Free-ranging in the woods?

[UrbanEnthusiast]

I also posted this in "Managing Your Flock" but didn't get many responses. This is probably a better place for it.

So here's our situation. Next month we're making our dreams come true and moving to 10 wooded, unfenced acres on an island in Puget Sound. I want to keep about 20 layers. Sadly I don't think a rooster will be possible unless he's VERY quiet. What I want is to build a very sturdy coop and just let the hens roam wherever they want during the day, but we do have all the usual daytime predators: raptors, coyotes, domestic dogs and cats. I've raised chickens before on a fenced, one-acre property in Seattle but this is new territory for me. If I get the right birds, is this possible? The breeds I've considered so far are Hamburgs, Egyptian Fayoumis, or some sort of game hen. I would like my birds to eat mostly off the land and lay in winter, with a light in the coop. I do plan to cull them and start a new flock after two to four seasons, depending on how many eggs I'm getting. Think I can get them to lay in nest boxes? I'm guessing I'm going to have to train the dog to search for eggs. Sounds crazy, but I'm serious. We're going to be getting a young herding dog after we move out there. I just really want to free-range but we can't afford a lot of fencing. I don't mind occasional predator losses but I can't be raising chicks all the time, especially without a rooster. Am I dreaming? Help!

 

[chooks4life]

I also posted this in "Managing Your Flock" but didn't get many responses. This is probably a better place for it.

This has become a massive site, there's many threads I would have replied to if I'd found them in time but it's simply too large a membership for everyone to get noticed in time. Which sucks for those with time-dependent emergency cases. At this rate, I'd suggest newbies find someone (several someones is a better bet) whose poultry husbandry philosophy matches theirs and PM them with questions about anything important they need to know.

So here's our situation. Next month we're making our dreams come true and moving to 10 wooded, unfenced acres on an island in Puget Sound. I want to keep about 20 layers. Sadly I don't think a rooster will be possible unless he's VERY quiet. What I want is to build a very sturdy coop and just let the hens roam wherever they want during the day, but we do have all the usual daytime predators: raptors, coyotes, domestic dogs and cats. I've raised chickens before on a fenced, one-acre property in Seattle but this is new territory for me. If I get the right birds, is this possible?

Of course, it's possible, but I'd encourage you not to believe the read-ups on breeds too much, as individual family lines within those breeds can be completely not as per the breed's personality/traits description. Physical type is about the most reliable thing about any breed. Everything else fluctuates widely depending on the breeders of the most recent generations.

You may want to hedge your bets with a few breeds, or perhaps get some already tame mongrels from someone to use as 'test chickens'. We did that with some Pekin/Silkie/Cochin mongrels, used them as snake bait basically while testing the sanity of the idea of having poultry on a place adjoining remnant rainforest positively writhing with pythons, pigs, dogs, goannas, etc... The test chickens endure yet.

But that may be because they were instinctive and experienced little free-rangers, I wouldn't have expected non-instinctive and non-experienced cage-bred and cage-reared commercial birds to last anywhere near as long if we'd gotten them first.

Because we got smarter birds first, they served as the brains fund for the dumber commercial layers we got next, who basically like overgrown chicks relied on the mongrels to keep an eye out, teach them hazards and food sources and social manners and all the normal chickeny things they should be doing. Chickens are proven to learn from one another just by watching, so even one 'naughty' chicken can teach the whole flock to do the same.

The breeds I've considered so far are Hamburgs, Egyptian Fayoumis, or some sort of game hen.

I'd hedge my bets if I were you, and pay close attention to the breeder's setups. If they have lived in cages or small runs, for generations, they may not be any use in the more wild situation. Instincts need to be reinforced to be confirmed and retained or they are discarded, gradually, as being obsolete.

I would like my birds to eat mostly off the land and lay in winter, with a light in the coop.

For that you probably won't want coddled purebreds who have always lived in cages with food on tap. You'd need birds raised free range to lead that sort out to go food hunting. Not all birds can adapt to free range foraging. I culled out those who failed in my flock, so mine do well now, but in the early years there were quite a few 'cage-lovers'.

Some birds choose to stay in or around the cages all day, every day, unless they have a more instinctive bird to follow out into the woods. It's also possible that they'll just choose to hang around the house yards.

About wanting eggs in winter, the easiest way to do that is to hatch pullets at such a time that ensures they reach point of lay around winter or whenever their mothers are taking their seasonal break. You get more eggs for longer per chook if you allow them to take seasonal breaks, to brood and moult at normal times. Those bred to no longer moult within their first 2 years, or brood, are soon running on empty and produce poorer quality eggs, but more of them, and then die young but prematurely aged whether you cull them or not. Some live longer but very few are really economical for the home environment.

I've kept mongrels, purebreds and commercial layer hybrids and the latter, which are already genetically maximized for peak production, failed to be efficient compared to purebred layer breeds like leghorns or mongrels, my favorite, who in the long run outperform high performers who are only so productive when very young.

With commercial hybrids you get a lot of lower-grade but usually slightly larger eggs the first and second year, but the bird guzzles like a pig; you can feed two mongrel hens on the amount one of those needs, and she's never satisfied. She doesn't moult when she should, so ends up wearing a ratty and threadbare coat which causes her to need more food to stay warm. When eventually she does go into her delayed break, she won't come out of it any sort of reliable producer in most cases. Whereas mongrel hens are producing a bit less each season but well and truly outdo them for years to come, with less food consumption, in greater health, and the eggs are better quality too because the hens were not producing under duress. Plus, mongrel hens who took breaks to brood have better table qualities when culled compared to even young non-broodies whose flesh is coarse and rooster-like. When a hen broods she burns muscle as well as fat and replaces it with fresh and more tender muscle.

I do plan to cull them and start a new flock after two to four seasons, depending on how many eggs I'm getting.

You may do alright with the breeds you've chosen if the breeder was paying attention to production characteristics but a hybrid mix or two might serve you better for longer. Chances are, if you get a rooster down the track, you'll end up with mixes anyway. They're 'bang for your buck' generally. For long-term egg production mongrels are better in my opinion but each to their own.

Think I can get them to lay in nest boxes?

Around POL, locking them in the cage to ensure they lay there, is one method. Another is to have fake plaster-of-paris 'nest eggs' which permanently remain in the nests, I really recommend that, as a nest continually cleared out is a nest robbed as far as the more instinctive hens see it, and they will abandon it for somewhere safer to build their clutch.

I'm guessing I'm going to have to train the dog to search for eggs. Sounds crazy, but I'm serious. We're going to be getting a young herding dog after we move out there. I just really want to free-range but we can't afford a lot of fencing. I don't mind occasional predator losses but I can't be raising chicks all the time, especially without a rooster. Am I dreaming? Help!

Dogs aren't usually so good at finding hidden nests, strangely enough. If an egg breaks or the hen has bad habits and poops there then it's easier. But I'd guess the bloom on the eggs perhaps has some masking qualities as it is antibacterial. If your dog does find nests what's the chances it won't eat all the eggs without notifying you? Many dogs cannot resist eggs.

Some people offer basically what are free or nearly so stud services. Your hens go to them, or you borrow their rooster. By the time your neighbors (and yourself) are well and truly fed up with his noise, the hens are likely to be 'pregnant' --- it takes 2 weeks to be certain, provided all are fertile, but often just one mating between a healthy hen and rooster will do it. If you breed your own, your hens' daughters will be reaching point of lay as their mothers are ready to take a seasonal break, and when the daughters are ready for their seasonal break, the mothers are ready to resume. Plus, many chooks bond very strongly to their brooding site, and will return to the same cage generation after generation if raised there, as basically the mother hens teach the babies to go back there at night. Given a decent cage, most chooks really appreciate it and prefer to be safe in a cage overnight.

In order to not have to retrain your chickens with each new generation to return to the coop, lay there, etc, it's easier to keep on some wiser older hens, if you choose not to breed but do choose to cull each older lot and replace them. They help establish and maintain social peace and teach young ones the dangers and benefits of free ranging. Nasty juvenile fights are greatly lessened by having older, stable animals present.

It also helps to train them to come when called, and this is best started before they are allowed to free range so they are around to learn the concept when you're ready to teach it. Just show up with food, treats, whatever, and call them however you want to. I just go 'here, chook chook chook' (highly original I know but on a place with many animals you've got to teach them all species specific calls).

Best wishes.

 

[cnicho05]

Hello,

I would strongly suggest you start by carefully considering the breeds of chicken you will have. Heritage breeds oftentimes are less friendly and will stay away from people and other species of animals. This would make them ideal for the situation you have described since they are more likely to run away from any predator.

Since you will have a coop you should consider installing lights on the interior and exterior of the unit. The light on the interior will attract the hens back to the coop where they will stay during the night. Most people believe they have to do something special to train their chickens but the process is quite simple. Just keep them in the coop or close to the coop for about a week. After that you can free range them and they should return on their own. The second light, on the exterior of the coop will help scare away predators and works for me quite well...

In any instance, you will want to keep a close eye on the coop and hens for the first couple of weeks. I would suggest you try to harvest any predators which might be a threat to your hens.