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

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:

Yeah.....I gave that up awhile ago !!! LOL

Sounds like my summer gardening project. I spent about $100 on annuals for my front sidewalk gardens and two deck planters. DH was like

, while I was like

. Hee hee.

All of your stories and lists are sooo funny! As my geeky (and awesome) DH might say, "This thread is WIN."

 

[hcammack]

My chickens are trained to stay off the porch and I am not kidding imgine waying 2-5lbs and being chased off by 4 giants every time you come near the house they are aloud to eat bugs near by but as soon as they step on there outta here they all lay in the nest so far that I know off I am not sure though egg production has dropped allot that is what I am going to do search for eggs now.

Henry

 

[blooo]

my dog eats the chicken poop off my deck. while this is so gross that i can't bear to watch, at least it saves me the trouble of cleaning it.

you could always get a dog to help with the poop ... though this is not exactly a cost-saving measure.

 

[AngieChick]

Oh how funny! I totally feel your pain. I let mine out under direct adult supervision only. They also insist on staying on the porch instead of doing their pest control duty. I told them specifically to gobble up whatever was eating my fuschias, but they decided it was more direct to just eat the fuschias. Luckily there are only 6, and a nibble here and there isn't going to damage the overall look of the garden (or so I keep telling myself). Though there is one planter box that they are working on picking clean, but once they start working on it excessively I figure it's their signal to me that free-range time is officially over for the day.

Naughty little HennyPenny just before free range time was over!

Oh my poor little beheaded dahlias...

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I think people think free ranging is just an easier prospect than keeping the chickens in a run, and, in a lot of ways, it is a more carefree option. Not to say that it doesn't take some planning and some vigilance on our part.

Porches: A decorative bannister with gate can prevent porch forays, if one loves to free range. Its also helpful in keeping dogs from tracking muddy paw prints onto your porch, etc.

Laying eggs: This one has to be trained into them and reinforced occasionally. Even then, with a barn and outbuildings, it can be an Easter egg hunt at best. Keep them locked into the coop until late afternoon for a week, try to eliminate likely nesting sites, if possible, and make your nesting boxes an attractive place to lay (from a chickens view point, not ours!

).

Laying: 23 weeks is just the starting point for a lot of breeds and some of them take even longer to get a regular cycle. Don't give up on them! Watch for black snakes and such, they can make it seem like your getting few eggs, also.

Runs: These need to be constructed for the job. If they can get under the fence, this has probably not been done to the greatest effect! Getting over the fence is entirely different. Even with one wing clipped, some chickens are just great at getting out! I would try clipping one wing, though, as it has been successful for me and my 3 ft. run fence.

Either way this is not what I envisioned.....

It can be done, with a commitment to properly prepare for, and constantly monitor, the efficacy of free ranging. Don't give up! These are the same challenges all free rangers try to overcome...you are not alone!Make some adjustments, take another whack at it, and you may just find you can have that bucolic scene you envisioned...it just has a little more reality infused in it than you first expected!

 

[Little Chicken Farmers]

A little update........

So hubby and I decided to clip the girls wings the other night....... I have to say much easier than I thought! They are now unable to get out of there little yard ( Yippee

) and I am happy to report I got 3 eggs today.... all in the nest boxes ( another Yippee !!

) I turned them loose for the rest of the day.... Hopefully the rest will start laying soon and in the boxes. I plan to keep them locked in until early afternoon and them let them free range the rest of the day. Havent found any solid solution for the poop problem.....other than spraying down the porch daily... ( hey Blooo....my dog doesnt eat poop....although I kinda wish he did....lol.. )
It has been great hearing everyones thoughts.....

Thanks!

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Our chickens free-range 24/7 there is some poop on the back porch not much with all the grass so green they spend most of their day eating it or dust bathing or venturing in the creek. In the evening when we water the garden we will hose down the porch and all the chicken poop in the grass and backyard area, fresh fertilizer not a problem here. We don't wear our backyard shoes in the house they are mainly for yard use.

 

[kinnip]

I haven't worked up the gumption to free range the chickens. I do "free range" my goats. I put it in quotes since it's just an empty phrase. For my goats "free ranging" consists of destroying every plant on the deck-- sealed that up. Going nuts on the front porch in an attempt to get to the cat food-- sealed that up too. Raiding the tool shed-- turned it into a guinea house-- waiting to see what happens next. Of course, the feed room is a favourite if I forget to close the door. They've also discovered the trash cans. Anyway, you get the point. All I can think is, "How am I supposed to tell people about my healthy free range goat milk products when they're eating trash and cat food and chewing on pieces of OSB?" We've tidied up the best we can, but they're canny little jerks.

 

[vfem]

Those are pretty good vents! I know what I have to look forward to.

I have an acre and they refuse to wonder more then 200 ft from the coop... they spend most of their out time under my deck.

Luckily silkies can't really fly so the steps to the top of the deck where my tomatoes are is just WAY to high for them, thank goodness.

I will never go with standard size chickens I think! If they even thought about pooing on the new trex deck my husband built... we'd be eating some free range bbq chicken that night!

 

[newbiechicken]

Kinnip - we have two baby Nubian goats who live in our backyard (at night they have a pen in the barn) and they're always up on our wrap around porch. They get up on the table that's on the porch and scream into the kitchen window. They poop all over the porch and the table and it drives my husband nuts - he's always saying we look like hillbillies. They're so darn cute, though. We super-reinforced the fencing in a small pasture, but they hate it there and I'm a sucker so we let them stay in the yard during the day. Fortunately, they haven't yet developed a taste for cat food.