- Aug 29, 2014
- 16
- 0
- 22
Hello,
So my chicken (and duck) coop is built in 5 major sections. The chicken coop (where the chickens sleep and lay), the chicken run, (mainly for the chickens but ducks visit a lot
) the duck house (where my ducks sleep), the duck run (small fenced in area with netting overhead. Has a pool for them and some grass, chickens love it there too!) and the main run (actually an old converted tennis court that doubles as a garden). So, since I got my flock (4 chickens, 2 ducks) back in April, they've been semi-free ranging in the main run. This main run is about 500 square feet and has no over head cover, especially now that the leaves have fallen. The birds love to run around there, grazing on plants, forging for insects, ect. When I first started doing this, I was very worried about hawks. There are a lot where I live (CT) and I'm sure they'd love my birds as an afternoon snack. My concerns, however, went away when I saw them run for cover every time a hawk was near by. I knew they could take care of themselves. This was during the summer; when they were pullets. The hawks departed for a long time after that and I didn't see them very much at all. This weekend, however, I heard that familiar screech and saw a massive red tailed hawk over head. This time, I was much more concerned. My flock didn't seem fazed by the hawk at all. I quickly got them out of the main run and into the enclosed area. I let them out again when the hawk left. Thinking it would leave, I let them out to semi-free range again today. I didn't get any issues until late today. I was raking leaves and I suddenly heard the birds going berserk. I looked over to see the same hawk (he hangs around my yard quite a bit) from yesterday trying to carry one of my ducks away. Luckily, he was not able to get a good grip on her and flew away empty handed. She was not injured at all. Strangely enough, the birds didn't run for cover and continued grazing. Not even my duck seemed phased by it. So here's my issue. 1. My birds don't run away anymore. They just wait there like sitting ducks (no joke intended). 2. The simple solution is to put the birds inside the run and not let them free range. I'm not sure how that will affect them, though. They are very plump, healthy birds with very good diets and keeping them restricted to the coop could make them unhappy. I'm just wondering what you think is more important. Should I let them keep free ranging or should I keep them in the (rather large) coop for the time being. Please let me know what you think. Thanks so much!
So my chicken (and duck) coop is built in 5 major sections. The chicken coop (where the chickens sleep and lay), the chicken run, (mainly for the chickens but ducks visit a lot
) the duck house (where my ducks sleep), the duck run (small fenced in area with netting overhead. Has a pool for them and some grass, chickens love it there too!) and the main run (actually an old converted tennis court that doubles as a garden). So, since I got my flock (4 chickens, 2 ducks) back in April, they've been semi-free ranging in the main run. This main run is about 500 square feet and has no over head cover, especially now that the leaves have fallen. The birds love to run around there, grazing on plants, forging for insects, ect. When I first started doing this, I was very worried about hawks. There are a lot where I live (CT) and I'm sure they'd love my birds as an afternoon snack. My concerns, however, went away when I saw them run for cover every time a hawk was near by. I knew they could take care of themselves. This was during the summer; when they were pullets. The hawks departed for a long time after that and I didn't see them very much at all. This weekend, however, I heard that familiar screech and saw a massive red tailed hawk over head. This time, I was much more concerned. My flock didn't seem fazed by the hawk at all. I quickly got them out of the main run and into the enclosed area. I let them out again when the hawk left. Thinking it would leave, I let them out to semi-free range again today. I didn't get any issues until late today. I was raking leaves and I suddenly heard the birds going berserk. I looked over to see the same hawk (he hangs around my yard quite a bit) from yesterday trying to carry one of my ducks away. Luckily, he was not able to get a good grip on her and flew away empty handed. She was not injured at all. Strangely enough, the birds didn't run for cover and continued grazing. Not even my duck seemed phased by it. So here's my issue. 1. My birds don't run away anymore. They just wait there like sitting ducks (no joke intended). 2. The simple solution is to put the birds inside the run and not let them free range. I'm not sure how that will affect them, though. They are very plump, healthy birds with very good diets and keeping them restricted to the coop could make them unhappy. I'm just wondering what you think is more important. Should I let them keep free ranging or should I keep them in the (rather large) coop for the time being. Please let me know what you think. Thanks so much!
