Is there a breed that roams less than others?

[banananutmuffin]

I am trying to figure out if free ranging my chickens will be a possibility. My house is on a 1-acre lot, but I think my neighbors will be pretty ticked if my chickens wander into their yard.

Edited: I did a search and found posts here that suggest chicken roaming is quite varied. Some stay within 100 feet, others go for miles! So I edited this post to ask: Is there a breed that is less likely to wander far away when free ranged?

Thanks!

 

[Illia]

Yeah, if you don't have the place fenced, they're gonna wander off.

Chickens will wander off as far as they feel it is safe as well as food-plenty. Mine will wander more than 100 feet from the coop.

 

[bt03]

We live on 11 acres of land and mine only go as far as the boundaries of the yard in front and in back of the house (about 1/2 of an acre). the only fencing we have on our land is some old barb wire fencing in the front yard of the house. There is a highway in front of us but they never get close to the fence or highway for us to worry about them. They don't go far from home so it shouldn't be to big of a deal to let them roam

 

[banananutmuffin]

I did a search and found a bunch of posts that answered my original question (How far do chickens roam?), so I think I'm going to change this to be more specific.

Are there any breeds that are more "homebodies" than others? At least that might help reduce my chances of them wandering into a neighbor's yard.

 

[NYC feather fam]

I have a similar issue...my 4 hens have been wandering into a neighbors yard, but putting up some fencing/barriers should not be a big deal so I am not overly concerned.

My question now is, not where are the chickens going but where are the eggs going?!? We let them out of the coop early in the morning because it is a smallish coop and I want them to be able to roam, scratch etc, obviously and the yard is big and safe. But now, I have no idea where the eggs are going because there's only one in the nesting box each day. It seems one or 2 chickens will go back into the coop sometime in the day to lay her egg but that is it. I am not sure if laying has dropped off or they are using secret nests somewhere in the yard. We found about a dozen eggs in a window well a few weeks ago, but it seems now that they know we discovered their hiding place they are no longer laying there.

I don't want to go on an Easter egg hunt every day! What can I do?

BTW, this is my very first post ever. I am fresh from the egg myself....I hope I have not breached any online etiquette forum guidelines by posting my question on someone else's post. Is that ok?

Thank you. I love my chickens.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The only breeds that I've heard of that didn't wander much at all were some of the Polish hens, with feathers so thick over their eyes that they were basically blinded by them. I guess you could try a flock of Polish hens. The roosters see well enough to wander off, leading the girls along with them.

All the breeds I've had all foraged for long distances. Chickens tend to stay closer to the coop in the beginning and go farther away as they gain confidence. They are more nervous in wide open spaces and feel protected by areas with cover.

They travel less if there is a lot of food close by. They will go a long distance for something tasty that they know about. They will follow others that they know, either a person, an animal or another chicken. I've seen my cat leading pullets around the property, as well as sheep. They also follow us or come to us in the yard. If you have one confident explorer in a flock, that's enough to lead the others to new territory. They also tend to work their way along a fence line over time. Mine are usually contained by a 4' fence they could easily go over. With chickens, motivation seems to be the deciding factor on what they end up doing.

If you can't put in a perimeter fence, try making your own yard as tasty and fascinating as possible. Plant some greens and other foods for them. Give them a nice little area to scratch leaf litter or shredded mulch. They love that! Give them a dust bath or little sandy area to scratch and dust bathe in. A square foot or two in a couple of areas can keep them entertained for awhile, without taking up the whole yard. You could also limit their time out, so they don't have time to go as far. It's hard to beat fencing, though.

Is all of your property line wide open? Is there anything visually blocking the view? Anything they can't see, they won't be attracted to. If you have some areas that are visually blocked and some areas that have more of a view, maybe try to do something about the areas with a view. That might be a good spot for a short section of fence or another planting.

NYC feather fam, try keeping them locked up for a couple of days. Then you'll know how many eggs they're actually laying and how many you should expect to collect each day. If that shows that you should be getting more and they're laying out in the yard, just keep them locked up for a few more days. That may retrain them to lay in the coop, instead of the yard. You may have to do it again, for longer, to retrain them. It's possible that they could go out in the yard at the end of the day for a little while, after laying. It's up to you.

 

[Pinky]

I seen once in a book that dorkings were bred with short legs so they won't wander as far as other chickens. I don't know how true that is though

 

[WoodlandWoman]

In my mixed flock, my Dorkings foraged over 5 acres with the other breeds. Maybe mine just didn't want to be left behind. They are more docile, though. The most passive and sweet of all the chickens I've ever owned. On their own, maybe they wouldn't have the confidence to wander as far. Maybe look for the breeds that they say are the worst foragers and the most timid???

 

[banananutmuffin]

Good advice, and I appreciate all the insight!

At this point, I am maybe thinking just 3 hens and letting them out plenty in my 1/3 acre fenced backyard. Maybe total free-range (into unfenced front yard) if they seem like homebodies. But Hubby will not be a happy camper of those 3 hens turn our whole yard into a dustbowl and poop pile. Will 3 hens do a ton of damage?

 

[Bi0s]

all chickens are differnt breeds dont realy matter some will wander some will stay they have a mind of there own at times if you raise them up and tech them where to go sometimes that works