Free ranging vs Predators; How cautious should I be?

[Folly's place]

The right dogs can be very helpful. The wrong dogs are disasters! And against some predators, size matters too. Shelties or other small/medium dogs might have good intentions, but coyotes and big dogs, for example, might take them out too.
And dogs are the most expensive predator management 'system' ever!
Mary

 

[Tookie]

That's really interesting! Our setup sounds similar to yours- and I have wondered if they will fly over the fence, but currently, they seem pretty interested on the grass and exploring inside. Do you live in a rural area or a more suburban one?

Were sorta in between rural and suburban. Not quite rural and not quite suburban.

 

[McChooky]

Donkeys will kill coyotes and foxes but they'll also kill dogs. My brother got one to protect his goats & it does a good job. But Add up their food and shelter and you'll spend a pretty penny for their services (not to mention worming and hoof trimming)No one dares to walk in where his donkey stays.

 

[Geena]

Donkeys will kill coyotes and foxes but they'll also kill dogs. My brother got one to protect his goats & it does a good job. But Add up their food and shelter and you'll spend a pretty penny for their services (not to mention worming and hoof trimming)No one dares to walk in where his donkey stays.

We had a donkey once, for a short while. It bit and kicked the horses and goats and steers and dogs. Didn't seem to care so much about predators.

 

[McChooky]

We had a donkey once, for a short while. It bit and kicked the horses and goats and steers and dogs. Didn't seem to care so much about predators.

Oh my!! Fortunately my brother keeps him inside a perimeter fence beside the baby goats and mini horses. Coyotes don't mess with anything he's got since he got the donkey but nothings in the same fence with him. Coyotes killed his Emu before he got him.

 

[ChickensInNM]

Yep, there is always that risk. I've chased a fox with a guinea hen in its mouth!

Did the hen live?

 

[ChickensInNM]

I had a similar situation with where we used to live! We had an acre of fenced backyard that I let the chickens free range, and we lived in a subdivision with lots of close neighbors so there wasn't a lot of wildlife. I think it just depends on what you're comfortable with. There's lots of people who allow their chickens to free range all the time with no issue and others who keep them confined to a run all the time. I've done both.

At my old house, I didn't let my hens out until they were pretty good size. Probably wishful thinking but I thought with them being bigger it might deter some of the juvenile hawks. We had a few hawks that I spotted while I was outside with them and they never bothered us while I was out, they flew on by. I will say we had a lot of small birds in our neighborhood so they may have just preferred to go after the smaller birds instead of wrestling with my 5-10lb girls lol. The boldness of the hawk probably depends on how hungry they are, but we've never had one swoop in on our girls.

At our new place we have 10 acres in the woods, lots of predators of all kinds so they are no longer able to free range freely, but we have a very large run for them.
That was a long post to just say use your discretion and see what works for you! If you notice hawks hanging around, I'd say put them up until they are older and try again when they are bigger.

Waaaaay too many predators in my area to free range. They stay in the coop. I'm building a coop closer to my house, right outside my front door. I'm guessing predators are more desperate in Winter. I have sucky sleep lots of nights (apnea and asthma), so last night, all the neighbor dogs were hyper about something. I know what's normal barking, and this wasn't it. I went out to the coop with a flashlight and a long lead pipe, and smelled skunk, but the closest dog didn't smell like skunk, and he got a treat-hes closest to the current coop-so my guess is, 2 predators had it out, lol...good. Let them prey on each other. No bodies, chicken or otherwise, so probably the skunk fighting with something. A wild dog of some kind. I've seen fox prints lately, so who knows. My chickens are well and good this morning . I tried hot oatmeal for breakfast, but they were not impressed .

 

[StinkyAcres]

Did the hen live?

Yes, she did!

 

[wamtazlady]

I don’t think foxes, raccoons or animals like that will be out it the daytime but the HAWKS I worry about.

Let me show you something. The edge of the building you can see on the right side of the picture is my coop. It's obviously daytime.

 

[ChickensInNM]

Yes, she did!

Oh thank goodness!! I was afraid I asked a sensitive question. Yay for your hen!!