I need help with some questions

[CountryBoy19]

Ok, so I'm not a total stranger to chickens, but its been years and I was really young when we had them. I don't know much about them when you get into it.

I've been house searching and I wanted a house on some acreage, but its just so hard to find a good house on acreage in the location that I wanted. I wanted to get out of my apartment bad, so I bought an investment home (foreclosure that was way underpriced) in an addition so that I can take advantage of the first time home-buyer credit, the great investment value, and have more time to find the perfect house for me. I have .39 acres and I want chickens. I know I can keep them in a tractor, but I'd also like to free-range them when I'm around. Right now this is possible because the investors that started the addition went "belly-up", so many of the lots and homes are empty. There is an empty lot on one side of my house, and two empty houses on the other side. Across the street are empty lots and empty houses. Behind my property is a large grass/weed field that is probably at least 10-30 acres. Right now I'm not too concerned about them roaming too much, but as more and more people move in, I'd like to keep them near the house (preferably in the back yard). Currently there is no HOA to worry about, but I don't want to be the cause of them starting one either.

I don't plan on having any roosters, just about 5 hens. I will keep them in the tractor during the day when nobody is home, and let them out when I get home in the afternoon (get home about 3-4 pm so plenty of roaming time left).

How far are they going to roam? Is there a way to keep them closer to home? (the yard isn't fenced, and don't really want it to be fenced).

Is one breed better than another? I really like what I hear about Golden Comets, I want friendly chickens that will lay me some fresh eggs!

So can anybody help me out with ideas on how to free-roam them without causing problems and what breeds are better for this? I already have plans in mind for the chicken tractor.

Btw, this is most likely for next season. By the time I get moved in and get the tractor built it'll probably be too late for this year. So I plan to build the tractor in the garage over winter and get chicks as early as possible in the spring.

 

[rhodiegal]

The first thing is to make sure you are zoned for agriculture/livestock. A residential subdivision may not be. If you are OK on that part, you would probably have to keep them in the coop at all times on .39 acres. They will definately roam out of this area leaving behind little gifts on your neighbors porches, porch furniture, driveway, etc.

I have never had golden comets myself - someone else could chime in here, but there are many good egg laying breeds you can research online - I just hope you are ok on the zoning - otherwise you will probably be forced to get rid of them.

 

[Judy]

If you expect them to stay on your property, you will have to fence it.

Golden Comets are a hybrid, bred for heavy egg production. In the long term, you might be happier with a purebreed.


Agree on the zoning; check carefully, have it in writing.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I do plan to check zoning and laws. Basically this addition is stuck in the middle of a rural area, so I'm thinking that there shouldn't be as many problems as there would be in an addition in town.

Regarding the roaming, right now I'm not concerned about them roaming a little (I don't have any neighbors right now, and don't expect any soon), I just don't want them roaming all the way down the block to where there are people living. Is there a way to "entice" them to at least stay near?

Regarding the hybrid, I don't really plan on breeding (don't want a rooster right now) so the genetics don't much matter more than the actual characteristics of the bird correct? I've just heard the golden comets are very friendly, and lay well. If/when I move to a place with more acreage I will probably get some "true breeding" birds and have a rooster.

 

[Judy]

I live on 11 acres that had been a farmer's field before it was divided into home lots of 5+ acres. Truth is, I didn't check, but fortunately there are animals nearby so hopefully I got away with it. It was just a farmer selling off his field, not unusual around here, and it is so rural I'd be amazed if anyone even thought about zoning. So hoepfully you're fine.

I have a small free range flock that is about 1.5 years old. My land is not fenced. They don't leave my property. There's a small swamp maybe 200 yards from their coop; this is as far as they've ever gone, and they usually stay closer. Actually they are often around the coop or around my house. There are some thick woods maybe 100' behind their coop and they go there in the heat of the day, but when I look, they are still not far from the coop. So you should be able to get away with it for a while, if yours are like mine, and from what I read on here, this isn't unusual. Some people do have problems with them going into the road. For some reason, mine stop at the prairie type area between my yard and the road.

This flock is 4 hens with some new babies and a new roo. The 4 hens are what is left of 25 chicks. I lost the rest to predators, probably mostly fox. The losses stopped several months ago with the addition of two new dogs to the two I already had. The dogs are also not confined, but also do not leave the property, and they ignore the chickens. Not sure whether I have smart chickens left or the dogs keep the predators away.

On the hybrids, the other consideration with these birds is they seem to be more prone to serious egg-laying issues that can cause an early death. I don't know that that has been proven scientifically; it is the impression I get from hanging around here too much. As for friendliness, there are several purebreeds that are pretty dependable for being friendly. I've had good luck with Australorps for friendliness, and they are a champion egg layer. I believe Cochins and a few others are suposed to be good for this, too. Speckled Sussex as well. I have a lot more Australorps than Sussex, but both are quite gentle and friendly. In the end, personality is going to vary within any breed, and it is the luck of the draw; all you can do is go for ones that TEND to be friendly, and hope.

 

[Uppity Peon]

You should definitely have some fencing, if only to keep dogs out of the yard where your tractor is.

I have been giving my flock the run of the backyard for a couple weeks now and they don't go far from the coop. The back yard is about 1/2 acre but ou doubt they have covered 1/4 of that. They mostly stay in the shade near the feeder and waterers. They pick through the grass and the lawn clippings a bit, have a dust bath, and then chill out in little groups in shady places.

But I know that eventually they will wander farther, perhaps flying over the 4' fence. I occasionally see my neighbor's chickens in my front yard.

 

[MaggieRae]

You may want to think about australorps or buff orpingtons. I don't have any first hand experience with the buffs but I hear they are very friendly and very good layers.

I have two australorps and they are my two friendliest birds, right after that my easter eggers. My australorps don't roam far either.

(BTW- an australorp hen once laid 364 eggs in 365 days! WOWZA! She, of course, holds the record for egg production.)

 

[Judy]

Buff Orps are very friendly, but are not very smart about predators, from what I have read. They tend to be so docile that they don't have the sense to hide, and they are easily bullied.

I have an older flock that I wanted to put one of my new roos with. I have one BO roo in the new group who was my first choice, as I have some BO chicks in the new flock. So I brought the BO roo to the new flock. He took one look at those hens, who had not been mated for months, turned tail, and ran back to his old coop. So I tried the NHR roo, and he is now the proud leader of the old flock.

 

[#1California Chick]

You need to consider ALL the predators in your area!!!

Start with the neighbors dogs! How about hawks?? Raccoons? Snakes?? Weasels?? Foxes?? See the Predators section for more candidates!!

Now you need to protect your flock from the predators!!

In my area (hawks and coons), it means that my flock needs to be in an enclosed run ALL the time!!

Good Luck

 

[cmom]

First off I would like to

I agree with the other posts. I live out in rural area of farms and mini farms. I have several acres. I do have my birds fenced in more from predators. People around me do let their animals roam the area. One of the so called neighborhood mutts did kill one of my hens, but before I put up their fence they didn't stray far. They discovered my gardens and compost piles and every time they saw me come out of the house they would run up and look for treats.

I did a lot of research too before I got my birds.

Gail Damerow's 'Storey's Guide to Chickens' is an excellent resource, as well as this web site which is an excellent source of information.

These sites are especially helpful in selecting breeds.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/breedQuestions.aspx
Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

Also, here are some other good sites and info.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/aboutChickens.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/lcenter.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart