Free ranging without lockup?

[floppysquirrel04]

So, I don’t live on a farm. However, my friend has one 10 minutes away from my home, so thats where I keep my farm animals. At the moment, and until mid summer next year, I am keeping a steer in a barn stall, which is in the middle of a 7-10 acre fenced in field on their property. There are llamas in the field, so they will sometimes chase preds, and I doubt coyotes could get in because of the strong fence with barbed wire at the top, but I know bobcats can, because a few years ago, all of the free range chickens got eaten by bobcats, even tho they had already been free ranging for years. Any way, I wanted to get a few chickens to raise in the barn so they would eat ticks and maggots out of the steer poop, so I’d have less flies and ticks. Originally I wanted guineas, but nobody really sells them this time of year, and they’re really expensive and die quickly. They people who own the farm are constantly getting them, like, in quantities of thirty, but at the moment why have 2, because the rest died. So my plans were to get 2, maybe 3 ameraucanas, because I love the way they look, and I also know they can fly up higher than a heavy weight breed if something is chasing them. I also wanted to get a Brahma rooster, to help protect them. I figured if I only had 3 or 4 birds, and if I get them in buff and brown colors to blend in, and a huge mean rooster, they would stand a better chance of not being eaten. The barn is opened on the sides, so they can walk right in and out, and there are also rafters lower down and higher up, so they can roost away from predators, as long as the preds can’t climb up. They won’t be able to be locked up at night tho. What do you guys think? I will also feed them a crumble, and give a call to them every time i feed them, so they know to come, but I am depending on them to forage most of the day, and eat the multitude of ticks and other bugs.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

So, I don’t live on a farm. However, my friend has one 10 minutes away from my home, so thats where I keep my farm animals. At the moment, and until mid summer next year, I am keeping a steer in a barn stall, which is in the middle of a 7-10 acre fenced in field on their property. There are llamas in the field, so they will sometimes chase preds, and I doubt coyotes could get in because of the strong fence with barbed wire at the top, but I know bobcats can, because a few years ago, all of the free range chickens got eaten by bobcats, even tho they had already been free ranging for years. Any way, I wanted to get a few chickens to raise in the barn so they would eat ticks and maggots out of the steer poop, so I’d have less flies and ticks. Originally I wanted guineas, but nobody really sells them this time of year, and they’re really expensive and die quickly. They people who own the farm are constantly getting them, like, in quantities of thirty, but at the moment why have 2, because the rest died. So my plans were to get 2, maybe 3 ameraucanas, because I love the way they look, and I also know they can fly up higher than a heavy weight breed if something is chasing them. I also wanted to get a Brahma rooster, to help protect them. I figured if I only had 3 or 4 birds, and if I get them in buff and brown colors to blend in, and a huge mean rooster, they would stand a better chance of not being eaten. The barn is opened on the sides, so they can walk right in and out, and there are also rafters lower down and higher up, so they can roost away from predators, as long as the preds can’t climb up. They won’t be able to be locked up at night tho. What do you guys think? I will also feed them a crumble, and give a call to them every time i feed them, so they know to come, but I am depending on them to forage most of the day, and eat the multitude of ticks and other bugs.

If you do get a big mean rooster, hopefully he won’t attack the owners of the property or their kids or animals!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Barbed wire will not stop a coyote, though for you what I envision is some type of wire mesh fence with a strand or two of barbed wire on top. It could be a deterrent but can they dig under it? Or are there weak points they could get around or over it? Gates and drainage ditches can be weak points. But even if you can stop coyotes as you know there are plenty of other predators that can get inside, day or night. Unless you have them tightly enclosed they will be vulnerable to something.

I've seen fields with llamas or a donkey in them. Donkeys are supposed to be rough on coyotes too. When the llamas or donkey were on one end of the field, I'd sometimes see coyotes on the other. They are also supposed to be rough on dogs. I've seen dogs walk through the field right next to them. These were local dogs so they were probably used to them, but coyotes can be local too. Llamas might be a deterrent but they are not a guarantee. And you have a lot more predators to worry about than just coyotes. Still, any little bit helps.

What you are describing isn't that far off from how small farmers kept chickens for thousands of years. They would sleep in trees, open barns, though some would lock them up at night. They'd pretty much feed themselves by foraging during the good weather months. In bad weather months they would need supplemental feed. They did not grow to show bird size and did not lay super extra large eggs, but they laid enough eggs and hatched enough chicks to keep the flock going and provide eggs and meat unless predator pressure got too bad. I grew up on one of those farms back in the middle of the last century. That makes me feel old to say that, but then I am. I can only remember two serious predator attacks until I left for college. A dog and a fox, both shot. Some people that try that can go a long time without predator problems. Others are wiped out about as soon as they try. It sounds like that farm has that kind of record. The chickens were OK for years and then a bobcat showed up. I don't know why those guineas are dying.

Instead of Ameraucana and Brahma, I suggest you try the kind of chickens that were kept on most of those farms, Games. A big Brahma rooster is not going to give you any more protection against predators than a smaller Game rooster. Either one will not be more than a speed bump to a bobcat, coyote, dog, or fox during the day, and they are pretty helpless at night against raccoons, possums, weasels, and anything else that can climb. Games are pretty good at foraging and can generally fly really well. They should roost very high in that barn.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Thanks! They don’t have any small kids, or small animals. The fence is very strong, they don’t ever have coyotes in there as far as I know. Thanks for the advice. What breeds are you thinking of? lol we don’t know why the guineas are dying either, they just disappear, but we haven’t had predator problems for a while now. The only predator at this point I think could get to them is feline, raccoon, skunk or possum.

 

[EggWalrus]

... we don’t know why the guineas are dying either, they just disappear, but we haven’t had predator problems for a while now. The only predator at this point I think could get to them is feline, raccoon, skunk or possum.

Sounds like to me, if the guineas are "just disappearing", someone or something loves the taste of guinea meat. You might not see them but... YOU'VE GOT PREDATORS!
If the guineas are disappearing, the chickens will too. I would set up some game cameras and find out if your predators are 2 legged or 4 legged, before I wasted money feeding what ever has been getting the guineas.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Sounds like to me, if the guineas are "just disappearing", someone or something loves the taste of guinea meat. You might not see them but... YOU'VE GOT PREDATORS!
If the guineas are disappearing, the chickens will too. I would set up some game cameras and find out if your predators are 2 legged or 4 legged, before I wasted money feeding what ever has been getting the guineas.

Well that’s not exactly what I mean. They don’t have predators on their property usually, but the guineas like to fly over the fence and into the hills and not all of them come back. They will be gone for a little while and just show up, but while they’re out there without protection they get eaten. They aren’t the brightest of birds XD

 

[TwistedSteel]

Might be an owl or two feeding on the guineas, they can also get to any chickens in the barn. I agree that games are probably going to have a better chance of survival but you should consider a larger flock under those circumstances.

 

[EggWalrus]

Might be an owl or two feeding on the guineas, they can also get to any chickens in the barn. I agree that games are probably going to have a better chance of survival but you should consider a larger flock under those circumstances.

If there are predators in the area at all, you need more chickens. I usually keep between 50-100 and let them hatch all the babies they want to. I thought I had a self sustaining flock with about 50, till a predator wiped of about 40 in one night. Between putting a couple dozen in the freezer, selling some, old age and predators, it doesn't take long to run out of chickens.

 

[townchicks]

IMO, it wouldn't be fair to get chickens. Clean the steer's stall more often, and spray him for ticks and flies.. Why have something, if you won't be there to enjoy them, and can't/won't do what is needed for their protection? That sounds kind of selfish to me.

 

[chickens really]

I'd build the steer a better pen and not be too concerned about chickens yet. They need proper feed and not the best at cleaning up cattle parasites..