How to keep chickens within free range limits?

[Kareemsal1]

hey guys, i recently got 4 6 month old chickens. i put them in a 10'L x 4' W x 4ft H run w coop.
i feel bad as they start to pace near the wire door wanting out. i want to free range them but i want to limit access to my big backyard for safety reasons

i want to get an eletric fence but those are very pricey . are there any alternatives to keep my chickens within my free range fence area?

 

[LizzzyJo]

How big is the area? What type of coverage? Clear or trees etc? If they have about two acres to play on you can create boundaries behaviorally or with bushes. This takes years of training, but it is worth it!

if you have under and acre and no natural boundaries they will probably always roam

 

[Kareemsal1]

How big is the area? What type of coverage? Clear or trees etc? If they have about two acres to play on you can create boundaries behaviorally or with bushes. This takes years of training, but it is worth it!

if you have under and acre and no natural boundaries they will probably always roam

its about quarter an anchor. i have a tree covering half. my concern is the avocado tree and fig trees i have. and i am also unsure what weeds and small plants in my yard can kill them.

 

[Alaskan]

no way to keep them in a specific area without a fence.

Save up for fencing, or check free pages on Facebook on Craigslist as well as the construction trash at your local dump.

 

[Kareemsal1]

no way to keep them in a specific area without a fence.

Save up for fencing, or check free pages on Facebook on Craigslist as well as the construction trash at your local dump.

I have a 6ft wooden fence around the area if that helps

 

[Alaskan]

I have a 6ft wooden fence around the area if that helps

You mean you just need recommendations on how to roof it all?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My chickens do not bother our little fig trees. They also do not eat anything toxic. The big yard they are in most of the day has lots of lilies in it. They lie under them for shade and scratch under them for bugs, but do not eat the plants. The yard also has a huge assortment of wild plants and weeds. The chickens have never gotten sick from anything. They know what they can eat.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've found that chickens will stop eating things that are potentially bad for them pretty quickly, AS LONG AS they have the choice to do so - that is a better, reliable, food source. I have several acres, and there are occasionally things growing which are potentially toxic which escape my notice for a time. Sometimes, there's evidence the birds pecked at it - but none have eaten themselves to injury, even with the soda apples, which are pretty toxic and very difficult to keep under control.

Personally, I found an electric fence the cheapest option for my area, but its to keep predators out. My birds can almost ignore it, though it gives me a good jolt thru my plastic shoes.

if you already have a 6' perimeter fence to keep your birds in, and are only worried about protecting some trees, a few step in poles and some 4' plastic netting is all you need to keep your birds away from the trunks. I'd never recommend the stuff for predator control, but that's not the purpose you would be putting it to - your chickens won't make a concerted effort to defeat it.