Free ranging pros and cons?

[notachickennut]

We have 23 chickens of various breeds (from Buff Orp, RIR & Barred Rock to Banty & a couple crested Polish) and 1 BB turkey named "Dinner" (my vegetarian friend who has "pet" chickens insisted I name some of them so we named the turkey).

First, I did not want to free range our chickens when we first got them due to my husband's comments about his childhood & chicken poop on all their vehicles (I think they free ranged in the real sense of the word a.k.a. 24/7). But, we built a coop (profile pic) & fenced in an acre of our property (more to keep stray dogs out than chickens in) with 4.5' tall "hog wire" lined with chicken wire, cause our stupid turkey would beat herself to death trying to follow the chickens through the hog wire.

We let the chickens out of the coop as we leave for work & close the coop up just after sunset (the girls really re-coop themselves).

We still put out fermented, supplemented feed each evening but, our chickens don't get sick as we add dried granulated garlic to both food & water along with ACV in their water also. We add DE to the river sand in their coop & to their dust bath along with wood ashes.

We don't have dogs ourselves or a protective rooster but, the area we have fenced off is also our "postage stamp" orchard with a row of tall branching Chinese Elms along the back. The trees provide both shade in summer & predator bird cover during the day.

I have a question about part time free ranging.  I've got the plans for a coop that has a run built onto it but I'd like to be able to let them out while we're in the back yard etc.  Do they naturally learn to go back inside or how does this work?

When we first put our "free-rangers" in their coop, we left them closed up for a couple days. The when we let them out, they now return & roost in the coop on their own at sundown.

 

[bill bowling]

hi im new like to
talk about chickens

 

[sumi]

hi im new like to
talk about chickens

What are your thoughts on free ranging and predators?

 

[GrammiChelle]

I have a question? I have 8 week old chicks. Here's a picture of our coop. We started out with a purchased coop from Tractor Supply, then lifted it up on a platform, added a run with a roof and used hardware cloth to fence it all in.
My problem is that now the chicks don't go up into the coop. I thought they would naturally want to go up there and roost, but they don't. They huddle all together on the ground. Tonight, I even put some of them up there, but they still didn't roost. They just huddled together.
Any ideas as to what I should do? My original plan was to hope they'd all go up the ladder each night and then I could close the door, and they'd be that much safer, but that's not what they're doing. Are they just too young?
I have Langshans and red pullets, and z3 Cornish Rock meat birds.


e

Also, my real question, if I'm going to let them out to free range, what minimum age should they be before I start? I'm just thinking of letting them out an hour or so before sunset, when I can be out with them, but since they're not going up into the small coop from the run, I'm worried they won't go back into the run when they should either. And should I clip their wings before I let them out, just in case I need to catch and return them?
Sorry, that's a lot more than one question? Isn't it? Lol

 

[centrarchid]

I have a question? I have 8 week old chicks. Here's a picture of our coop. We started out with a purchased coop from Tractor Supply, then lifted it up on a platform, added a run with a roof and used hardware cloth to fence it all in.
My problem is that now the chicks don't go up into the coop. I thought they would naturally want to go up there and roost, but they don't. They huddle all together on the ground. Tonight, I even put some of them up there, but they still didn't roost. They just huddled together.
Any ideas as to what I should do? My original plan was to hope they'd all go up the ladder each night and then I could close the door, and they'd be that much safer, but that's not what they're doing. Are they just too young?
I have Langshans and red pullets, and z3 Cornish Rock meat birds.


e

Also, my real question, if I'm going to let them out to free range, what minimum age should they be before I start? I'm just thinking of letting them out an hour or so before sunset, when I can be out with them, but since they're not going up into the small coop from the run, I'm worried they won't go back into the run when they should either. And should I clip their wings before I let them out, just in case I need to catch and return them?
Sorry, that's a lot more than one question? Isn't it? Lol

Actually confine them to coop for three days you want them to roost. Provide feed and water there. Then late in day release birds from confined area into balance of run setup and allow them free-range access of the containment to verify they are using intended roost area. After another three days again release them late in day to forage outside the containment area and verisify they return to coop. I advise against clipping. Rather use feed to entice their return when free-ranging.


Free-ranging requires the ability to take advantage of the birds natural behavior. There is a lot to learn.

 

[aljeffers]

My flock stays in the coop/run while I am not at home. When I am at home I let them out to roam my back yard several hours at a time, unsupervised with me or my daughter going out and checking on them periodically. They love getting out of the coop for a few hours every day, and wait by the door when they see one of us coming because they know they are getting out for some fun. I have learned by trial and error, you have to do what you think is right for you and your flock. I hope you enjoy having your chicken's I know I love mine, and they are a joy to have.

 

[bruceha2000]

I have a question? I have 8 week old chicks. Here's a picture of our coop. We started out with a purchased coop from Tractor Supply, then lifted it up on a platform, added a run with a roof and used hardware cloth to fence it all in.
My problem is that now the chicks don't go up into the coop. I thought they would naturally want to go up there and roost, but they don't. They huddle all together on the ground. Tonight, I even put some of them up there, but they still didn't roost. They just huddled together.
Any ideas as to what I should do? My original plan was to hope they'd all go up the ladder each night and then I could close the door, and they'd be that much safer, but that's not what they're doing. Are they just too young?
I have Langshans and red pullets, and z3 Cornish Rock meat birds.


e


Also, my real question, if I'm going to let them out to free range, what minimum age should they be before I start? I'm just thinking of letting them out an hour or so before sunset, when I can be out with them, but since they're not going up into the small coop from the run, I'm worried they won't go back into the run when they should either. And should I clip their wings before I let them out, just in case I need to catch and return them?
Sorry, that's a lot more than one question? Isn't it? Lol

The ramp is kind of steep and the cleats are too far apart for most 8 week old laying breeds. Did you paint it with nice shiny paint or paint with 'grit' for traction? They won't go up if they CAN'T go up

The cleats should be no more than 3" apart for young ones and you want the slope to be pretty shallow. I about went down on a neighbor's recently painted porch after it was rained on. I was wearing sneakers but it was really shiny and slick as sno.. Imagine trying to walk up an incline painted with that.

At 8 weeks the Cornish are about ready for 'freezer camp'.

Centrarchid gave you good advice as to acclimating them to the coop. They are only 8 weeks old and have always slept on the ground so that seems natural to them. Put them on the roost at night ASSUMING it isn't too high for birds of their size and age or you have a ramp or intermediate 'steps' for them to use. They will decide higher is safer and the higher the better. No more sleeping on the ground.

Ours were first 'free ranged' at about the same age as yours are now but it was really more like a field trip. I made an enclosure ~18' square (with chicken wire I found in the barn and some T posts I bought at TS) out in the field behind the barn - I guess it really WAS a field trip

. We let them 'range' there and checked on them frequently. Then we let them out into the field while we stuck to them like glue (nervous new 'parents'). I don't recall when we just let them run free during the day, probably when they kept flying the fence. They could start part way up the ramp to the barn window with a missing pane (their access to the interior of the barn) and fly over the fence. Figured it was better to leave the fence open so they could get back IN the barn when they wanted to. For quite awhile the 'window door' was the only one we left open, now both end doors are open all day if the weather is good. They use all three 'doors' depending on where they want to go and where they are when they want to go back in.

I agree with "no clipping", you want the birds to have the possibility of escaping a predator. That said, most of mine tuck their wings in hard and run wherever they want to go, like they forget that wings have a use. The Cubalayas will fly distance and the Anconas some as well if they REALLY want to get somewhere fast.

Mine LOVE Black Oil Sunflower Seed (BOSS) and scratch grains. They get the former in the morning and the latter at roost time. They surround me like I'm the Pied Piper, squawking all the way, when I go down to the barn at night. They stop in front of the coop and make a racket while I close the far barn door, do a last egg and feed check then close the people door on the coop. Then I toss the scratch out in front of the coop. Chickens are the biggest mooches around

Their auto chicken door closes when it gets dark and they have gone to roost well before that. Start that sort of routine now when you implement Centrarchild's 'three step program' and you won't often have to go looking for them at night. And when they do think the coop is THE place to be at night, they will put themselves there as the sunlight goes flat whether you are around or not. You'll only NEED to use the food bribe when you want them to go in earlier.

 

[alb9202]

PROS: less feed cost, temperment seems happier, dust bath a lot more=less pests

CONS: Higher risk for predators, destroy gardens, may lay eggs other than the coop

 

[Beekissed]

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.

I disagree with the statement in this post about chickens being more prone to disease and parasites in free range environments....it's actually the exact opposite when chickens range on clean soils and consume foods that are more digestible for them. The alternative is chickens pooping, living, eating and dust bathing on the same spot year after year, on compacted, overloaded soils of a run that are just petri dishes for disease and parasite overgrowth.

I also disagree with the statement that they are easy targets for predators....in the open they at least have a running start and places to duck and cover...in a run and coop situation they are easily cornered and slaughtered. There are just as many~ and I'm betting MORE~ posts on this forum of predation within the confines of a run and coop than there are of chickens being preyed upon out on free range.

It all comes down to HOW a person free ranges.....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/bees-key-points-to-successful-and-safe-free-ranging

 

[EastTXChickens]

My eight 10.5 week old chickens have been free ranging most of their lives, they were outside @ 2 weeks in a tractor coop except 3 freezing nights. They were totally free ranging by 4 weeks from hatch.

We have plenty of cover provided by a wide variety of shrubs and trees. A few years ago, I planted the property around the house with an eye toward future grandchildren (still waiting) having a magic place to play and habitat for our cats. A weeping willos, weeping cyprus, and weeping holly provide excellent cover and hidey holes. The chickens have benefited and generally stay close to cover. When they rest throughout the day, they are always under the cover of vegetation or the tractor coop, their choice. Sometimes they chose the porch and that's a drag. Interestingly enough, so far they are leaving the garden alone. We'll deal with that if/when it's a problem.

Our two big dogs are excellent about keeping predators at bay, that's their job out here in our extremely rural acreage. The Doberman's fav sport is chasing big birds in flight, he runs all out underneath them while barking forcefully. That a boy!

These two things contribute greatly to the chickens safety, otherwise we might consider keeping them penned. These production and white leghorn and brown leghorn chickens are healthy and robust, and fit in nicely with our various dogs and cats. We feel fortunate to have them.