Keeping Chickens Free Range

[Attila the Hen]

free range chickens-- do you still need to provide them feed ? or they will get enough food just from foraging already ?

I provide food, water and snacks such as fresh fruit and vegetables

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

 
This is my situation, too. No run, they're just out on the property all day and they put themselves to bed in the coop at night and we secure the doors.  I have seen this called "partial free-ranging." "Free-ranging" is no coop at all. The chickens roost at night in trees or wherever. With partial free-ranging, they are housed in a coop at night. I don't know what it would be called if you let them out of the run for a just couple of hours each day. Casual ranging, maybe?

Yes. A balanced commercial feed should be available to them, but they do eat less of it because they get more food on their own. I have feeders available, but honestly, when I open the doors in the morning, they run right by the feeders to get to the good stuff first. Later in the day, they'll wander over and peck at the feeder, but they do seem to prefer foraging. Keep in mind also that the breed of chickens I have, one of the breed traits are that they are hardy foragers so the experience you have with yours may vary.

so free ranging is only possible if you have ACRE of land pretty much?

No you can free range on anything. But solely depending on insects to provide enough food requires a great deal of space. I have nearly unlimited space, but I have a great enough about of birds that I still need to provide food.(chickens do not like to range too far from their coop) Free range away just keep food available.
ETA: You still get the benefits of free ranging even if your space is limited.

 

[BruceAZ]

No you can free range on anything. But solely depending on insects to provide enough food requires a great deal of space. I have nearly unlimited space, but I have a great enough about of birds that I still need to provide food.(chickens do not like to range too far from their coop) Free range away just keep food available.
ETA: You still get the benefits of free ranging even if your space is limited.

so for my situation.. instead of keeping them in the run most of the day.. i can let them out in the yard all day and it will be free range then ?

the problem i'm worrying about is that chicken manure will be everywhere--

this is why i use a different pair of shoes when i'm into the dirt/grass area of the yard just in case i stepped on the manure.. and will check the dog's paws each time she is coming in from the yard..

 

[vpatt]

so for my situation.. instead of keeping them in the run most of the day..   i can let them out in the yard all day and it will be free range then ?

the problem i'm worrying about is that chicken manure will be everywhere--

this is why i use a different pair of shoes when i'm into the dirt/grass area of the yard just in case i stepped on the manure.. and will check the dog's paws each time she is coming in from the yard..

Yes, Depending on how many chickens you have it could be everywhere. Well, it will still be everywhere just more or less depending on the number of chickens.

 

[AllynTal]

so for my situation.. instead of keeping them in the run most of the day.. i can let them out in the yard all day and it will be free range then ?

the problem i'm worrying about is that chicken manure will be everywhere--

this is why i use a different pair of shoes when i'm into the dirt/grass area of the yard just in case i stepped on the manure.. and will check the dog's paws each time she is coming in from the yard..

I'm not sure why pinning down a precise definition of 'free-range' is so important. It's open to interpretation. I just shared with you what my understanding was based on the people's opinions I find valuable. It isn't written in stone anywhere and commercial poultry farms use a whole different set of guidelines that are utterly ridiculous.

Yes, chicken manure will be everywhere, on every horizontal surface and on a surprising number of vertical ones, too. I have house shoes for in the house, yard shoes for outside and 'clean' shoes that I wear when I leave the property.

I don't have to clean my dog's feet. She licks the poo off the ground before she could possibly step in it.

 

[AllynTal]

I disagree. If they are sleeping, they are not 'ranging.' Not cooping them when they are sleeping is deadly.

You can disagree. I'm okay with that. I was sharing what I'd come to understand about the terminology. I wasn't offering it as a hard definition. Some people don't have coops and they do occasionally lose some birds, but the success or failure of their flock isn't dependent on a few birds so they're okay with that.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

No you can free range on anything. But solely depending on insects to provide enough food requires a great deal of space. I have nearly unlimited space, but I have a great enough about of birds that I still need to provide food.(chickens do not like to range too far from their coop) Free range away just keep food available.

ETA: You still get the benefits of free ranging even if your space is limited.

so for my situation.. instead of keeping them in the run most of the day..   i can let them out in the yard all day and it will be free range then ?

the problem i'm worrying about is that chicken manure will be everywhere--

this is why i use a different pair of shoes when i'm into the dirt/grass area of the yard just in case i stepped on the manure.. and will check the dog's paws each time she is coming in from the yard..

Yes they would be considered freerange, yes you have manure everywhere. I haven't honestly noticed it as a huge problem, I find the broiler pen where they are cooped up all-day gross, but when allowed to range freely I have never found the poo to be a large problem (right now I have 40 chickens ranging 7 acres). The manure is around, but other then needing to occasionally sweep my porch and sidewalk, it is no more annoying then my cats, and is gone quicker then the cats manure.

 

[lazy gardener]

in one of the videos i posted before they stated that free range is a certain # of chickens per space area

i only have 5 chickens and my house lot is 7000-ish sq ft..

the backyard is around 3000 sq ft of space (estimate)..

so if i leave the run's door open during the day so they can roam around the yard.. then it's free range?

my backyard doesn't have any grass left so if i left them out all day..they probably will eat most of my veggie garden..

Bruce, I hit the quote on your post, will comment lightly on it, however, please don't think that very much of what I have to say is directed at you... cause it's not. I'm just jumping into the discussion.

While free range affords the flock increased access to a more natural diet compared to being in a coop/run only with commercially prepared feed and household/garden waste as their main food source, there is huge variation in quality of free range situations. Technically, a small fenced house lot that is mostly well manicured lawn would be considered "free range" if the birds were allowed ample access to it. But... that small city lot would do very little to provide a flock of any size with a natural diet. It would not take them very long to eat most of the insects. And the vegetation would be very close to a monoculture (in a well manicured lawn). Compare that situation to a rural area... again, most households have a lawn. But, perhaps this rural area has some meadow, some orchard trees, some fruiting shrubs, some wooded areas where there is a fair amount of dead wood decomposing, lots of deitrus covering the ground where the soil is black, always moist, always plenty of insects to be found by shuffling through the leaves. Perhaps this home owner is purposefully planting annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees that will provide plenty of food for not only a chicken flock, but wild birds of many species as well as 4 legged critters as well. Huge difference when comparing these 2 free range situations. Each flock owner does the best he can, with the land and resources he's blessed with, to provide the best home for himself, his family, and his animals.

Bruce, did your chickens eat all your grass? Or is the grass missing due to soil/weather conditions? I'm guessing that your run is bare also. You might consider turning your run into a deep litter situation. Deep litter holds moisture in the soil, composts down into wonderful soil, helps to eliminate many pathogens, while producing healthy bacteria and fungi that will feed the soil and even help your flock have a healthy gut flora, attracts beneficial insects and worms into the soil. Your birds will happily spend hours scratching and pecking for the goodies hidden in the litter and soil. You could then section off your back yard, and seed one section while allowing the flock access to the other section. Once the first section is well established, you could then work on the other section. I don't know what your specific climate is, or even if you would want to put time and energy into a lawn. If you are in an urban area, perhaps there is a HOA or zoning laws that dictates what your yard looks like. Just throwing out some ideas that might or might not apply to your situation.

I had heavy hawk predation last year, and we did some landscaping that in effect brought our neighbors closer. (Not really, but we took down a lot of trees, so now, when I let the chickens out... they can hop, skip, and flap across a small wooded area to get to the neighbor's lawn, and a very busy road. We built a 500 sq. ft. run, and have been working on getting DL established there. (wood chips, leaves, garden refuse, lawn clippings, coop litter) Goal is to get that DL 6" deep, but it's a slow process b/c the stuff melts into the soil just about as fast as I can get it put there! Have had at least 21 cu. yd. of wood chips delivered, and am distributing it into orchard, run, and garden. Will be ready for an other 21 cu. yd. by the end of the summer!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

 

in one of the videos i posted before  they stated that free range is a certain # of chickens per space area

i only have 5 chickens and my house lot is 7000-ish sq ft..

the backyard is around 3000 sq ft of space (estimate)..

so if i leave the run's door open during the day so they can roam around the yard.. then it's free range?

my backyard doesn't have any grass left so if i left them out all day..they probably will eat most of my veggie garden..

Bruce, I hit the quote on your post, will comment lightly on it, however, please don't think that very much of what I have to say is directed at you... cause it's not.  I'm just jumping into the discussion.

 While free range affords the flock increased access to a more natural diet compared to being in a coop/run only with commercially prepared feed and household/garden waste as their main food source, there is huge variation in quality of free range situations.  Technically, a small fenced house lot that is mostly well manicured lawn would be considered "free range" if the birds were allowed ample access to it.  But... that small city lot would do very little to provide a flock of any size with a natural diet.  It would not take them very long to eat most of the insects.  And the vegetation would be very close to a monoculture (in a well manicured lawn).  Compare that situation to a rural area... again, most households have a lawn.  But, perhaps this rural area has some meadow, some orchard trees, some fruiting shrubs, some wooded areas where there is a fair amount of dead wood decomposing, lots of deitrus covering the ground where the soil is black, always moist, always plenty of insects to be found by shuffling through the leaves.  Perhaps this home owner is purposefully planting annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees that will provide plenty of food for not only a chicken flock, but wild birds of many species as well as 4 legged critters as well.  Huge difference when comparing these 2 free range situations.  Each flock owner does the best he can, with the land and resources he's blessed with, to provide the best home for himself, his family, and his animals.  

Bruce, did your chickens eat all your grass?  Or is the grass missing due to soil/weather conditions?  I'm guessing that your run is bare also.  You might consider turning your run into a deep litter situation.  Deep litter holds moisture in the soil, composts down into wonderful soil, helps to eliminate many pathogens, while producing healthy bacteria and fungi that will feed the soil and even help your flock have a healthy gut flora, attracts beneficial insects and worms into the soil.  Your birds will happily spend hours scratching and pecking for the goodies hidden in the litter and soil.   You could then section off your back yard, and seed one section while allowing the flock access to the other section.  Once the first section is well established, you could then work on the other section.  I don't know what your specific climate is, or even if you would want to put time and energy into a lawn.  If you are in an urban area, perhaps there is a HOA or zoning laws that dictates what your yard looks like.  Just throwing out some ideas that might or might not apply to your situation.

 I had heavy hawk predation last year, and we did some landscaping that in effect brought our neighbors closer.  (Not really, but we took down a lot of trees, so now, when I let the chickens out... they can hop, skip, and flap across a small wooded area to get to the neighbor's lawn, and a very busy road.  We built a 500 sq. ft. run, and have been working on getting DL established there. (wood chips, leaves, garden refuse, lawn clippings, coop litter)  Goal is to get that DL 6" deep, but it's a slow process b/c the stuff melts into the soil just about as fast as I can get it put there!  Have had at least 21 cu. yd. of wood chips delivered, and am distributing it into orchard, run, and garden.  Will be ready for an other 21 cu. yd. by the end of the summer!

This is true, there is a difference in benefits

 

[centrarchid]

You mean pesticide drift? Yes that is an issue. The certifiers require us to keep so many feet buffer between our fields and conventional farmers fields. And each neighbor signs a contract agreeing not to spray on windy days. But pesticide drift is very hard to keep away from.
We actually have bees (or rather rent space to a beekeeper) that is why I used them as an example. He puts the bees on our clover fields, so most of the pollen is collected at a organic source, by he cannot guarantee all if it.

I mean invertebrate drift. Insects move, usually periodically (ie time of day or seasonally) with prevailing winds. Movement of insect biomass can be measurable and impactful on chicken foraging effort. I keep bees as well and do not even consider organic option for reasons you indicate.