Just a quick hello to everyone on the site. I am Carisa and my family (partner and two boys, ages 11 and 5) live in south western Maine. We have no chicken now but are looking to start a flock and build a coop come spring. As of right now, we are leaning towards Icelandic Chickens. We have quite a lot of land on the mountain. One thing we've been debating is whether to let the chickens be free range during the day and lock them up safely at night, let them be completely free range, or make a large fenced in area and then coop them at night. Any insights are welcome and appreciated.
It is best to let them have a safe place protected from predators to be locked into at night, especially if you want the eggs. It's no fun to search acres of property for eggs. You would need a couple acres of fenced free range to keep them from de-vegitating their area. Unfenced free range is fine as long as you keep chickens locked in coop for first two weeks so that know where home is. It is also good to lock them in again for at least three to seven days when they start laying so that they learn to lay in nest boxes instead of anywhere else.
Icelandics seem to be born escapists . They can also fly well and roost HIGH. You can learn more about them on the "Icelandics" thread, or even at Stella's Social Club- the same woman started both threads.
Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you. I suggest keeping your chickens in a secure enclosure. Otherwise, they may fall victim to predators.
We're glad you joined us! Predators are the main problem with free ranging chickens. Locking the birds up before nightfall can help prevent many predator attacks, but there are still occasions when attacks happen in broad daylight. I personally prefer to not take the risk, and instead to keep my chickens in a secure coop with a covered wire run. I only let my chickens out to range around when I can watch them. Otherwise, they are perfectly happy scratching around in their run. Of course, you can decide to raise your chickens any way you want. If it were me, though, I would lean towards letting them out in a fenced area (a covered area is even better), not free ranging them. I've never raised them, but from what I've heard, Icelandics are certainly interesting birds that would probably do well in your situation. Good luck with your future chickens, whichever ones you decide to get! And feel free to ask any other questions that you have--we're all here to help.
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to our flock. I've never owned Icelandic chickens (although I would love to have some), but based on everything I've read about them, they must be the hardiest chickens on earth. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting your Icelandic chickens.
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help. Predators are really hard to deal with and prevent. Here is a good link on them https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock