Free Ranging questions

[jeepmama]

I have three hens that are completely free ranged. Early on we tried to keep them in a coop and run but they kept escaping... so instead of fixing the run we just let them come and go. They usually stay w/in 100 yrds of run and never wonder off our property. They do not like their coop and prefer to roost in our pear tree. Since they have been roosting in the tree we haven't had any problems with predators. We lost 2 hens early on when they were in the coop to a fox.

My question is: How do I convince them to lay their eggs in the coop, or at least a spot where I can get to them? I would really hate to have all these eggs go missing! They aren't due to start laying for another 4 weeks or so. I really want to be prepared. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[lorrir]

I have 7 hens that free range and go in the coop for water and food. I have 9 hens that let them selves into the coop every night and leave in the morning.

The 7 newbies and the 9 oldsters never mix, the newbies roost in a tree and lay their eggs near the tree in the bushes, the eggs are clean and easy to find. The oldsters lay in the coop but refuse to lay in nest, they lay on the floor were I have to use a rake to uncover them under hay, they are always dirty and and I'm never sure I found them all.

Just watch the free rangers to see were they like to hang out at.

Good luck.

 

[Beekissed]

No way to make sure they lay in the coop unless you lock them in for a few days to train to the nests. Even then they will find other places. I just eliminate potential nesting spots as I find them. If you live near a wooded area, this may prove to be impossible. Good luck!

 

[cmom]

My birds free range. I never close the pop door of their coop. When they were chicks in the beginning I kept them in the coop for the first few days before I let them out.

Are their feed and water in their coop? Also I put a golf ball in their nest boxes. Some people use fake eggs.

 

[jeepmama]

Their food and water is in the coop. I also put treats in there for them. They have one fave hang out that I may start checking regularly. I am not sure if the golf ball will work in their nest boxes, but anything is worth a try!

 

[Rusty's Ranch]

We have golf balls in the nest boxes and Rosie laid her very first egg in the nest box. I figured the girls had this wired, so I took out the golf balls. The next day Rosie laid her egg in an old ceramic plant pot out behind the coop! The golf balls are now a permanent fixture in the nest boxes and I don't believe we've had any stray eggs since.

Our girls currently free range from 5:30 am - 7:00 pm, but they were confined to their coop and run for the first month or two. We didn't let them free range until they were too large for the cat to bother. They now see the coop/run as their home. That's also where their main food source is.

 

[Uppity Peon]

Maybe you could put a nestbox in the pear tree, which is apparently safer than the chicken coop. Maybe get one of those plastic doghouses and put it on a high platform under the tree.

 

[Akane]

How did the fox get them in the coop? Your coop should be closed up and secure every night. You will lose chickens letting them roost in trees. The predators just haven't found them yet. It's also useful to be able to leave them locked in sometimes. When we were having trees removed with equipment and people around I didn't open the coop so the chickens would stay safe. The problem of finding eggs would be mostly eliminated too.

Chickens probably will not roost in the coop unless you lock them up in it for awhile and they will start avoiding the coop if something gets in it to attack them. It's not that they don't like their coop it's that they don't know or it truly isn't safe. If you make it safe and teach them to sleep there then they will return every evening on their own to be safely locked up away from predators as well as leaving most if not all their eggs inside where you can get them easily.

 

[detali]

That is good advice!