Free range unattended?

[Folly's place]

For bears, electric fencing is necessary!
Mary

 

[beebesknees]

We have mostly nocturnal predators as well with the exception of hawks/owls etc... I don't think I can guarantee their safety so I'll just have to do what I can and accept the risks. I'll be sad but it is nature!

 

[vintage]

I don't let mine free range unattended. Our dog and I are with them when I let them out.

We have so many hawks in our area, before we got our chickens we loved it. I have a small flock of seven, and they are constantly watching the sky alerting each other of danger. But I don't take any chances because there are so few.

 

[ReelFaster]

I am new to chickens, don't have much experience at all so for what it's worth and my two cents is I'd er on the side of caution with them being that young. I have 2 at 7 weeks and they are pretty small still. I've got mostly nocturnal predators foxes, raccoons, possums, along with owls and hawks. Fortunately I have a heavy canopy of trees they free range under which helps a little with hawks but they are still vulnerable. Automatic locking door to the coop which is secure at night.

I adopted part time free ranging. This happens when I am there with them or at least in the vicinity of them. Most nights after work I'll let them out in the evening for an hour or 2 while I sit and relax or play with my kids in the yard. Weekends I'll let them out even more while I do yard and coop choirs. Sometimes my wife and kids will let them out for a bit and play with them. They are so easy to get back into the run and run to me at the shake of cracked corn in a can.

I have not let the 7 week old pullets out yet as I have not integrated them fully with the 3 older hens. Afraid they are still a little unpredictable and fear I might not be able to get them back into the run as easily as the hens. Once they are integrated and accepted into the flock (fingers crossed) I'll start letting them out. They are so sweet, first chicks I ever raised.

 

[Brooks_]

They are so easy to get back into the run and run to me at the shake of cracked corn in a can.

That worked for me when they were younger, not at all anymore. Maybe I didn't train them well enough. I have to be careful of the timing when letting them out. They seem pretty well trained to this. Early in the day I can open the door w/o much effort from them to come out. Late in the afternoon though, I'll get bum rushed.

 

[beebesknees]

I am new to chickens, don't have much experience at all so for what it's worth and my two cents is I'd er on the side of caution with them being that young. I have 2 at 7 weeks and they are pretty small still. I've got mostly nocturnal predators foxes, raccoons, possums, along with owls and hawks. Fortunately I have a heavy canopy of trees they free range under which helps a little with hawks but they are still vulnerable. Automatic locking door to the coop which is secure at night.

I adopted part time free ranging. This happens when I am there with them or at least in the vicinity of them. Most nights after work I'll let them out in the evening for an hour or 2 while I sit and relax or play with my kids in the yard. Weekends I'll let them out even more while I do yard and coop choirs. Sometimes my wife and kids will let them out for a bit and play with them. They are so easy to get back into the run and run to me at the shake of cracked corn in a can.

I have not let the 7 week old pullets out yet as I have not integrated them fully with the 3 older hens. Afraid they are still a little unpredictable and fear I might not be able to get them back into the run as easily as the hens. Once they are integrated and accepted into the flock (fingers crossed) I'll start letting them out. They are so sweet, first chicks I ever raised.

I got 20 this Spring and brooded them. They are fast growing dual purpose birds so they are quite large already. They are full grown at 12 weeks so we're almost there. They seem so happy out there. They are taking dirt baths and even coming and knocking on the door for me to come out and sit with them. (My breed is very social) I have a lot of thinking to do. I want them safe but I also want them happy.

 

[ReelFaster]

That worked for me when they were younger, not at all anymore. Maybe I didn't train them well enough. I have to be careful of the timing when letting them out. They seem pretty well trained to this. Early in the day I can open the door w/o much effort from them to come out. Late in the afternoon though, I'll get bum rushed.

Being new to chickens when I first got them back in Feb, I spent a lot of time with them in the run just hanging out with them, trying to get them to get use to me petting them, hand feeding them. I'd give them treats often but not too much, ok maybe I am guilty of giving to much once in a while.

So after time they began to look at me as one big walking treat, lol. They seem to bum rush me no matter what time day it is. I thought after time they'd catch onto me luring them back into the run, nope they fall for it and almost expect it everytime. If I ever have trouble I have soldier worms I give them, they go absolutely bonkers for them even more than cracked corn.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's not an easy question. We all face different predator pressures. My parents and grandparents had flocks in rural areas that totally free ranged. No fences of any kind. Some slept in trees. My parents had two predator attacks from when I can remember until I was 18 years old and left home. One was a dog and one was a fox. Both were shot. They went many years with no real issues.

When I started my flock in the country I let them free range, starting at 8 weeks by the way. I did lock them securely in a coop at night. In that three year time I lost two chickens, I think to a fox, maybe a coyote. After each loss I left them locked in a run for a month so the fox did not see it as a place for a regular stop to get an easy meal. Two chickens in three years, not good but I could live with it. Quite a bit different from my parents' experiences though.

Then one day somebody abandoned two big dogs in the country. I lost 8 chickens before I managed to shoot them. Shooting a dog is not a pleasant experience for me. It's not their fault, it's the idiots that abandoned them when they could have dropped them off at the animal shelter for free. About 2 months later another dog was dropped off in the country. That cost me 5 more chickens, enough that I had to make an emergency chick order to get my numbers back where I wanted them. Plus that cost me the cockerel I was planning for breeding and my only green egg laying hen.

That was the end of free ranging. Not because of foxes, coyotes, or bobcats, but because of idiots dropping dogs off out in the country. We all face different predator pressures. I got some electric netting and set up a big area they can roam without worry from ground based predators. Since then I've lost two more chickens, a full grown hen to a hawk and a juvenile to an owl that went into a shelter at night and pulled him out. That was my fault, I went to a meal and play with friends and did not get back to lock them up until 11:00 that night.

In all these attacks my roosters have never been harmed. No feathers lost. I consider my roosters more of an early warning system rather than a protector. Mine lead the flock to safety when a threat is confirmed rather than fighting a rear guard action. Others have a different opinion.

Don't believe the myth that these predators only are a threat at night. I have seen coyotes, foxes, a bobcat, and a mink hunting during the day. A neighbor was washing the lunch dishes and saw a bobcat take her rooster from ambush through the window over the sink, the rooster didn't see it coming. I once saw a possum eating from my compost pile in the middle of a bright sunny day. I once trapped a raccoon in the middle of the day The threats from skunks, possum and raccoons aren't that high to the chickens when the chickens are awake but they eat eggs.

The danger is higher at night. Some predators are more active at night. Human activity during the day keeps some away. They have more time to work their mischief undisturbed at night. If you set up a game camera at night you may be amazed at how much activity there is at night. I strongly encourage you to safely lock them in a predator proof coop at night. That improves your odds tremendously.

I don't know what the right decision for you is. You might get wiped out the first day you try free ranging. You may go years without a problem. I wish you the best, however you decide.

 

[beebesknees]

It's not an easy question. We all face different predator pressures. My parents and grandparents had flocks in rural areas that totally free ranged. No fences of any kind. Some slept in trees. My parents had two predator attacks from when I can remember until I was 18 years old and left home. One was a dog and one was a fox. Both were shot. They went many years with no real issues.

When I started my flock in the country I let them free range, starting at 8 weeks by the way. I did lock them securely in a coop at night. In that three year time I lost two chickens, I think to a fox, maybe a coyote. After each loss I left them locked in a run for a month so the fox did not see it as a place for a regular stop to get an easy meal. Two chickens in three years, not good but I could live with it. Quite a bit different from my parents' experiences though.

Then one day somebody abandoned two big dogs in the country. I lost 8 chickens before I managed to shoot them. Shooting a dog is not a pleasant experience for me. It's not their fault, it's the idiots that abandoned them when they could have dropped them off at the animal shelter for free. About 2 months later another dog was dropped off in the country. That cost me 5 more chickens, enough that I had to make an emergency chick order to get my numbers back where I wanted them. Plus that cost me the cockerel I was planning for breeding and my only green egg laying hen.

That was the end of free ranging. Not because of foxes, coyotes, or bobcats, but because of idiots dropping dogs off out in the country. We all face different predator pressures. I got some electric netting and set up a big area they can roam without worry from ground based predators. Since then I've lost two more chickens, a full grown hen to a hawk and a juvenile to an owl that went into a shelter at night and pulled him out. That was my fault, I went to a meal and play with friends and did not get back to lock them up until 11:00 that night.

In all these attacks my roosters have never been harmed. No feathers lost. I consider my roosters more of an early warning system rather than a protector. Mine lead the flock to safety when a threat is confirmed rather than fighting a rear guard action. Others have a different opinion.

Don't believe the myth that these predators only are a threat at night. I have seen coyotes, foxes, a bobcat, and a mink hunting during the day. A neighbor was washing the lunch dishes and saw a bobcat take her rooster from ambush through the window over the sink, the rooster didn't see it coming. I once saw a possum eating from my compost pile in the middle of a bright sunny day. I once trapped a raccoon in the middle of the day The threats from skunks, possum and raccoons aren't that high to the chickens when the chickens are awake but they eat eggs.

The danger is higher at night. Some predators are more active at night. Human activity during the day keeps some away. They have more time to work their mischief undisturbed at night. If you set up a game camera at night you may be amazed at how much activity there is at night. I strongly encourage you to safely lock them in a predator proof coop at night. That improves your odds tremendously.

I don't know what the right decision for you is. You might get wiped out the first day you try free ranging. You may go years without a problem. I wish you the best, however you decide.

Wow! That is a lot of great info and very enlightening! I do lock mine up at night in their coop. They already come back and get in in the evening. They are still new at it though so maybe as they get more adventurous that will change. I think no matter what you do, you will always have a threat. You're right that each person is different. Each yard and set up is different as well as shelter and safety spaces. I appreciate all your words here. They are very helpful.

 

[KrazyChickenLady13]

We have two flocks that have yet to integrate, but ours have a TON of both manmade and natural protection, so many options that they keep to to stay away from predators. Both our flock of 20 week old and 12 week old birds free range, and regularly cover around 3 acres of our property, and we haven't lost a bird so far. We do however have four roosters, two of them are large so they might be part of it. And as of Covid we are at the house almost 24/7. It's a personal question so examine the area their free ranging and decide if they have plenty of safety options, and decide if the benefits of free ranging are worth the risk! We are surrounded by forest, and keep them securely locked in a tractor each night!