Free-Ranging

[ChickenDude101]

I have 8 chickens (1 BO, 1 Buff Bantam, 2 RIR's, 1 Deleware Rooster, 2 Cochins, 1 Australoupe) and i was wondering if it a bad thing not to let them Free-Range. Because i live on a 7.5 acre farm with 5.5 of it woods. Then if they go into the woods i cant go in and get them.

 

[Kevin565]

. Many of us including myself can't free range their birds. As long as they have a large enough pen they should be fine.

 

[theoldchick]

Due to the hawk and owl population at my house, I have difficulty allowing my birds to free range. I let the rooster out during the day to give the hens a break from his amorous advances, and to allow him to associate with my lonely horse. However, Stan stays close to the barn/coop area so the winged predators don't bother him. Some people say hawks won't bother a large chicken, but the fellow I have manages to subdue squirrels with no problem.

If you free range you must be mentally prepared to lose some birds. So I compromise by bringing the outdoors to my gals. I give them things to scratch in. Grass, nature's mulch, and so forth.

 

[devora]

Well, it's not a bad thing if you can't free range but it would be a shame if you didn't do so only b/c you are worried about collecting them.

If you train them to come to you for treats you can collect them any time. (Unless, like me, you got a couple o' ding dongs who don't get it!)

Or do you mean collect them in the evening for bedtime? If so, they'll go in on their own.

We're surrounded by woods. The girls hardly ever go in deep.

 

[bigoledude]

We have chickens at several family members and two friends places. Just about all of the places we keep them are lousy with predators. I also would love to turn-out all of the birds in the morning and pen them up in the coop at night. But, the coons, possums, hawks, owls, coyotes and local dogs would wipe us out in a couple of days.

We built "tractors" to keep our birds foraging on new ground every two days. Here is a page of tractor designs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-tractors-mobile-chicken-coop-designs

I wish I could start over with new designs. Here is a link to a tractor design I like.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-tractor-forager

Mine would be longer and wider. The coop would be permanently attached to the run and sit about 20 inches off of the ground for more foraging and shade area. Maybe I would use conduit tubing instead of plastic for added strength. My coops would be a typical "A-frame" with sides that would fold upwards for ease of cleaning and catching birds for treatment. My coop would have poop boards or poop canvas to eliminate having to change out the shavings as often.

My wheels would be air filled and larger from Harbor Freight. The whole tractor could be pulled manually or by using a 4-wheeler or riding mower. My wire would be much heavier and made of welded wire. My skirts are made of old rubber conveyor belt I got for free from a nearby grain elevator.

Egg collection would be made easy-peasy by using the design of our almost famous Opa . Here is a link. Opa made some changes over the span of that thread. Read it and pick whatever ideas you like!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...design-picture-heavy-edited-1-21#post_3499006

I plant seed in the areas where they've just eaten. We can grow beautiful rye grass in the middle of winter here. The summer is where I had trouble finding something nutritious and that could tolerate the heat. My solution was Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach and Amaranth. None of them are real spinach but the chickens love them. All 3 are very good for mine and your family to eat also.

I hardly ever allow the chickens to take the grass down to bare dirt. With only 8 Chickens you can keep everything much smaller than what I need.

With healthy grasses/bugs/veggies, I am able to save a lot of cash by constantly moving my birds onto new spots.

 

[blondiebee181]

I have 8 chickens (1 BO, 1 Buff Bantam, 2 RIR's, 1 Deleware Rooster, 2 Cochins, 1 Australoupe) and i was wondering if it a bad thing not to let them Free-Range. Because i live on a 7.5 acre farm with 5.5 of it woods. Then if they go into the woods i cant go in and get them.

If you can free-range I would. I live in the city and my girls roam the yard several times during the day. My belief is that they stay happier, healthier, and less bored this way. Here are the pros:

If a chicken free-ranges it is less likely to get bored and pick on other birds
They clean up all the bugs and un-wanted weeds they can get
Free-ranging is what a chicken is meant to do, I think if at all possible try not to prevent this.
The poop is good fertilizer

The cons:
Predators, but you CAN keep them off your birds if you are careful. That being said, my girls only go out if someone is home and can check on them a couple times every now and then, we love to watch them anyway they're quite entertaining. If we are planning to be gone, we put them in the run (which is large so they still have space to get away from one another). They are trained to go in the coop at night because that's where we put them as chicks every night and they know it's safe, it's their home. Chickens are creatures of habit, they will always go there. It's also where the food is. If we need to call ours in during the day, I usually bring some table scraps and veggie leavings out to call them with. I just have to whistle and they know it's treat time. As chicks I trained them that I am the treat lady by hand feeding them and whistling softly at the same time, so it's like Pavlov's dogs. Anyway, I hope this helps your decision. If you do confine them 24/7, they will need plenty of room and things to peck at and eat so they don't get cramped or bored.

 

[KLLEETRUCKING]

We're on 10.3 acres, 6 or so are mature woods. My GF lets her 9 free range everyday,all day, they go up to the woods but never into it. They range from 8 mos. to 5 mos. and seem big enough and smart enough not to be real easy game and to regard the woods as a bad place. I will say they stay pretty tight in groups of 4 and 5. We lost 6 in the beginning because they were only 12 weeks old and we left them alone, lesson learned the hard way.

I might add, when they free range the GF is never far away from the girls or her .223.

If you can free range with close supervision I say go for it, the entertainment value is worth it. Now when bedtime comes, (dusk) if they aren't already on their roosts, all she has to do is call them and walk towards the coop and they generally follow. The girls have associated the GF as food/safety.

If you do free range don't expect the mulch to stay in your shrub beds LOL. Mowing the grass is another adventure, but I'll leave that for your enjoyment.

BTW, welcome to BYC. A wealth of information and very tolerant experienced people on here, I'm a newbie also.

 

[FreeRanger777]

My chicken coop is in the woods so ive had many problems free ranging them ...But ive started a routin by letting them free rang at 6 at night and they dont stray far from me but i stay out with them the whole time and they always come back to roost by 7 or 7:30 . They really love to free range i cant stand to see them pinned up all the time . Dont worry they will all come back at sundown to roost in the coop but dont leave them for even a few minutes cause i made that mistake twice and had a fox snatch some up the few minutes i was gone. I always keep a gun nearby to because belive me there will be random animals popping by even when your around.

 

[jlquick30]

We have a wooded area on our 7 acres and our girls won't go into it. Also, anywhere that we let the grass grow taller than their heads, they won't go into. It's our way of letting them free range with limits. We'e trained ours so they mostly come when you call, and always come if you have food. They seem happier when they can free range, IMO.

 

[cafarmgirl]

It really boils down to just one thing. If you free range you will eventually loose one or more birds to a predator or roaming dog. If you are comfortable with the occasional loss then you should free range. If not, build them a suitable pen or perhaps fence in an area with electric poultry netting to keep them a little more protected. For folks with large flocks the occasional loss is acceptable, with a small flock it's harder.

I currently have just a small flock myself so they semi-free range in a securely fenced pasture. This has protected them on numerous occasions from roaming dogs more then anything else.