Free ranging pros and cons?

[SixChickFlock]

Hmmm... Taller fence? Keep the gates closed. Give them plenty to do in your yard. Places to sun themselves, forage, dust bathe and run around like chickens. Frequent unexpected treats might help.

I ziptied garden fence to my wrought iron fence to keep them from squeezing through. When things started growing this spring, they seemed more content to stay home. Or maybe they're getting too fat to fly over the fence!

 

[mksmaggie]

my chickens and turkeys free range during the day and go to their enclosed pen and coop at night. they have their own inground pool in their run as well as a fan in their coop during the hot weather. we utilize ice packs in their water also. the water is heated for the winter months. our girls are very much creatures of routine...they see me head towards their coop and the literally flock around me and escort me to their coop in the evenings. they used to be in a coop/run prior to my getting them. now that they are free rangers, they are very happy and quite content. no stress....no fighting...just happy birds.

 

[leslihilton]

I'm down to 9 here at home with coop and large run which is fine if I didn't let them out, however, I want them to have the opportunity to forage as often as possible. My Lab isn't much protection for them, although she's usually out with them but if they don't want to play ball she doesn't really keep the stray cat from trying to sneak up. I am almost always out working around the gardens or nearby when they are free ranging so I can chase the cat away. My rooster is a silkie and is always on the lookout for birds of prey and anything else but I really don't think he can offer much defense. I constantly have to run them out of the vegetable garden since everything is just getting started (I plant from seed) but they could be helpful further into the summer. They have plenty of places to hide or dig and lots of room to wander. Throughout the winter I grow sprouts/fodder and feed them so they are still getting lots of greens.
As far as diseases, I feel the less cooped up they are the less chance of getting sick and the coop and run don't get as dirty as quick.
I'd definitely say predators are always my min concern. I don't clip their wings and I've trained them so the will go back in their run when I clap my hands and say inside. Just develop a relationship with them, pull up a chair and hang out with them until they know the rules and that you are there for love and protection!

 

[acates]

I live on 40 acres that borders a national forest. I have two dogs that seem to keep preditors away. I have only been letting mine free range for an hour or so before dark. I stay out with them. They always go in once it gets close to bedtime! If I need them in sooner I just call them and they follow me in. I think it makes them happier getting out for a little bit. If you do it before dark it makes it a lot easier to get them put up.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

Our girls "free range" in a large fenced area we call the chicken yard. Basically it's the side of our house. It has worked out great for us. They have about 80 something square feet each. We don't really have many predators... The occasional hawk. We purposely planted trees so they could have shade and covering from hawks though and there are lots of hiding places. I love our set up and feel like they are reasonably safe. We let them out at 6am and lock them in at sundown.

 

[kittyhelene]

Our two Border Collie crosses barely even look at our poultry, although they do help me round them back into the coop. The two roosters definitely look after the girls, but our Pekin duck, Jemima, takes care of the ducks (including our two docile drakes). I used to let them all free range every day and lock them up at night. They're definitely messy,and they did decimate my wine barrel garden, but seeing how happy they are when they can wander around and check everything out is more enjoyable for me than the results of my poor gardening skills. I rather enjoy the egg hunt in the afternoon, just make sure they can't get under the house to lay!

 

[sconnary32]

We live in suburbia and have a average size backyard. It easily satisfies our 4 girls. The key is having bushes and trees for shelter. Now a poster mentioned egg hunting as a con... you need to train them to lay in the coop. When chickens show signs of laying you leave them in the run. Put two golf balls in the bedding of the nesting box. The day I put the golf balls in there they layer on top of them. No more lost eggs.
As for poop. Yeah, it sucks but we just have outside shoes and make due. When we clean up dog poop we pick up chicken poop.
Placing fly bags around chicken areas is a must.
As someone mentioned, make sure the right dogs are introduced. I made the mistake of throwing a Frisbee for a German Shephard. It spooked the chickens and the German became chicken hungry.
That is some of what I learned.

 

[AKchicken1]

Dogs, cats, foxes, goshawks, red tailed hawks, ravens, great horned owls, bald eagles, golden eagles, coyotes, chicken hawks...... Nice manicured lawn of chicken poo. Oh, and eggs laid in random little hidey holes. But it's fun and the birds love it. We "free range" a handful at a time when we are around to more or less keep track.

 

[Chipk]

I have an acre with plenty of gardens, trees and bushes and my Roo and his 5 girls rule it all.
I have a "rolling" coop that moves around every 2 days. I use a plastic covered cat litter box as a nesting box and 80% of my eggs are laid in it even though they can hide their eggs anywhere.
The best pro is being greeted every time we drive in. They come running and it's very heartwarming.
The biggest con is the occasional need to hose off the front porch, especially after a bad storm. No big deal.

 

[wendallbme]

I can't think of any real pros to free ranging other than the romantic aspect of 'happy' / free animals.....and the pragmatic aspect of lower feed costs.

The cons far outweigh the pros for me, I live on a busy 55mph road and have 15 acres of woods that are home to many predators, so mine are confined to a decent sized coop and run that is hawk proof and pretty good against other predators. I live where we get feet of snow for months, so built coop of a size to accommodate weather related confinement. They are provided with vegetation in grazing frames and kitchen and garden scraps, animal protein with homegrown mealworms and kitchen scraps. Egg sales cover the cost of purchased feeds.

Cons:
Poop everywhere, often where you want to walk near the house.
Dead birds in a busy road and due to predation of numerous kinds....dead birds don't lay eggs.
Destruction of food and/or ornamental gardens, I'd rather fence them in than have to fence them out of where I don't want them destroying things.
Egg hunting, can't sell eggs I can't find, free rangers often choose to lay elsewhere than in the coop.

Just my opinion.