Free ranging pros and cons?

[CentralOregon]

Pros

-Happier chickens
-Generally healthier chickens
-More room=exercise and ability to have more chickens
-They will eat less food

Cons

-Easy targets for predators
-Generally more prone to diseases and parasites
-Can get hurt and killed more easily.

A couple of these free-ranging pros and cons don't add up. How can "generally healthier chickens" be a pro...yet "generally more prone to diseases and parasites" be a con? Either one would cancel out the other.

 

[amywander]

I free range my chickens daily. They have an 8' x 8' hen house that has their water, food and the chicken coop in it and I leave it open all day. They will get into anything they can, so I fence them out of my vegetable garden, otherwise they go wherever they please. I have five happy hens who are like pets who greet me when I go outside. They probably think that I have treats for them. They each lay one egg a day in their coop's nesting boxes. They have protection from the hot southwest sun on my covered patio and under my juniper bushes.

I have two dogs who protect the chickens from predators. One dog is a Sharpei lab mix and the other is a shepherd mix. I introduced them to the chicks shortly before I put them outside in their hen house and watched to make sure they didn't think these little birds were play things. My sister's dog, a standard poodle, and my son's dog, a husky, aren't good with the birds so I close them in their hen house when these guys visit.

 

[misbhaven]

I do both...I have a big coop next to my garage with a big chain link run covered in bird netting, I have 2 smaller coops that are 15 feet away with covered runs...there is a tree in inbetween the coops and several out door rabbit cages so i fenced the whole area in with just 3 ft fence...i let them all out into that much bigger area daily, sometimes either just bantams or large fowl..i also let them totally free at night a lot of times but only an hour before they go in for the night...so mine lay eggs in their coop where I can find them but also get some freedom...

 

[song of joy]

Pros

Reduced chicken feed consumption (about 30-40% reduction in spring/summer/fall), and a lower feed bill
Happier birds
Access to nice, cool, shaded areas in summer (along forest edge, under trees in yard)
Healthier diet for hens (access to fresh greens, insects, etc.)
Healthier, more nutrient-rich eggs for human consumption
Entertaining and educational to watch chickens free-range

Cons

Chickens poop everywhere (lawn, sidewalk, porch)
Scratch up plants and soil in garden and border plantings
Dig up dusting areas, creating holes in garden or flower bed
Might lay eggs somewhere other than nest box
Predators

Off-setting the Cons

To increase egg-laying in nest boxes: confine hens until noon, then allow them to free-range

To decrease risk of predation: always lock up hens at night; confine hens until noon, then allow them to free-range; confine hens during February/March and November (period of increased risk of predation by hawks due to migration and reduced food availability)

To reduce damage to perennial flower/shrub beds: cover ground with chicken wire (cut out holes for plants/shrubs), anchor in place with rocks, and cover with 2 inches of wood chips. They will not scratch in these areas.

To deal with them pooping everywhere: I haven't a clue, other than to fence off critical areas like a porch.

 

[Jack Speese]

I let my chickens "free range" in a large, fenced-in pasture. Hawks indeed are a problem (frankly I see nothing majestic about them and consider them vermin, but that is from a poultry raiser standpoint), and in some areas where there are a lot of them, like along the Atlantic Coast of Virginia where we used to live, which is a major flyway, there is nothing you can do except keep them confined to a pen with a top, and perhaps a larger daytime pen with cover and a high fence, which discourages hawks from swooping in. The second worst predator in my opinion is dogs. Although they are some fine, noble individual ones, I don't care much for them as a species either.
Natural cover helps, as does having a rooster. And choosing the right breed, as others have said. Certainly one with colored or patterned plumage rather than white. Mediterranean breeds like leghorns, andalusians, minorcas and anconas are generally quicker and more alert. A chicken will try to run for cover if a hawk appears, but a duck doesn't have that instinct and is unfortunately a "sitting duck". If you can protect them from predators (at least most of the time), I think free range (at least on a large, fenced-in pasture) chickens are healthier, happier, produce better flavored eggs and meat, and, since much of the manure is deposited outside, it's less of a chore to keep things clean. I don't think it's feasible to let chickens free range completely, sooner or later a dog will come around or they will get into things that you don't want them to get into, like yours or your neighbor's garden. My advice is have a large enough coop and secure pen where you can confine them full time if need be (if a determined hawk does show up or if you live near a major migratory flyway), and let them out (in a larger fenced-in pasture) during the day. And definitely have them in the secure area at night.

 

[phinux]

I started my girls out in a run. It was a simple setup, an older dog cage with a tarp over the top to protect from the elements. I intended to build something nicer and more secure. But my Easter Egger had no patience. She was quite the little cage-breaker, and taught the other two how to do the same. Eventually I caved and now I just have them set up for protection at night. They're released in the morning.

Pros
- Such happy birds!
- Very little money spent on feed, mostly just the occasional treats.
- The looks on people's faces when the come to visit then spot chickens wandering around the yard.
- I think it's been a lot more healthy for them than even the largest, most cared for coop.
- Birds following me around the yard as I do work and tapping at the back window when I go inside. So cute!!!

Cons
- Occasional patio cleaning. If you wait until the doodies dry, you can just sweep them off.
- Possible predators. I haven't had any major issues so far, the dog chased off the one cat who harassed them.
- Chicken Run (or The Great Escape). Make sure you have tall fences and don't stand anything nearby that they can get a leg up on. If you have plenty of space, they should be content to stay in the yard.
- Spoiled Chickens. Not sure what to tell you about this last one. But my girls expect to be let out in the morning and they get noisy if I'm late. With daylight changes, it gets a little earlier each day. I don't get to sleep in anymore...
- Rounding them up. My older birds are fine and come when called, but I have a few younger pullets that are still skittish. I only let them out with supervision right now.

My dog is still a bit of a punk to the chickens. Loves chasing them, but doesn't do more than gum them a bit. She loves being outside with us, so the best training tool I have is just locking her in the house if she gets too feisty. She sits and whimpers at me from the windows. It didn't take long before I could halt her by just saying "INSIDE?!" Works just like a timeout.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

Nutritionally speaking, it's a healthier bird from a physical standpoint to contain them. And it's not that difficult to keep them mentally stimulated while penned too.

 

[morganfearnot]

Yes there are pros and cons for allowing ur birds to free range. I've let my birds free range for the past 3 years, I haven't lost any. (yet...knock on wood) I think having a rooster has a lot to do with it. He takes great care of his ladies. From a predator in the sky to a stranger that approaches.

 

[Nannoo2]

So, we let our broody Buff Orpington have some fertilized eggs to sit on, and she hatched out 4 little darlings...the Buff is mellowest of our little flock, but you'd never know it when she has those chicks!! She goes after me with claws out sometimes if I get too near. Anyway, regarding the free range thing, I never saw a more cautious and devoted mom: she sqwaks if a dove gets too close! God forbid a hawk wandered by; I think she'd have him in the dirt, scrambling to get out of there! She even goes after the others that she grew up with if they hassle the kids. But just like everyone else says, at some point you're gonna lose one or two. My cousin lost every one of her 24bird flock to predators, but she is really out in the country with a huge property and little cover. I think it's the cover that makes the difference...hawks can't swoop so easily into tighter spaces. Our coop is backed up against a large barn-shed with lean-tos on 2 sides, and all kinds of shrubs and trees to hide under. I'm amazed at how alert even the 4 week old chicks are; we leave them out all day and don't even think about it, they go into their coop at dusk and we lock them up for night. Of course, we have a 6 ft vinyl fence around our property and a good fence around the chicken yard, and their enclosure has the hardware cloth walls buried a foot down into concrete, with a solid roof.

 

[Prolate]

I have 11 in my flock mostly Americana's. They free range but are excluded from the gardens I don't want to have dug up. I recently planted a garden and the chickens are now yarded up until the garden gets fenced and gets a little bigger. They have a relatively large run with a tree in it, (18' x 18'). Once the garden is up and fenced I will loose the flock again but access to the "range" is through the gate in the yard. I have found that the chickens coop themselves up in the evening and the door goes shut about 1/2 hour after dark and opens again 2 hours after light. The door is home-brew with an Arduino controller , real time clock and an ambient light sensor. I also integrated a blanket LED light blanket on the ceiling so that the girls get at least 12 hours of light every 24 hour period. I have a drip water system that is freeze proofed by circulating and heating the water as it goes around the drip loop. Last winter was cold and no freeze-offs. I have a dog that is really protective of the chickens and discourages any predators. She also herds the chickens back in the coop when anyone arrives on the property. She has thoroughly trained the chickens.
PROS: Chickens are happier; Flying and crawling insects are rarer; Feed lasts longer
CONS: Poop in places where it causes problems; Garden plots get dug up; Predators could be a problem, (the dog prevents this in my case); Chickens could be errant and not return to the coop, (never been a problem).