How Do I Keep My Free Range Chickens Safe?

[HannahKline14]

I have 13 chickens and I wanted to wait until they started to lay to free range them.(which will be within 2 weeks for most)We live surrounded by corn fields and have a lot of Apple trees so I feel like there's plenty of coverage from hawks and of course, they will have access to their coop and run. But how do I keep them out of the road? We live on a couple acres so will they stay in the yard? Also how do I keep them safe from ground predators? I have never seen a racoon, fox, or Weisel but of course that doesn't mean they're not there. (We do have a dog near their coop that barks at rabbits and most of the ground predictors are nocturnal but I have heard of them killing chickens in the day.) Last question I have a polish chicken ( my profile pic ) if I tape her crest could I free range her aswell? (I have heard of getting geese and as soon as I see someone selling some near me ill try and get a couple.) Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[Mrs. K]

How close is the road to your coop? How is the traffic on it?

I have found the more I let them out, the farther they roam. If I don't let them out too often, they tend to stay close to the run and coop.

The thing with letting them out, there is a real risk of losing at least some of them. Reality. I myself, have had good day time protections with a good rooster. Not all roosters are good roosters. I think the best roosters are about a year old, have been raised in a multi-generational flock that does free range. And is non people aggressive. I have had about 10 roosters, none of them worth much until they were about a year old. Then I would notice a real change in the flock, and my daytime predation dropped to almost nothing. I really don't worry about the breed.

Before that -I would loose a bird about once a month.

Loosing birds is a real risk, but it is so fun to let them out, and let them peck.

I would worry about the polish and only let that one out if I was there.

Mrs K

 

[HannahKline14]

The coop is behind our house a pretty far distance away but the road is kinda busy we have 2 roosters but thier still pretty young so I don't know how well they would do at thier job. What if I put poultry netting around where I want them to be would they stay in that?