Free Roaming Chickens

[chickensbythesea]

Quote:
Wait, below 0 is most extreme? Can you come tell that to my weatherman please?

The shavings work on the same principle as a thermal shirt (the waffled kind). Air trapped between the shavings will have a warmer thermal mass than just the air. Sand has less air space, so it's less likely to help maintain a consistent heat.
This is why having wood in your shop won't help- the wood bits are VERY tightly packed when in tree form, so there's not much air trapped and insulated in each plank.

For a sand-based example, go to the beach in the summer- the sand is scorching! but at night, it's almost chilly. Stick your hand in a bucket of shavings and it's more likely to be consistent day and night, because it can retain and release heat more evenly because it has air pockets.
I don't think it's substantial enough to have a make it or break it effect though.



Anyways, OP, if you DO decide to free range, don't expect that the first couple nights they'll parade nicely back to the coop at dusk- be there to round them up for a few days. After they get the knack of it, as long as they have enough space and things to keep them busy, they're not terribly likely to jump the fence. Even with the fence, don't forget that hawks are predators too, though. You always take a risk free ranging unmonitored, but provided that you minimize risk, you'll be fine.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Lets try an experiment: go spend a nite on wood shavings and then one on sand, in February. Wear only your skivvies and a sweater.

I'm betting the wood shavings will be less cold than the sand. You're right, wood and sawdust won't insulate a shop if left just piled around. They would, though, if used in practical ways AS insulation material. In other words, to isolate YOU from the cold.

As a flooring cover, the shavings will hold the birds off the freezing floor if it is cement. Sand would too, but it will tend to transfer the cold from below better than the shavings.
As far as cold air temps go, the birds don't care until, as you say, they reach down to zero and below.
I have always gone for 32 degrees F, if I can arrange it.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

I just lost my whole lot...in their coop. I've always let mine free range and have lost some over the years to predators but always at night in the coop (which I believe was well secured and has been stepped up since). The latest group I had liked to leave our 2 acres for my neighbors (parents), beautiful landscaped property. It took about 2 weeks of herding (and calls from my "neighbors") them back to teach them to dig up my gardens and leave my mom's alone (my veggie garden is not accessible to them)! Funny thing was that when one of mine went broody and I searched and searched for her eggs, my dad found her nest behind his workshop! He didn't find it as humorous as I did when I asked him what he was going to do with all those baby chicks!

I guess it depends on where you live regarding predators, but my girls were pacing at the gate waiting to get out in the morning and they always returned to the coop at night and during the day to lay their eggs. They also laid more when they were able to roam and return to the hen house to lay their eggs....a girl likes some privacy when she does her deed. My run is about 30'x15' so it wasn't like they didn't have room, but there is nothing like a little roaming.

I'm with the mindset that they need to be chickens...but then again, I also let my kids run barefoot and only went to the hospital for wounds that would leave unsightly scars...everything else got a butterfly. Oh, and my daughter had her second baby this week and I babysat my 3 year old granddaughter for 2 days...her entertainment was the portable dog kennel which she called her "tent"! Hey, she was happy!

 

[chellejeff]

I hear what you are saying as to what I would rather sleep on, sand vs shavings. But the hens don't sleep on the floor, and the thermometer says the room temp is no different.

BigDaddysMom, did I misunderstand, it seems like you're saying you just lost your whole flock. Please explain so I can avoid this.

 

[Judy]

It's a personal choice. Certainly there will be losses if you free range. Those who try to make a coop ""Fort Knox" have some losses, too, and the chickens have nowhere to hide from an attack if something gets in. Of course they love to free range, this is their natural way of living.

I had an attack this morning, first one in a couple of years. At least two hens were killed, plus I suspect the roo was killed trying to draw the predator away from the flock, but I found lots more hiding and uninjured, including all the chicks and the mama. Those three lived 3 years of a great chicken life. I will lock the rest up tonight when whoever is left comes out from hiding and goes back in the coop, and watch for the culprit. But they will free range again.

 

[Davaroo]

I'm always piqued by the concept of "free ranging" as expressed here at BYC. It is usually espoused as the "natural" thing for chickens.
What fascinates me is we say that, and then we try to eliminate their natural tendencies.
We can't stand the thought of a "mean" roosters, hens are expected to lay an 'egg-a-day' without let up and we want the flock to be "docile" and appreciative of us.

Yet, at the same time we think they should be "free" to range willy-nilly, "unfettered spirits woven into Nature's great tapestry."
You know how people say one thing, and do another? It's kinda like that.

"Natural" chickens, aka "wild" ones, purposefully forage over a territory - they don't wander like clueless nomads. And there is always something out there, waiting to kill them.
If we want to care the most for our birds, while meanwhile turning them loose, it is important to accept that.
First determine if their territory can sustain them. If we decided that it can in spring - when all is green and lush, for example - we might be in for a rude awakening in summer or winter.

Second, what are the limits of their domain? And can you control those limits?
I remember the town in Florida that was taken over by chickens loosed by previous owners. They didn't vacate the region, and roam off to better territory. It was their home place, after all.
Instead, they established themselves in their already familiar territory and overran the place.

So, we have to be careful or we may find that our chickens will be forced to scatter around, placing themselves in harms way in the bargain.
This is why it is critical to establish your hen yard as home base. YOUR hen yard is where they should feel at ease, secure and well-fed. Anything else is gravy.
I think of them as the animal kingdoms "teenagers...." always up for an explore, but coming home to mommy's apron after.

I regret the day that term, "free ranging," came into our vernacular. I'd like to see it replaced with "controlled foraging."
I know it's kinda boring to say - it doesn't have the same ring, for sure.

But it plants the proper notion in our minds, and everyone benefits.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Can you be sure? I have always had some birds that seem to prefer the ground to the roost. With chickens, nothing is ever set in stone. If one runs a huge flock it might not matter if a few floor sleepers get the croup and croak from exposure to the cold floor.
But when one only has a dozen or fewer birds, I dont suggest you take the chance.

And on concrete, there is more going on than just sleeping at night. There are other periods where they are on the floor, like much of the day if they are confined. There may even be times when they can not go outside - Utah has some fairly harsh weather at times.
Sand will work, sure. It has been proven. But in the upper desert, I would stick with some sort of organic litter if possible, at least in winter.

In fact, litter on top of sand would be best.

 

[blefky]

Quote:
Off topic, but...nice lookin' dog.

 

[Judy]

Davaroo, you raise some excellent points. Certainly not everyone means the same thing by some of the terms found here. But this is mainly a forum of people who are fairly new to chickens, with a few chickens in a town setting, trying to learn why feathers are missing or why that hen won't get off the nest. Or even, whether they should eat fertile eggs. We are fortunate to also have some people like you who have been at this a whole lot longer and I assume on a larger scale, and have all that experience and years of observation to offer.

I read "free range" like I read "deep litter" -- people mean very different things by it.

At least the term "free range" (or free roaming) helps get the idea across that severely limiting their space is maybe not so good an idea, and that availability of natural forage is.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Your point is entirely valid. Thanks for offering it up. The concern shown by the members here is always comforting.

I also agree that we who have a bit of experience, must make the effort to plant the right thinking in the newcomers' mind. We set the precedent, for that.
Simply because a person is new to something, is no reason to shield them from getting it right from the outset, learning the terminology and so on.
Imagine if we let newcomers in the medical field simply labor under whatever misconceptions they come to....
In essence, the future success of all lies with all of us.

Thanks for your feedback. I know I speak for all when I say it is appreciated.