Free ranging

[TSP]

My flock is currently 9 hens and a roo. I also have 14 eggs in the incubator. They have a 12’ X 8’ coop with six nesting boxes. The run is 50’ X 50’, fenced. I have about six acres. Lately, they have decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence (it really is, spring has surely sprung in northern Wisconsin). All of the hens seem to be able to squeeze out through the gap in the gate. The roo can’t fit, maybe 11#. I came home from work and my wife informed me that the chickens were in the woods, except the rooster, who was running back and forth along the fence with the view to the woods maybe 50 yards away. I never really wanted them to “free range” as we have all manner of predators from bears and wolves to coyotes, bald eagles, raccoons, fishers, mink... you get the point. They are bielefelders, so flying over a 5’ fence is out of the question. When I walk out there with them, they are happily digging in the leaf litter and pine needles eating every bug they can find and seem quite happy at it. I’m torn. They enjoy it and seem to be satisfying an itch that pelleted feed doesn’t meet. I’m wondering if predation is mainly nocturnal as the coop is sturdy enough to stand up to anything short of a bear and I do close em up each evening, or if I’m setting myself up to find piles of feathers in the yard if I just leave the gate open when I open the coop every morning. My only “predation” losses ever were from a neighborhood German Shepard who has since gone to doggy heaven. Any thoughts?

 

[Tamdog]

I would probably only let them out when I was home- sounds like you really have a lot of predators. I have 3 acres all fenced in with a 6 foot privacy fence and the back is a wire fence but my dog is territorial and he protects my chickens by killing anything that dares to cross the back fence. I lock them up when I am not home.

 

[Rose Quartz]

My flock is currently 9 hens and a roo. I also have 14 eggs in the incubator. They have a 12’ X 8’ coop with six nesting boxes. The run is 50’ X 50’, fenced. I have about six acres. Lately, they have decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence (it really is, spring has surely sprung in northern Wisconsin). All of the hens seem to be able to squeeze out through the gap in the gate. The roo can’t fit, maybe 11#. I came home from work and my wife informed me that the chickens were in the woods, except the rooster, who was running back and forth along the fence with the view to the woods maybe 50 yards away. I never really wanted them to “free range” as we have all manner of predators from bears and wolves to coyotes, bald eagles, raccoons, fishers, mink... you get the point. They are bielefelders, so flying over a 5’ fence is out of the question. When I walk out there with them, they are happily digging in the leaf litter and pine needles eating every bug they can find and seem quite happy at it. I’m torn. They enjoy it and seem to be satisfying an itch that pelleted feed doesn’t meet. I’m wondering if predation is mainly nocturnal as the coop is sturdy enough to stand up to anything short of a bear and I do close em up each evening, or if I’m setting myself up to find piles of feathers in the yard if I just leave the gate open when I open the coop every morning. My only “predation” losses ever were from a neighborhood German Shepard who has since gone to doggy heaven. Any thoughts?

I'm on about 3 acres, i have about 50 of all ages of chickens outside. I don't have a run. They rarely leave my property. My only day time losses were from my cat who has learned better than to touch my birds.

There are coyote, racoons, mink, foxes, hawks and tons of bald eagles around here. (I do have a ton of Canada geese that nest here in the summer though so that might affect the predators wanting to stay away.)

I've had chickens for a year letting them out every morning locking them in at night.

I'm not sure this helps but i'm guessing you're looking for others experiences in free ranging.