Free range safety

[Hillschicks]

Sounds to me like your rooster did his job.. He may be gone, but your layers are all still there.. Now ya just need a new backup rooster

 

[centrarchid]

Grumble, grumble, grumble........

 

[Mrs. K]

I have a secure lock up, it is when I let them out, that I wind up in trouble. My run is totally enclosed.

 

[centrarchid]

My concern is about rooster doing his "job".

 

[Mrs. K]

I am not following you, I have a group of young coyotes that have shown up and seem to be hanging pretty close to the buildings. I have seen them once, close to the hen house, my brother caught them teasing the dog out, and my husband found them while riding.

Generally we leave the coyotes, it makes for good mama's in cows. They are aggressive and pay attention to where their calves are, but like any predator, you can get too many.

No rooster can take on a coyote and win.

Mrs K

 

[centrarchid]

I am not following you, I have a group of young coyotes that have shown up and seem to be hanging pretty close to the buildings. I have seen them once, close to the hen house, my brother caught them teasing the dog out, and my husband found them while riding.

Generally we leave the coyotes, it makes for good mama's in cows. They are aggressive and pay attention to where their calves are, but like any predator, you can get too many.

No rooster can take on a coyote and win.

Mrs K

My initial grumble was about rooster being expected sacrifice self. I would keep birds penned or invest in a second dog. My dogs not a lot larger than coyote but they employ their own teasing game where female is the bait and male is the hammer. I admit dogs are expensive for protecting a small flock.

 

[Hillschicks]

Im sorry if my roosters are expected to self sacrifice bothers you.. But its their job.. Its their instinct.. A good rooster has 3 jobs

1. Find food for his girls
2. Mate
3. Protect his girls until his dying breath

I dont desire my roosters get killed, but if one of my chickens is going to, id prefer it be a rooster..

The secret service is meant to take a bullet for the president.. Do we expect them to, or should the president just stay locked up away from the bad people in the world? Obviously we expect the protectors to protect until they cant anymore..

Sorry if my choice to pasture and let roosters do their thing offends you, but ultimately a rooster is $3 and for every rooster we lose, it was already a rooster saved.. Everyday male baby chicks go into hatchery grinders because people dont want rooster at nearly the rate they want hens.. Maybe their life is short here protecting the flock, but its better than the grinder, and for the time they are here they are spoiled and given the run of the land.. I think if you could ask them, they would rather die for us than never get a life at all

 

[centrarchid]

Im sorry if my roosters are expected to self sacrifice bothers you.. But its their job.. Its their instinct.. A good rooster has 3 jobs

1. Find food for his girls
2. Mate
3. Protect his girls until his dying breath

I dont desire my roosters get killed, but if one of my chickens is going to, id prefer it be a rooster..

The secret service is meant to take a bullet for the president.. Do we expect them to, or should the president just stay locked up away from the bad people in the world? Obviously we expect the protectors to protect until they cant anymore..

Sorry if my choice to pasture and let roosters do their thing offends you, but ultimately a rooster is $3 and for every rooster we lose, it was already a rooster saved.. Everyday male baby chicks go into hatchery grinders because people dont want rooster at nearly the rate they want hens.. Maybe their life is short here protecting the flock, but its better than the grinder, and for the time they are here they are spoiled and given the run of the land.. I think if you could ask them, they would rather die for us than never get a life at all

Take time to read some of my post on subject and look to see how I keep birds. Until then you will only look silly.

 

[Hillschicks]

Im not interested in how you raise your birds, lady. I was giving my perspective to the person who inquired about keeping their chickens safe.. If you sleep better at night with electrified netting so be it.. Maybe not everybody wants electrified netting in their yard/field .. Maybe i like to sit in my chair and look out my front window and see my chickens walking by chasing bugs.. If yours are enclosed like farm animals thats fine, but i like to let mine out everyday, and thats not going to change because someone grumbles like a child on a forum

 

[centrarchid]

I'm a dude, dude. Most of my birds run free at least as juveniles. I even have some roosting on my front porch which has been continuous for that family group for four years. A few others roost in trees in pasture with no buildings. If you have them roosting under a roof you are coddling them.