Free Range Question

[ekofke201]

Is it safe to leave my chickens out while I am a work for the day?

We live on four acres... We do have two neighbors and some traffic coming by the house, though the chickens would have to walk down the rather lengthy driveway to get to the road. I am also a little nervous about them visiting and bothering my neighbors.

 

[flowergirl60]

I leave mine out but I also have a tall privacy fence around my yard. Without a fence I would not leave mine out of the run. I also have lots of places for them to hide from hawks and such.

 

[centrarchid]

Predators will be biggest concern. Range can be influenced by placement of feeding stations and available cover.

 

[ekofke201]

They will be surrounded by four board horse fencing. But it is not lined with wire. (yet, we are going to do the outer fencing on the property) I thought that might be a bit of a deterrent.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Foxes and hawks will defeat fencing.

 

[Wisher1000]

We have 23 acres and my birds free range from early morning till dark. I never see the chickens far from either the coop or the house. They never go down the long drive to the road nor far into the woods. The guineas, that's a different story........

 

[ekofke201]

So it is reasonable for me to think that they will stay close enough to the coop to keep themselves safe? We have planted some trees so that should help with overhead predators I would like to think...

 

[Capvin]

Like all others who choose to free range, I think that it is reasonable to assume that at some time you will lose a chicken or several chickens, to predators. You may go a month, several months or a year without a problem; but you will lose some to predators. When you choose to free range (which is a very good choice) you must assume that some will be lost.

 

[CluckyJay]

Small brush piles will give your chickens places to dart into to hide from hawks, too.

 

[MedChicken]

Mine free range all day in our fenced quarter acre. When a hawk flies over, they run into the bushes or into the coop and the dog runs out to chase the interloper off our properly. There is usually no one home but the dog. As long as they know where home is, they will go back there. As long as there is plenty of food and water available nearby, I doubt they will go far. Make sure there is somewhere to hide as necessary and they should do just fine.