Free ranging

[mdibaugh]

Im getting ready to start my flock at the end of the month. Im wandering once they get used to the coop and were their food and shelter is how far will they roam outside the coop? Thanx\\ks!

 

[canada-goose]

It kind of depends on the birds. Some like to wander and some prefer to stay near home. There isn't any definite answer that I know of.

 

[teach1rusl]

It seems to vary quite a bit for different folks. When I let mine out of their run, they stay fairly close, ranging maybe an acre and a half of our three acres...I notice the areas they range are always in site of the either their coop or the house (I guess for security).

 

[ericsplls]

It does seem to depend on the bird and how confident or safe they feel. I just added a rooster last month. My RIR hen wouldn't get far at all from her coop but now she'll follow the roo all over the place. I had some american game hens one time that you couldn't keep home. If the wandered too far they would roost in a tree and come back the next day. On average they do seem to stay within sight of the coop.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Just like kooshie said, it depends on the chickens! Some of mine just set in the coop all day, then others go in the backyard and into the field. It just depends on the breed and your chickens.

 

[gritsar]

Mine are visiting our pond regularly. The pond is roughly five acres away from their coop, I think. I can't see it from the house. I (barely) saw them going into the woods once and it's through a small patch of woods and across a large pasture. They're a brave bunch, but they've been freeranging for two years.

 

[calicokat]

The first place they will go is wherever you DON"T want them to go! I'm fussing with mine to keep them from crossing the street to the neighbor's yard

Other than that, mine stick to our two acres for the most part.

 

[Illia]

It depends on the breed, how they were raised into the concept of free range, and what "free range" environment you have. I find that if I keep mine in a decent confinement/run up to 5 months, then let them loose to their range, they stay at a decent distance. But if I show them the concept of free ranging from 1 month onwards, they tend to believe that anything is their land . . . And any plant is theirs.

But of course I learned the long way, and now my "free range" is 3 acres of fenced in wilderness (with chicken wiring on the bottom of course) They don't fly over the fence because they have enough inside to have fun with.

Also, about breeds - Some just don't go very far. My Wyandottes go anywhere and everywhere, while my Brahmas and Easter Eggers like to stay within a couple hundred feet of the coop, unless either I lead them out or ALL of the chickens decide to go out on a nice, rare, sunny day.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
My entire flock is LF brahmas. I put my foot down the day I saw them nearing my neighbor's house, a quarter mile away as the crow flies. She has commercial chicken houses and all heck woulda broken loose had my flock made it to their destination.

 

[cybercat]

Alot also depends on cover. My chickens would not go to certain areas till we walked them there. They were young then and had been in the coop for a month or more. They now go to our garden ,again we took them there. But in the woods they explore as they feel they want too. Lots of cover and too much underbrush for us to get up in some areas. They cover over 1 acre here and we have 5 acreas plus neibors field. Coop is like 100 feet from the house and they spend alot of time out front where cedars are along fence line. So that is 150 feet from the coop. On the other side of that fence is neibors field which they will go about 20 feet out in it. The farthest from the coop is the garden that is over 200 feet away from their coop. Hope that helps some.