How far will chickens free range in a few hours?

[AOrchard]

I have a 25x50 fenced run with coop. My house is on one side 75 ft away (lots of trees and flowers, moist and shady). The other side is all field (wild meadow growth, grassy scattered brush). I'd prefer they spend more time in the field than around the house. If I put a door in the run on the field side and use that, will that actually promote spending more time in the field? Or not really? Thinking to let them out to free range for a few hours in the evening.

 

[kristamakk]

I have a 25x50 fenced run with coop. My house is on oe side 75 ft away (lots of trees and flowers, moist and shady). The other side is all field (wild meadow growth, grassy scattered brush). I'd prefer they spend more time in the field than around the house. If I put a door in the run on the field side and use that, will that actually promote spending more time in the field? Or not really? Thinking to let them out to free range for a few hours in the evening.

Personally, i let my chickens fully free roam where they want just because my area is huge and i have a fence around. Yet the chickens always gravitate towards the sunnier, greener areas, and dry dirt/sand to lay in. I'm sure the door would most likely help, but they might want to get to the other side. Not an expert tho, just speaking from personal experience

 

[CHlCKEN]

My chickens tend to stick as close to the run as possible when free ranging. I have 1 acre in my backyard but they rarely venture through it all. If you are worried yours will go to far, train them to come to a sound for a treat. I keep my scratch and mealworms in a large metal garbage can. When I take of the lid it makes an obvious clanging sound, and the girls have learned it means mealworm time!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Grows with time and confidence. My primary hen house and run are on the back of my barn,, in a cleared 1.75 acre area, inside an electric fence that includes about 4.5 acres (its irregular - I took a chainsaw into the woods, and started cutting a perimeter, then strung wire!) Initially, the hens kept the run in sight, rarely ventured into the shaded, underbrushed area at the back of the clearing, and almost never into the woods - stayed w/i about 75' of the run (mostly on the gate side) and largely stuck to the clearings - meaning they skipped under the electric fence that separates my RV from the pasture with frequency.

Now they roam most of the "woods" to the limits of the electric fence in at least two directions, freely roam most of the acre I cleared in front of the pasture, and will freely go where ever I happen to be. Call it 300-400ft in any direction. They only direction they don't challenge is the back electric fence, where underbrushed area transitions into unthinned woods - though I've another several hundred feet of property in that direction, and plan to thin it eventually.

 

[0die]

I let mine out in the front yard when I'm outside working...they keep venturing further and further into the neighbors yards...curiosity as they say...

 

[topochico225]

I let mine out to free range in the morning. My yard is less than 1 acre but still pretty large, and they go everywhere. They even love to sit on my driveway in the hot sun but then I spend a nice long time at the end of the day spraying lovely cecal gifts away.