Free range question

[hippiechick86]

Hello everyone. We are very new to owning chickens and are learning something new everyday it seems. We live on one acre and have 6 hens. They currently stay in a large pen (used to be a dog pen) that has two large trees so it's nice and shady and a nice new chicken coop that my father built for them. They seem to be happy in their pen but we would like to allow them to free range for at least an hour before bed every night or at least the nights we are home and can be out there with them. My only concern with this is that we have a garden, which I feel we could probably easily keep them out of since we will be out there with them. My main concern is my neighbors garden, it is huge and beautiful and I certainly don't want my chickens running straight for it! I guess I'm wondering how easy it easy to keep them where you want them and will they easily go back to their coop when it's time for bed? I'm very very nervous about letting them out because I want to be respectful of my two neighbors.

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to the world of chickens!

Chickens are harder to herd than cats!

If they want something, they will just keep going back and going and going and going. They are so stubborn!
However, there are ways to keep them away. If they never taste that garden then they might not ever want to go to it.

Chickens can be lured back in with a treat or will probably go back on their own right before the sun sets. Make sure they have imprinted on their coop before letting them out.

Best of luck!

 

[centrarchid]

Place a feeding station away from neighbors garden and under cover of plants. You may need to explore treats of some sort to get to the feeding station better than your current feed. I suggest trying a mixture of BOSS and whole corn.

 

[aart]

Good for you to be a thoughtful neighbor!

Have you thought about using some portable poultry netting to keep them 'corralled' but able to roam a bit?
Look at Premiere1 poultry netting