Giving up on Free Ranging.... Baaahhhh!!!

[bunnibird55]

Gosh, my chickens free range (about 50 of them), my 15 turkeys free range and my 14 ducks free range. You want to talk about poop-visitors are warned to watch where they walk! I put them all away every night and let them out in the morning. They are always waiting by the doors to get out, even at 6;30 a.m. They have 18 nest boxes between three barns and for the most part that's where they lay their eggs every day. I do have a naughty little hen that I just found tonight in the duck barn sitting on a nest of eggs. Silly little girl, it is January and she decides to turn broody! My husband does get a little upset when I forget and leave the garage door open while I am at work during the day........they sure do make a huge mess. Instead of fencing in the kids, I fence in my three vegetable gardens during the summer and when it is done I take down the fences so they can clean up the leftovers. Works a lot better than trying to fence in my babies! They are so happy mucking around during the day, I just can't bear to constrain them! I guess it helps though, we do have 35 acres........

 

[Boichik86]

I'm sure having 35 acres helps a great deal! I think it may also help that you have turkeys around. I find that my chickens are considerably bolder when they have the turk's muscle to back 'em up. I have also eliminated hawk attacks by keeping my two toms around my chooks. They even frighten large dogs! Tell me, do you get frequent hawk/predator attacks with all those turkeys around?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Quote:



Our birds stay behind a 4' fence as long as I clip off all the flight feathers. Just remember to re-clip the wings after the moult!

 

[bunnibird55]

I did see some red-tailed hawks down at the gun club that adjoins our farm....but they never seem to come very far onto our property. I honestly never thought about my 6 toms being deterrents! They are quite formidable looking! I have Bourbon Reds and Narangasetts. Several years ago a hawk tried to pick up one of my guineas but it made such a noise that it dropped it and didn't come back! My main predator problem has been racoons. Live traps seem to keep them limited!

 

[Chick named Lola]

I hear ya! I let my girls free range and every afternoon when I put them back into the chicken part I'd the yard I'm on poop patrol withe pooper scooper so 1. My dog won't eat it...his breath stinks bad enough! And 2. So we aren't stepping in it. I'm too embarrassed to admit how much I've spent on the coop, the roofed run, organic feed etc...but I love them. That's also why I can't stop letting them out every day. It sure would make life easier

 

[mkeawsh]

I have a Great Pyrenees that does a marvelous job of keeping away the hawks, coyotes, foxes, great horned owls in the day time and any other predator that comes along. He is always looking skyward and out lasted an owl that was eyeing my brood of 58 free-ranging. He chased that owl from tree to tree until it gave up and flew away. I've had hawks dive bomb for my chickens and Buddy is right there to thwart their effort. Between Buddy and my Niteguards flashing at night, I have not lost a chicken in four years and will be incubating and brooding another couple dozen eggs in my house this Spring to add to this menagerie. They go in at dusk and I lock the doors and let them out in the morning. Same routine for years. Actually, my chickens take care of all Buddy's excrements - recycling in action. So, never have had to do that dirty job. I guess it is their payment for Buddy's protection.
He also guards, eats and sleeps with my fainting goats.

 

[mkeawsh]

I have Niteguards and have not lost one to a raccoon at night in four years. Before I got those, I was losing 2 - 4 chickens a week to raccoons. The way they would rip them apart was just disgusting.

 

[mkeawsh]

Gosh, my chickens free range (about 50 of them), my 15 turkeys free range and my 14 ducks free range. You want to talk about poop-visitors are warned to watch where they walk! I put them all away every night and let them out in the morning. They are always waiting by the doors to get out, even at 6;30 a.m. They have 18 nest boxes between three barns and for the most part that's where they lay their eggs every day. I do have a naughty little hen that I just found tonight in the duck barn sitting on a nest of eggs. Silly little girl, it is January and she decides to turn broody! My husband does get a little upset when I forget and leave the garage door open while I am at work during the day........they sure do make a huge mess. Instead of fencing in the kids, I fence in my three vegetable gardens during the summer and when it is done I take down the fences so they can clean up the leftovers. Works a lot better than trying to fence in my babies! They are so happy mucking around during the day, I just can't bear to constrain them! I guess it helps though, we do have 35 acres........

I love it! It sounds like here. I usually leave one of the garage doors open so the hens can go in there and lay in their favorite spots besides in the nestboxes in the coop and tractors that I have attached to it. I get so much enjoyment out of watching them free-range and see the different personalities of all 58 of them. I couldn't bear to constrain, either. The Barred Rocks love to free-range with the goats while they browse in the woods. We also fence in the gardens but not so much against the chickens but the goats. We have a compost pile in the woods behind the chicken enclosures and I will throw out all the scraps of food and all the stuff from cleaning out the rabbit and rat pens and the chickens love it all. It really does help to have enough acreage. My chickens are never on any of the porches unless they hear me rustle saltine pouches that I am carrying out to them to give them a treat. They either eat it out of my hand or on the ground. All my chickens were incubated and brooded in my house, have names and are very tame since they were held daily for six weeks.

 

[EricaD]

We had to give up free ranging due to predators. So we built them a huge run and only let them out to free range when we're outside doing yard work and can watch them. We have coyotes strolling through the yard in the middle of the day now that the chickens moved in, looking for a quick and easy meal. We lost our beloved rooster Charlotte to a coyote a few months ago. Sigh. Love letting them free range, but it's just not possible unless we want to get 50 chickens and assume regular losses. But that makes me too sad.

 

[mkeawsh]

Oh yes FLIES...

Forgot to add that to my gripe list ~~

I really hate to have to lock them up.....mine also LOVE there freedom..... luckily you get most of your eggs in the nests....mine are hiding theres or not laying !!!

Thanks for listening!

Don't have flies - gallon storage bag (twist tie kind), Put in cup of water, two pennies in one pointed corner of the bottom of the bag, secure it with bag tie or tie it off. Hang it in chicken house up high so chickens can't get to them. The shape of the corner of the bag filled with water and the pennies makes the flies think it is a hornet's nest and they won't come near. I haven't had flies in the house or in the goat enclosure for years and I currently have 57 chickens and 3 goats (will be getting more of both).