Is free range safe?

[Folly's place]

The dogs that I got as puppies were easy to 'chicken proof'. The adult rescues, not so much. Right now I have two pit bull terriers and very good dog fencing.
With my bird dogs, raised as puppies, and even a rescue Dalmation, Invisible Fencing kept them home, and training kept the chickens safe.
Mary

 

[Ghosty]

The dogs that I got as puppies were easy to 'chicken proof'. The adult rescues, not so much. Right now I have two pit bull terriers and very good dog fencing.
With my bird dogs, raised as puppies, and even a rescue Dalmation, Invisible Fencing kept them home, and training kept the chickens safe.
Mary

I won't get anything other than a puppy, but I admire those willing to give an older dog a good home. I wish invisible fence was an option for me, I know it works for a lot of people. I have come to the point of good fences make good neighbors.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If anyone had told me ten years ago that I would ever have a dog without a fence I would have said they were out of their mind. I could no more imagine that than I could picture having a fish out of water or a bird without a cage. But I've been blessed to be in a situation where that actually works for me. There is no practical way to put a fence around this house, partly because the driveway circles the house, but there is also no need, at least with this dog. We are a couple miles off the road and the dog, a Shetland Sheepdog, stays close to home. She is either under my feet or on the front porch. She keeps coyotes away from the chickens. She is also a bit of a lunatic that barks way too much but we love her and I don't know what I would do without her.

 

[Ghosty]

If anyone had told me ten years ago that I would ever have a dog without a fence I would have said they were out of their mind. I could no more imagine that than I could picture having a fish out of water or a bird without a cage. But I've been blessed to be in a situation where that actually works for me. There is no practical way to put a fence around this house, partly because the driveway circles the house, but there is also no need, at least with this dog. We are a couple miles off the road and the dog, a Shetland Sheepdog, stays close to home. She is either under my feet or on the front porch. She keeps coyotes away from the chickens. She is also a bit of a lunatic that barks way too much but we love her and I don't know what I would do without her.

My Cairn terrier goes where she pleases, but she is 10 years old and has lived a few places. She is also small and submissive and stays close. I train my dogs to stay on the property but LGD and herders just naturally want to have a larger range. They do stay where they are taught, but extreme circumstances can cause them to ignore their boundaries a bit. Some dogs are more naturally apprehensive about leaving their territory.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My Cairn terrier goes where she pleases, but she is 10 years old and has lived a few places. She is also small and submissive and stays close. I train my dogs to stay on the property but LGD and herders just naturally want to have a larger range. They do stay where they are taught, but extreme circumstances can cause them to ignore their boundaries a bit. Some dogs are more naturally apprehensive about leaving their territory.

Hm. I never thought of Gracie as being apprehensive about leaving her territory, that's kind of a new thought to me. I just always thought that she's naturally very territorial about her boundaries. You know, kind of like, this is my domain, and I'm staying right here to protect it. I've always heard that females of most breeds tend to be more territorial than males, which is why (unneutered) males are more likely to wander (in search of females) and females tend to be more vocal (yappy). But of course those are generalizations.

 

[centrarchid]

@tfatc, can you mow around the perimeter of your run and coop so you have what is essentially a strip of grass around chicken containment area? If so that can make easier to setup a hotwire physically attached to the fencing of the run perimeter. Hot-wire properly setup can do a lot to keep climbers out and larger digger like a fox. With hen only flocks, hawks are a tougher problem. Owls, my favorite pain in the booty, well they may require double bagging the coop at night as they can get in the exact way the chickens can.

 

[centrarchid]

Also consider to do a little trapping, especially that targetting raccoons and opossums. Dogs can also be an additional worry, and they are expensive. Mine are driving me nuts right now. They are going hard after something to the south while an owl is messing around in the barn.

 

[cmom]

I agree with Mary. Free range if you are prepared to loose a bird eventually because most likely while free ranging you will at some time. Get your fence up before you get a dog. We have had dogs in the past the last one was a Walker Hound that belonged to a daughter but she moved to a place where dogs weren't allowed. We had no predator issues when she was alive but got old and couldn't function anymore so she had to be put down. Since we have had electric wire around the coops and pens. Quite often I see predators roaming on our property with our game cameras, but they know the electric wire is there and don't mess with the birds. I lost my favorite bird earlier in the year when she was out. A fox grabbed her during the middle of the day. I still can't forgive myself for not keeping her in her pen while I was occupied. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Pensmaster]

And then there’s bears. We have been very lucky that they haven’t come down any further than they do. Friends 20 miles east have had their coops ripped to shreds.

 

[cmom]

I have never seen a bear here but they do have a season and quota. If the quota is reached before the end of the season it is then ended. We have a lot of coyotes here. I have electric wire around my coops and pens and the predators know it's there. I have a pretty powerful fence charger so I think it would deter a bear. When I have touched it, it has made my heart skip a few beats. I only have 2 feet with shoes on the ground to act as a ground but a 4 legged predator it would be a different, more of a ground with 4 feet on the ground.