If you love your chickens, fence them in

[gritsar]

Quote:
I agree. My chickens have 80 acres to roam on all day, every day. Will I eventually lose some to predators? Probably, but it's working for us right now and I have no plans to change that.
That doesn't mean I love my chickens any less than the next person. It means I am in a situation where it's possible.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

We let ours free range during the day and put them in at night. We are home while they are out and have numerous dogs so we haven't lost one as of yet. I think the decision to free range or not should depend on the area and the predator potential.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
And I think for many it depends on your size flock. If you have 25 plus chickens and lose one or two, in most cases that doesn't hurt as much as a person who has just a few chickens and loses one or two.

 

[horsejody]

Free ranging has many benefits. It reduces the feed bill. It reduces the bug population in your yard. The birds love it, and it's healthy. We haven't had a problem with wild predators, just neighbor dogs. I guess the neighbors really don't love their dogs because they put them in danger of being shot. Cats haven't been an issue for us, but I guess if a predatory cat wandered into my yard and made trouble it's owner must not love it enough to care about it either. Saying that people don't love their birds because they allow them the joy of free ranging is very judgemental. It's a personal choice. Right now my birds only free range when I'm home. That's because of the neighbor's dogs. The next time they are in my yard they will be shot. Then I can leave the chickens out longer again. Oh, if the neighbors only loved their domesticated predators enough to keep them locked up 24/7, life would be so much easier.

 

[BayMinetteChickenMom]

Well, I think the point is that these people know they have a problem (I assume they can count) and they are not doing anything about it. If free ranging works where you live, great! I'm sure the chickens like it better. But if they are being picked off daily, then a responsible chicken lover would do something to protect them.

 

[BayMinetteChickenMom]

Well, I think the point is that these people know they have a problem (I assume they can count) and they are not doing anything about it. If free ranging works where you live, great! I'm sure the chickens like it better. But if they are being picked off daily, then a responsible chicken lover would do something to protect them.

 

[rcentner]

I don't think that free ranging means you don't love your chickens. I used to free range and miss it a lot, but due to the very large population of very large hawks..we had to close them in before we lost one. My DH would rather spends hours upon hours working on the runs and coops than see me cry.

 

[lauralou]

Quote:
Agreed.

For over a year I had no problem. My chickens did love to free range, and it was clearly good for them. But when I started losing them to predation, something had to change.

I'm sad about it. About the birds that I lost, and about the loss of freedom for the remaining birds.

 

[bantamsrus]

Mine loved to free range. Then I started to losing some to dogs. But I've got too much love and money invested in mine to keep loosing them. So--had to pen them up due to irresponsible dog owners

But you can bet your sweet butt any loose dog nosing around my pens goes bye-bye

!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Why did we chose pets that are on everyone's list of favorite treats?