free ranging chickens

[chcknlttl]

Hey everyone!

My chicks are coming up on 5ish weeks and I just started bringing them out for field trips in our yard. They LOVE it!

I am sooooo excited for them to free range eventually, but that begs the questions -- when is the appropriate age to let them do that? and HOW?!

Will they know to stay close? Will they just leave? Will they go in the road? Do I need to set up some boundaries/fencing for them? Do I need to watch them the entire time they're outside or can I leave them unattended? Will they go in the woods and wonder?

I live on a fairly quiet road surrounded by woods with no neighbors. Some people drive far too fast and we definitely have predators. Hawks are around for sure daily. I know the foxes and coyotes are out there, though I've not seen any close yet.

Any tips or advice on keeping my flock safe are welcome!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Are all of your chickens about 5 weeks old?
If so I would let them free range with my supervision, only at first. You will need to teach them where they can go and where you want them to stay out of, like no road. I had to teach no road and no next door neighbor gardens. Roosters are really good when it comes to help with this. Decide what calls you will use to mean what, stay consistent, reward with a few treats. Use the treats for rewards and they will learn quickly, but you have to work with them regularly, like daily right now. Chickens are smart they learn fast and can be manipulative.
Work hard with them and eventually you will be able to let them free range at will. As you get more chickens, the older hens and if you have a rooster, the littles will learn from them.
Good luck.
I would try no woods if you can keep them out.

 

[vintage]

Mine are nearly 8 weeks and only free range under supervision. We have hawks, one was scoping our yard out yesterday. Our run is currently under construction, so I'm out with them a few times a day making sure they are safe. We don't have a roo, but we do have a dog that watches them closely if I need to step away for a few minutes.

 

[chcknlttl]

Are all of your chickens about 5 weeks old?
If so I would let them free range with my supervision, only at first. You will need to teach them where they can go and where you want them to stay out of, like no road. I had to teach no road and no next door neighbor gardens. Roosters are really good when it comes to help with this. Decide what calls you will use to mean what, stay consistent, reward with a few treats. Use the treats for rewards and they will learn quickly, but you have to work with them regularly, like daily right now. Chickens are smart they learn fast and can be manipulative.
Work hard with them and eventually you will be able to let them free range at will. As you get more chickens, the older hens and if you have a rooster, the littles will learn from them.
Good luck.
I would try no woods if you can keep them out.

Sort of sounds like training a dog haha. Yesterday one of the chicks jumped up to the top of the play pen I have them in outside and she decided all on her own to go back in with her siblings! So that was pretty cool. I think I might have a hard time keeping them out of the woods completely, but I guess I'll have to teach them boundaries. It's our road I worry about more. It's like pet cemetery sometimes with trucks and speeders. Thank for these tips! I'm going to give supervised free ranging a go this week.

 

[chcknlttl]

Mine are nearly 8 weeks and only free range under supervision. We have hawks, one was scoping our yard out yesterday. Our run is currently under construction, so I'm out with them a few times a day making sure they are safe. We don't have a roo, but we do have a dog that watches them closely if I need to step away for a few minutes.

Well that's a pretty cool dog! Hmmm I wonder if our cat will supervise.....

 

[SueT]

They won’t just run away, but they might go farther than you’d like. You could start with letting them out in late afternoon, and when it’s time to go in, lure them with treats. Tho they will naturally go back in each evening, it might be later than you’d wish.

We let our chickens free range most days for about 4 years, and they stayed within about half an acre radius of their coop. Sometimes a little farther. For whatever reason, they did not go into the road.
Occasionally we’d lose one to predators, at which time, we’d lock everyone into the run for a few weeks. We raised replacements each year. But last year, hawks kept returning, so they’ve been locked up for months. The hawk(s) flies over every day just making sure. I haven’t felt like letting them out and btw, it didn’t take them all that long to get used to confinement.

 

[Jeanw]

When my hens were young I kept them in their coop and run area so they understood that was their home and safe area, for about a week. Then I let them free range and they stay in their yard. I don’t know how they know to stay but they do. They are most happy when allowed to forage freely. We have hawks, foxes, dogs, etc here and they’ve been attacked but thankfully all still alive. I understand there is a risk to free ranging.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I get 6 to 7 day old chicks about every 2 years depending on how many I loose to predators, or some other reason.
I lost 3 chickens in 13 months to predators while free ranging.
I only let them free range an hour before sunset daily.

Will they know to stay close? Will they just leave? Will they go in the road? Do I need to set up some boundaries/fencing for them? Do I need to watch them the entire time they're outside or can I leave them unattended? Will they go in the woods and wonder?

With my first Flock 5 years ago, I didn't let them free range till they were a year old, 2 hours daily.
They stayed close to the coop at first, then gradually roamed further and eventually into the woods about 30', but always came back to the coop.
Then I started to let them out to free range 4 hours before sunset.
About a week later I get a text from my neighbor across the street, my chickens are in her backyard.
I had to lock the 5 hens in their 300 square foot pen for 2 weeks. After that I only let them out 1 hour before sunset daily, and they still frequently crossed the road.
I am on my second and third Flocks and only let them out an hour before sunset daily, they've never crossed the road in more than 2 years.

My chicks are coming up on 5ish weeks and I just started bringing them out for field trips in our yard.

I keep my 5 to 7 chicks in a brooder till 5 weeks old then they go into a 18 or 22 square foot coop with food and water for about a week, before letting them outside into a 200 square foot, covered pen.

I don't let them Free Range till all pullets have been laying in the coop for at least a month.
With my newest Flock the last to lay started at 23 weeks. So I let them free range after 6 months old with me by their side constantly for about 2 weeks and frequently checking on them for another month. Still I sometimes have to look for a lost pullet, last evening a 11 months old got lost from her flock and started squawking. I had to show her the way back to her coop after sunset.

GC

 

[CluckerFamily]

I don’t free range until after the flock is laying their eggs and in the correct spots. Then they know where their safe home is and where the eggs belong.

 

[chcknlttl]

Thanks for all your input everyone!