Free Ranging Near Alfalfa

[KW Farms]

Hi all! I just got back into chickens this year and at this time have 8 young buff orpingtons. They have a coop and small run right now, but once they're a bit older i'd like to let them out during the day to free range. Now I have a few questions. We grow alfalfa hay and my set up is right next to one of our alfalfa fields so i'm assuming they'll be out there quite a bit if I turn them loose. Is that okay for them? Any concerns with free ranging in/near the hay field?

Also, how do I get them to come back to their coop every evening? Will they kind of make their way back on their own or do they need to be trained? If so...how do I go about training them? We have coyotes out here during the night so I want to make sure they're locked up every evening.

Any help, tips, or guidance is much appreciated!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Chickens love alfalfa and it is very good for them. Some people even buy alfalfa cubes or meal to include as part of the chicken feed (my chickens refused to eat alfalfa meal though). They LOVE to eat the leaves off a bale of alfalfa hay. The fines are delicious to them.

I'd avoid chopping long strings of it for them if you cut some for them to eat manually, which it sounds like you won't be doing anyway. I'd keep it short, like 2-3 inches long to prevent impacted crop. But if you are using the hay as bedding then I'd not worry too much since many people use hay as bedding.

If they are grazing over it they will bite off a nice amount and you don't have to worry.

They will come back to their coop by themselves and put themselves in at night. But I'd be ready to install a battery or electric light for them to be on at dusk if they have some problems going into the coop at dusk. This happens sometimes with adolescents. After they get older they will become accustomed to going in at night.

Hawks can be a problem for pullets I have found while they are still kind of small- also for adult chickens. If it were me, I'd put one or more pallets elevated on concrete blocks near your hay field for them to dive under if they are far from shelter. I give these to my chickens and it really helps. You can make them so that the pallet is even lower to the ground and that's good, and use firewood splits to elevate them if you don't have blocks. We have lots of hawks flying in the field next to us all the time.

Chickens can dive under the pallets if they see a hawk.

 

[cafarmgirl]

We grow alfalfa too and on more then one occasion we've flushed out coyote hiding in the hay very near the house in the middle of the day. So if you have them around at night they'll start coming in closer in the daytime too, especially if chickens are roaming about. That said, I doubt your chickens will roam very far into the alfalfa except when it is short. My chickens have access to about 3/4 acre of pasture and when the grass gets head high to them they stay out of it, sticking to the edges and near the barn where it's short. Although when your alfalfa has been cut they'll have a fine time scratching apart your windrows!

Person doing the baling might not be to happy!

 

[KW Farms]

I love your avatar!

Chickens love alfalfa and it is very good for them. Some people even buy alfalfa cubes or meal to include as part of the chicken feed (my chickens refused to eat alfalfa meal though). They LOVE to eat the leaves off a bale of alfalfa hay. The fines are delicious to them.

I'd avoid chopping long strings of it for them if you cut some for them to eat manually, which it sounds like you won't be doing anyway. I'd keep it short, like 2-3 inches long to prevent impacted crop. But if you are using the hay as bedding then I'd not worry too much since many people use hay as bedding.

If they are grazing over it they will bite off a nice amount and you don't have to worry.

They will come back to their coop by themselves and put themselves in at night. But I'd be ready to install a battery or electric light for them to be on at dusk if they have some problems going into the coop at dusk. This happens sometimes with adolescents. After they get older they will become accustomed to going in at night.

Hawks can be a problem for pullets I have found while they are still kind of small- also for adult chickens. If it were me, I'd put one or more pallets elevated on concrete blocks near your hay field for them to dive under if they are far from shelter. I give these to my chickens and it really helps. You can make them so that the pallet is even lower to the ground and that's good, and use firewood splits to elevate them if you don't have blocks. We have lots of hawks flying in the field next to us all the time.

Chickens can dive under the pallets if they see a hawk.

Thank you! That is very helpful!

That pallet cover is a great idea. I occasionally see hawks, but not too often luckily.


Quote:
That is great to hear they are fine with the alfalfa. I'll have to keep the coyotes in mind. There's usually quite a bit of "human" activity around there during the day so hopefully that keeps them away for the most part, but when that alfalfa gets tall i'm sure they could sneak around in there.

 

[centrarchid]

Alfalfa, red clover and white clover have all been used as forage by my birds when grown for hay or pasture. They are very good for direct consumption and usually support abundant insect forages. Predator risk will develop over time despite current coyote activity apparent only at night. Other predators will show up as well. You can suppress predators potentially with electrified poultry netting and / or active dog that can drive predators off.