Free-Ranging...will they get in the road????

[DogandPonyShow]

My chickens have a couple of acres to roam on. Behind the coop is nice, lovely, open grass pasture. Do they go there? No. Do they scratch up the backyard and wander out front to the road? Yep! I would assume that they'll go wherever you don't want them to go, and figure out if it's worth the risk to you. I have a mixed flock of older hatchery birds, so my world would not end if something happened and they free range anyway. (I did put chicken wire on the gate to the front, but they could jump over if they were so inclined...)

 

[sourland]

It's always a possibility. One aspect of free ranging to always be remembered is that eventually some birds will be lost. It's just a fact. Whether by cars or predators you will lose some unless you monitor their free range time.

 

[Saltcreek]

There is a family down the road from us has less than 1 acre on a corner of a State highway and Township road. They kept a pig, 4 horses, a flock of chickens, two dogs, 5 cars etc. Her chickens ran loose all the time, and were regularly on the road - smeared over it. They never got the hint, until they ran out of chickens and gave up. Guess there is no market for road kill here locally.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

My neighbor up the street free ranges his chickens next to the road and I've never seen them actually in the road. He told me that he "trained" them when young to stay out of the road by clapping two blocks together whenever then got to close to the street. I don't know whether or not that's what did it, but they'll go right down to the street but never in it.

 

[Colie <3]

Yes they will go in the road if there is nothing to stop them. Some seem wiser about it than other so it does depend on your particular flock. My mother had this problem with her birds getting hit by cars. Between that and coyotes and dogs they ended up no longer being free range.

 

[kstaven]

The only answer to this is a fence. Keeps your animals on your property and other animals off it.

 

[zeezo]

That depends. If they are explorer they will definitely go hehe. Jokes apart, i had some free range chicken in past and what they did was amazing, they had fixed a boundary for themselves and they never crossed that area. If your chicken are well trained and have set their area( usually a roo will do that) they will never go to the road but if they are newly free ranged then their could be risk

 

[joanie_maine]

Quote:

 

[Mattemma]

I would put up a basic fence with some t posts or bambo poles. I would be sad if a hen got hit,but more worried about causing an accident. Some people will panic and go off the road or into the opposite lane to avoid an animals. Some will look at it as free dinner.

 

[KimberlyJ]

You can do both....run AND free range. Since I only have a half acre and we can't fence; the chickens stay safely in their run while I'm at work and then WE free range for an hour or two in the evening. We--I stay out with them. The yard work is getting done a bit at a time and I no longer mindlessly sit in front of the TV all evening. Sometimes I exercise while I'm out with them....the hammock won't come out until it gets warmer! Not only are they out of the road this way, but they stay out of my gardens and out of the neighbor's tiny piece of "woods."