How to raise poultry with neighbors?

[Mo_fawaazzz]

it doesn’t matter whether it is your neighbor’s property or public land, your animals don’t belong there. They only belong on your property.

And just because there are only 2 guineas doesn’t mean anything. 10 guineas can do a lot more damage that 100 Burmese pythons.

How will you feel when they go a bit too far and only one returns? what if one of your neighbors uses pesticides or some other chemical and they eat something with the chemicals on it? What happens if they go too far and a hunter sees them? What about if they come across a road? Heck, I wouldn’t even risk it with your turkeys.

While no one can stop you, it is your responsibility to keep your animals safe and contained from being a nuisance.

I live in a neighborhood surrounded my mostly forest. The forest is so big that even 10 guineas will barely scar the ecosystem.

I have never lost a single bird, excepting chickens.

The only birds I have lost because of predators were chickens. My turkeys and mallards are native survivors.

My turkeys are absolutely terrified of human beings and would never even dare to go near a person. They will not even begin to roost if I am within the vicinity. If I disturb them from their roost, they choose a new roost next time.

There is no hunting allowed from my neighborhood for another 17-20 miles. Farm turkeys only range about 1/2 a mile from their food source, and mine steer clear from people.

If you are talking about human-imprinted birds, then that is a different story. They will constantly bug people for food. My turkeys would not even dare to approach a person, and they have survived for about a month outside already. Even if I did want to catch them to clip their wings again, it is so hard to do so because they keep on getting away.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

I understand that free ranging poultry is a controversial topic, but it is 2024 and human beings have already established free-range populations of birds worldwide - it cannot be stopped.

It seems a little feeble for a farmer to say ¨it will harm the ecosystem to free range your birds¨ while farming has way too many detrimental effects to wildlife, but ecosystems still persist and survive because they have adapted to it.

Humans harm the ecosystem too, and we are an invasive species. Why don´t we just lock ourselves in a coop or a little pen 24/7??

Idk about chickens, but gamefowl, peacocks, mallard ducks, heritage turkeys, and guineas MUST be free-ranged to fit their care requirements.

If you are so afraid about the ecosystem then stop owning birds and farming entirely.

These are words coming out of a guy who built many birdhouses and studied them (you can find my photos of nestling stages on NestWatch on Cornell Lab).

I also volunteered in a wildlife rehab to feed formula to songbird babies.

Yes, farming and poultry is bad for the ecosystem, but it will never destroy an ecosystem unless if you farm huge ranges whilst destroying forests and stuff. Free ranging your small flock wont do any harm at all!

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Domestic animals have no place in the ecosystem. They are invasive and destructive, competing with wild animals and destroying resources (destroying actual wildlife in the case of cats). They have no right to be turned loose in nature, and no claim to that kind of freedom if that’s what you mean by “free”.

Humans have already driven countless animals to extinction in North America. I believe chickens fill an empty ecological niche given how easily they adapt to local ecosystems and the manner in which they improve the environment

If you've never experienced free chickens improving your own land then you're missing out on a beautiful experience

Truly if every forest in America was filled with feral chickens the forests would be healthier

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think you’re missing the point… no one is against free ranging if it’s ON YOUR OWN PROPERTY. But letting them roam around unchecked in other peoples property is not okay.

Also, it’s not true that certain species HAVE to be free ranged. Plenty of people build large enough pens for them which IS possible and they do perfectly fine. If you don’t have room for that, don’t keep them.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

Humans have already driven countless animals to extinction in North America. I believe chickens fill an empty ecological niche given how easily they adapt to local ecosystems and the manner in which they improve the environment

If you've never experienced free chickens improving your own land then you're missing out on a beautiful experience

Truly if every forest in America was filled with feral chickens the forests would be healthier

I can assure you completely that 4 turkeys and two guineas will not do anything!

Free-ranging is a really controversial topic. I side that free-ranging is ok, but releasing an army of feral birds is not good.

A few turkeys or guineas will not do any harm.

 

[tripletfeb]

The whole point of this thread was to see how loud guineas are. You got rid of your chickens because your neighbors did not like the noise. You have been given evidence of how loud guineas are, much louder than chickens. Do what you want with that knowledge

 

[Logar]

I side that free-ranging is ok,

Free ranging is the best things you can do for your birds. But letting them BE free is a different story.

And a month says nothing about how safe it is for them. There is no hunting behind my property either but would that stop a 12 year old with a BB gun/air rifle? No.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

I think you’re missing the point… no one is against free ranging if it’s ON YOUR OWN PROPERTY. But letting them roam around unchecked in other peoples property is not okay.

Also, it’s not true that certain species HAVE to be free ranged. Plenty of people build large enough pens for them which IS possible and they do perfectly fine. If you don’t have room for that, don’t keep them.

Idk then why you are all about ¨the ecosystem will be destroyed¨" because I dont find anything wrong with 4 turkeys and 2 guineas exploring a 15 acre forest that is not private property. Also, my flighty birds that dislike humans tend to stick to the forest.

This issue is related to the properties of my neighbors, and the ecosystem doesnt have a role in this argument. Therefore, ¨They will destroy the ecosystem" is a statement that has no stance in this argument because a small flock of freerange birds are the least-harmful threat to a forest.

My birds would never dare enter my neighbors yards. My left neighbor has a pup and my right side neighbor has toddlers. my flighty turkeys always go to the forest, away from humans. It's once in a blue moon that one of my turkeys may accidentally jump the fence of my neighborś yard out of curiosity, peck around the border for a second, then fly back out.

So far only one of my turkeys flew to my neighbors yard once, then flew out and never flew back to the neighbors yard. They favor the forest because that is where a turkeys´ natural food is found.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

The whole point of this thread was to see how loud guineas are. You got rid of your chickens because your neighbors did not like the noise. You have been given evidence of how loud guineas are, much louder than chickens. Do what you want with that knowledge

I know that, this is the whole point of this thread, not the free-ranging topic. My birds have been free ranging just fine for a long time. I had birds free ranging years before I got my turkeys too. The loudness is my only issue with the guineas. I am not looking for argument, but I can justify that my birds can free range and they are not destroying any ecosystem nor are they being a nuisance to my neighbors.

There is one person who lives near the vicinity of my neighborhood who free ranges her peafowl, and does not get any complaints somehow... Her peafowl wander far away enough from her home that people who see them do not even know who owns the peafowl.


If my guineas get a little too loud then I could just give them to my cousin. I am raising my guineas alongside quail, idk if this will make them wanna be slightly quieter...

I didnt want this do be a free-range vs. pen-raised topic

 

[ShrekDawg]

Idk then why you are all about ¨the ecosystem will be destroyed¨" because I dont find anything wrong with 4 turkeys and 2 guineas exploring a 15 acre forest that is not private property. Also, my flighty birds that dislike humans tend to stick to the forest.

This issue is related to the properties of my neighbors, and the ecosystem doesnt have a role in this argument. Therefore, ¨They will destroy the ecosystem" is a statement that has no stance in this argument because a small flock of freerange birds are the least-harmful threat to a forest.

My birds would never dare enter my neighbors yards. My left neighbor has a pup and my right side neighbor has toddlers. my flighty turkeys always go to the forest, away from humans. It's once in a blue moon that one of my turkeys may accidentally jump the fence of my neighborś yard out of curiosity, peck around the border for a second, then fly back out.

So far only one of my turkeys flew to my neighbors yard once, then flew out and never flew back to the neighbors yard. They favor the forest because that is where a turkeys´ natural food is found.

I never said anything about the ecosystems being destroyed. You’re confusing me with someone else. But either way, the point is it is not your property. It doesn’t matter if it’s public or not. They shouldn’t be roaming around off your property. Would it be okay for a pack of dogs to roam around the forest or a local park just because it’s public property? No. So it’s not okay for your birds to be at large either.