I really hope the electric fence does its job.

[roosterhavoc]

Good call on the NO free range. True free ranged birds are always at risk to predators. Most should do as you are and YARD their birds. Create an exterior boundary of protection to keep the birds in and predators out. Provide them with cover and grazing options and they will be happy.....and safe. An E fence does that better than most.

I used to think baiting the hot wire was bad form........cheating more or less. But after reading such a suggestion in the operating instructions that came with one of my fencers, it began to make sense to do so. To hasten the predator's journey of discovery of what they might expect if they tried to test the fence. Indeed.....please do.

i couldn’t disagree more about no free range. Birds are far healthier when allowed to free range at least part of the time. Yes they are in danger that’s obvious but the benefits to the birds are worth the risk.
As for baiting the hot wire I suppose if you never let your birds out to actually be a chicken I guess that’s fine. Most animals know your chickens are there. Putting peanut butter or similar on a fence isn’t smart.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

i couldn’t disagree more about no free range. Birds are far healthier when allowed to free range at least part of the time. Yes they are in danger that’s obvious but the benefits to the birds are worth the risk.
As for baiting the hot wire I suppose if you never let your birds out to actually be a chicken I guess that’s fine. Most animals know your chickens are there. Putting peanut butter or similar on a fence isn’t smart.

If you find losing birds to predators as acceptable, then by all means free range them. However I believe it's very easy to set up an electric poultry fence and confine them to a limited area but much larger than a penned area.

Also, don't believe baiting is a good idea. In the off-chance your fence fails for a day, you don't want to attract any more predators than there already are.

 

[roosterhavoc]

If you find losing birds to predators as acceptable, then by all means free range them. However I believe it's very easy to set up an electric poultry fence and confine them to a limited area but much larger than a penned area.

Also, don't believe baiting is a good idea. In the off-chance your fence fails for a day, you don't want to attract any more predators than there already are.

I have penned birds, free range and some that get locked up at night but loose all day. I guess it depends on how big an “area” is compared to a “penned area”
My guess this limited area is still too big to be protected from hawks.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

I have penned birds, free range and some that get locked up at night but loose all day. I guess it depends on how big an “area” is compared to a “penned area”
My guess this limited area is still too big to be protected from hawks.

Poultry fencing is 165 feet long and you can connect multiple rolls if you want a super large area. Putting up some aviary netting is an option if you want to hawk proof your ranging area.

 

[Howard E]

True free ranged birds may have a better life, right up until the moment when a stray dog or other predator moves in and kills them. The Predator Forum is rife with accounts of folks who have lost entire flocks of free ranged birds to all manner of predators. We see them almost daily. But that is for each grower to decide on their own. If you feel the benefits of a true free ranged flock outweighs the risk of losing them all.......then by all means, put them at risk and let them take their chances. I've never done that, and I've never lost a bird to a predator, but to each their own.

So the alternative to true free ranging at one end and confining them to a run on the other, is a YARD. An enclosed area created by a perimeter zone of protection in the form of some type of fence. Mine happens to be 1/2 acre and I use electric fences to establish the boundary or zone of protection that confines the birds within and would be predators out.

Baiting may seem unethical and perhaps unwise, but it works. Predators moving in to investigate will find it and when they do, the violent painful shock they get teaches them to avoid the area entirely. Predators are mostly resident. Over time, they come and go but most are not transient. They live in the area. The one's you have quickly learn to stay clear. This is no place to mess with. So you can have long gaps in coverage and it doesn't matter.

Back in the summer, when I was brooding my current flock, they were confined to a small area by a single strand of hot wire. Just one strand, 5" off the deck. With the fence hot, they never ventured out. For some reason, I shut it off one day and it was a least a week before they figured out it wasn't hot. I looked out one day and several birds were outside the wire. I turned it back on and within 24 hours, they were all back in to stay. Predators will do the same thing. They find out it's hot, and leave it alone. The fastest way to educate them on the wonders of high voltage is to trick them into sniffing or licking it. Once properly zapped, you can hardly get them to go near it.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I aware of how to put up a fence, keep birds in and protect the birds that are out free ranging. I mainly free range young birds until penning age. It’s better for them imo. I understand everyone’s set up is different and so is the population of predators. The kinds of birds everyone raises is different too. There’s no single approach that’s perfect for everyone.
I don’t think baiting the fence is unethical I said it’s not wise if you let them out. Keeping them penned all the time is a different story.
The amount of birds you have would also change the way they might be kept.

 

[silkiemother]

unless they can see in the dark then I guess the animals would see other animals eyes glowing

 

[Howard E]

Nope. What WE see as glowing eyes only happens when we shine a light in their direction. Headlights on a car or perhaps a flashlight. Their eyes don't generate light, they reflect it. Animals with good night vision have reflective sensors inside their eyes to enhance light so they can see pretty well in the dark. It is an artificial light reflecting back at us off these sensors that you and I see as glowing eyes. So unless a varmint or predator has a flashlight and shines it at the other varmint, they won't see any glow at all. Turn the flashlight off and you won't see any glow either.

So putting up a device that mimics glowing eyes.....something no varmint or predator has ever seen, seems silly on the face of it. But if you will buy it, they will sell you one.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Nope. What WE see as glowing eyes only happens when we shine a light in their direction. Headlights on a car or perhaps a flashlight. Their eyes don't generate light, they reflect it. Animals with good night vision have reflective sensors inside their eyes to enhance light so they can see pretty well in the dark. It is an artificial light reflecting back at us off these sensors that you and I see as glowing eyes. So unless a varmint or predator has a flashlight and shines it at the other varmint, they won't see any glow at all. Turn the flashlight off and you won't see any glow either.

Chickens should have flashlights mounted on their head so they can spot predators

 

[Morrigan]

Well, I've caught bobcat and coyotes prowling about, might as well add bear to the list.