I'm not sure I'll ever free range again!

[RedDrgn]

You should probably fence that area off from them or you're going to have bumblefoot forever. If it's swampy and soaking their wrappings, it's a lose-lose situation for their poor chicken feets.

 

[Nicole01]

The area will dry up in a few weeks. Today when I changed their bandages, they kept it dry. It's impossible to fence it off.

Their bumble foot is not that bad, I caught it in time and none had a plug or cheesy substance.

They are much happier free ranging then inside the run most the day. Today they pretty much have stayed out of the swamp.

 

[Moonkit]

We have Barn swallows, starlings, and sparrows around our house.. They chase off any bird of prey that happens by. Plus, I've seen my chickens paying attention to the alarm calls of the swallows and going into hiding in the bushes until its over. I found it really interesting to see all the little birds (swallows, sparrows, starlings) grouping together in the sky, then all zooming off in one direction.. a few minutes later you'd see a hawk hightailing it out of there as the "army" dive bombed it constantly. They even drove one to the ground in our alley last week.

 

[Nicole01]

I always look around for song birds, robins, cardinals, blue jays, crows, sparrows, chickadees, , oreos, ect. If they are sparse and out of site, a hawk is near by. If they are abundant, the hawks are elsewhere hunting.

After 7 hours of free time, they were back in the run taking a dust bath. I closed the door and will let them back out after dinner until its bedtime.

 

[Sparklewina]

Some of my girls are savvy enough to seek cover when a large bird flies overhead. Sometimes roosters will keep a lookout for predator birds and I have also heard that adding guinea hens to your flock can help alert your hens to danger overhead. Some people put up scare-crows to keep hawks away and it seems to be pretty effective.

 

[Nicole01]

I can't believe how fat my hens are getting! The eggs are tasting better and are a deeper orange due to the grass and weeds!

The army worms and grubs they are finding must be packed with protein! At least they are wiping out the bugs, moths, and ticks out of our yard!

 

[mammasilkie]

i would either get a roo to alert your chickens of hawks or only let them free range under trees and covered areas. good luck!

 

[kara_leigh]

We have Barn swallows, starlings, and sparrows around our house.. They chase off any bird of prey that happens by. Plus, I've seen my chickens paying attention to the alarm calls of the swallows and going into hiding in the bushes until its over. I found it really interesting to see all the little birds (swallows, sparrows, starlings) grouping together in the sky, then all zooming off in one direction.. a few minutes later you'd see a hawk hightailing it out of there as the "army" dive bombed it constantly. They even drove one to the ground in our alley last week.

We have those around also. My chickens pay attention to their calls, and then in turn will sound their alarm, and if need be will run for cover. They also keep an eye out for birds in the sky and will run for cover (usually our covered porch) if they feel the need.

Dogs, cats, bobcats, coyotes, opossum, raccoons, rats, raptors, squirrels, snakes, gators and poor neighbors will all steal and eat your chickens and eggs and are a historical facet of chicken keeping heritage. They even end up on your own table from time to time and if none of that, weather and disease, egg binding and age will take it's toll . If you think caging them up will prevent loss you are deluding your self and dragging out your grief when their inevitable end happens. Much better to allow them some freedom and reap the benefits of a varied and natural diet in the form of healthy and tasty eggs, better feather color and general overall health of the flock. An occasional sacrifice to the gods is required and they will take it one way or another.

I lost my Serama rooster D-note to a coopers hawk who later took his sister Partridge through the wire mesh, with her sister Ptarmigan looking on. I was mortified and pulled Ptarmy inside for the winter but realized it was a crappy life being alone and her feather was showing it. It's funny (not really) that it was the two dark naturally colored birds that were lost,

I built a tractor and that is good when I can't supervise but the free range time she gets, the dancing, the dust baths, clover, grass tips, flax and worms and slugs have done her a world of good. Her new friends rooster Chainsaw and micro serama hen, Use-tice fertilize and brood her eggs for her and she runs the yard. I recently brought in two new kids for her to lord over and I am free ranging them with supervision too. They are all very wary of aerial assaults or strange noise or movement.

Sometimes it takes a loss to prevent a loss .
Naive chickens learn from experience and can teach newbies how to protect themselves.
That's the role of the dominant birds. Alert alarm and protect.

RIP D-note and Partridge.

I agree. I would rather have happy chickens. Especially to the bolded - we have coyotes that roam near our property, and our chickens wander onto our neighbors' properties, and we had a group of 7 that were lost off our land. Our chickens no longer leave our land. They learned. It was sad, it sucked, I was disappointed, but it is part of the circle of life. The coyotes need to eat also, and I can get new chickens. I would rather have happy chickens, and I know they would be miserable being stuck in a dirt run. They love the grass, and they love our woods.

 

[Nicole01]

i would either get a roo to alert your chickens of hawks or only let them free range under trees and covered areas. good luck!

Oh, don't I ever wish. We are allowed roosters, but my husband says no. I'm lucky enough I have hens. So far, they only have stayed on my property. I have 4 acres of land, which 3 are mostly wooded! They prefer the wooded land. The hawks have been keeping away except one time when one swooped at my flock. We have a million song birds everywhere for the hawks to eat. My flock comes back to the run every few hours and take a dirt bath and stay inside for an hour or two. They do love their run. They come back to lay eggs too. I've let the 3- 9 week olds run at will, they stay in the run. None of the big girls bother them and I have 3 hens that actually like the babies.

 

[Mott44]

I have had so much trouble . I put all my chickens under netting. I hate letting the hawks win!