Free Ranging Breeds

[blueoval1]

What are good free ranging breeds i have a egg laying flock but i wanted some i could free range all the time, thanks

 

[azelgin]

Of the three varaties we have, the Wayondottes are best, the Orpingtons come in 2nd and the EEs would just as soon stay in the coop.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

I free range my game chickens. They seem to be able to evade predators much better than the bigger breeds.

 

[azelgin]

Quote:
I had not thought about the predator susceptibility, I was just thinking which ones were better at rustling up their own grub. Good point. Speedy chickens can run for cover faster than my fat waddlers.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Yeah it seems like around here they dissappear if they not pretty quick and can fly pretty good. Id love to be able to have some free ranging wyandottes. But Im afraid they wouldnt last long at all.

 

[Kev]

Fayoumis, colored Leghorns(browns,blacks- white are a bit too conspicuous), Longtails, Campines, Hamburgs are good trys.

Games are probably THE very best one for free ranging. My Kraienkoppes were extremely efficient rangers, even as half grown chicks turned out from the brooder. They are nearly, if not on par with Games.

Fayoumis and Leghorns may have the plus of hens not likely to go broody, which can be desirable if broody hens are 'at high risk' for predators.

 

[silkieluvr]

My banty rocks are excellent free rangers, they're fast and very smart. And cute to boot!!

 

[walkswithdog]

Both my Partridge Rocks and my Black Australorps are great free rangers. There's a LEARNING curve in all flocks, especially when you're starting an all new flock from babies. They do actually have to figure out what a predator looks like, how to avoid it, how to react. In short, what works.

You lose birds at first because YOU don't see holes you should, miss predator proofing something, forget to close a door. It happens. You learn, they do too. Eventually you and they learn not to get burned.

If your set up is tweaked to discourage hawks, keep away stray dogs, allow them to get up quite high or under stuff to safety..

Free ranging is NEVER "safe". You always stand the chance of losing birds. It's a risk you are willing to take or not. I can't help but grin as the group wanders up and down my drive and between pastures. There's a risk, if they weren't willing to take it, they'd not leave the coop. They're happy out there, clucking, flapping, flying, exploring. I'm willing to take that risk, I have lost some. It did hurt, it did make me angry. But cooping them up isn't an answer for me.

 

[azelgin]

Quote:
I couldn't agree with you more. We have cat we feel the same way about. He was used to going outside before we moved here. We have a lot of coyotes that come around at night and outdoor cats can be short lived. But, he is so miserable and such a pain when we keep him confined, we're ready to kill him ourselves. If, he ends up missing, sure, we will miss him greatly. We would rather see him live a happy short life than a long miserable one. He's been around for ten years now, so he must be doing someting right.

 

[Promiselandfarm]

We have a solid white cat that lives outside. He is out most nights but we also have GPs that guard our farms. All of our chickens seem to love to free range when we let them out