to the coop.

 

[Chasec5308]

Now im no expert at all as this is my first flock of chickens and im just doing the free ranging thing. My black australorps at about 9 weeks old and i let them out in the evenings when i get home from work to free range for a couple hours. They never stray ( so far) farther than 40-50 yards from the coop. Around 7pm as the sun begins to go down they go back in the coop and i shut the door and give them a "treat" ( a few meal worms) to tell them good job for going back home for the night. Hope this helps.

 

[SegiDream]

Mine are young 4-7 weeks old and the older ones are currently kept only in the coop & run. The youngest ones will start going outside during the day very soon for integration. Anyways, I keep their feeder in the coop and give them feed at night and morning. I also holler "here chicky chickies" and shake their food in a tin can lol. I'm hoping this will help train them to go into the coop at night.

A couple days this past week they were stubborn and wanted to stay out later. I put a battery operated LED light in the coop and walked away to sit and watch them from a distance. They eventually got their booties into the coop with the others. I'm going to continue this practice until all chickens are close to adult size and then start letting them free range in the fenced in backyard.. I'm hoping they will spend most of their time in the fenced area but the fence is only a 4ft height so they could come and go (and so could foxes, it's a worry, I have a plan to use deer netting on the top of the fence if foxes become an issue).

 

[pozees2]

My experience with free ranging has been that I keep them in the run until they are around 4 months old, then when they seem big and savvy enough and are reliably putting themselves to bed at night, I start letting them out of the run about 30 minutes before dusk, so they won't go too far and easily find their way home. Once they've done that a few nights in a row, I start letting them out a little earlier each afternoon until it doesn't matter what time I let them out, they will go home at dark. Mine could roam acres, but they stay within a few hundred feet of the coop. We don't have many tall trees, and right now I don't have any light-bodied birds, but I know folks with leghorn flocks have discovered their birds prefer roosting near the top of trees overnight, which can be a fatal preference depending on local predators. Anytime they are in an uncovered area they are vulnerable to birds of prey, and anytime they are not inside a good fence they are vulnerable to dogs. Free ranging is a choice to accept more risk in exchange for letting the birds do what comes naturally - eating bugs, scratching in dirt/mulch/compost piles/whatever strikes their fancy. Someone once told me, where there are chickens, there can be no piles. This has proven true.

 

[Mrs. K]

You do say you have a run, that is good, it gives you options. I agree with Ridgerunner, it depends on the flock, and it really depends on the rooster if you have a flock master rooster, NOT a cockerel. A rooster over the age of 1 year can really help with daytime predators. Not all roosters are great roosters.

I have found, the more you let them out, the farther they roam. When you first start letting them out, they tend to be leary of getting too far from the coop and safety. The more often with no attacks, and they get braver.

I have a set up of coop/run, that I can keep my birds locked up 24/7. I need that cause I live on the prairies of SD, and have every predator and they all love chicken. I have found these tricks helps the odds.

• Do not have a set pattern of turning them out. Sometimes mine go out in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and sometimes not at all.
• Don't let them out on high wind days or real cloudy days, gives too much advantage to the predators.
• When you get hit by a predator - go into lock down for several days and maybe even more days...so the predator moves on.
• Every time you feed birds, you should shake the can and call them. This can make rounding them up much easier and can be done quickly if you need to get them penned so you can leave.

I love watching my catch bugs, eat grass and scratch and dig and get good exercise, but I hate it when they get hit with a predator. Finding that balance is the key.

And I have never had chickens not come back to the coop as dark approaches from 3-4 weeks on. (Once I had them out, and a predator got a broody hen and a couple of her chicks. However, the chicks that escaped came to the coop that night.)

good luck,

Mrs K

 

[calboy147]

We have our first chicks and I have a question. We would like to let them out of the coop/run now and then when they move from the house. Will they stay reasonably close to the coop or do they need to be fenced in? We have 5 acres and I'd like to have them in the pasture at times. I couldn't find an answer to this question via a search. Thanks, Ken

To your question, the older and more comfortable they get with their surroundings, the wider area they most likely will range. Mine started out just staying in my rather small yard. But now that they are just over a year old they roam pretty much the entire eight acres.

 

[Joken]

Thank you all for your responses! I have learned from each of you and your advice will hopefully save us and our chickens from harm.