Keeping Chickens Free Range

[Beekissed]

My chickens don't even notice them anymore. They get to many treats lol. We have been free ranging them for awhile without issue. I need more room for my ducks though. We don't have a pond. My friend free ranges her ducks and they don't eat anything but she has 40 acres. They sleep on her porch and are around all her things. I can't decide if mine would be ok or not because we don't have near that much property...

We've free ranged ducks before and they did okay but their place of living was far from the house...I'd not want duck splats on the porches and such. WAY worse than chickens and that's bad enough.

Yours would probably be okay on a small property, as there is less chance for them to get too far from shelter in their foraging. My ducks were GREAT foragers and ranged as far as the chickens did when they were in open acreage, but not as far in this smaller meadow of 3 acres.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

Yes they will grab stuff and run with it like it's some great prize. Twist ties, bread tabs, odd bits of plastic, If it looks interesting, in the beak it goes. I think it was Blooie who had a hen that was failure to thrive. She found a little bit of wire in the crop or gizzard. I get compost from the town dump, and it often has little and not so little surprises in it. I have to look it over very carefully. Even then, there are little bits that escape my notice and end up in chicken scrimmage. Part of the territory. Today, I watched a hen eat a tree frog. I told her it was my frog, and to leave it alone, but she wasn't listening to me. Tonight the dog ate an other one. She wasn't listening either.

Lol my ducks and chickens fight over the frogs. I would hate to be one in that pen lol

they are like babies everything that fits in the mouth even if it takes a lot of cramming goes in wether food or not, mine have been less problematic with that as adults as if they get to bored they go to the low end of the pond and fish, thanks to the drake that brooded with them. They also love to play tug o war with the ducks for the head of lettuce.

Strangest thing I've caught em trying to eat was the bale twine the wind was blowing around after discovering wormsm not saying they haven't found other stuff that I didn't see when they were out free ranging

I'm always curious if they would actually eat it. When we first made there pen they kept finding things amd dropping it in their pool. I thought it was so strange but was relieved they didn't eat the items. I still don't trust them though..

We've free ranged ducks before and they did okay but their place of living was far from the house...I'd not want duck splats on the porches and such. WAY worse than chickens and that's bad enough.

Yours would probably be okay on a small property, as there is less chance for them to get too far from shelter in their foraging. My ducks were GREAT foragers and ranged as far as the chickens did when they were in open acreage, but not as far in this smaller meadow of 3 acres.

I'm not overly worried about them foraging. Either way we buy flock raiser crumbles for the chickens and ducks. I just feel like they need more room. I can't expand their pen. That would of coarse be my preference but I want them to be able to roam more. We lost a duck today. It was really hard to swallow. I just felt like I should have known something was wrong. If they had been out and about with the chickens it would have been more obvious...

 

[lazy gardener]

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Lol my ducks and chickens fight over the frogs. I would hate to be one in that pen lol

I think next spring, I'll gather some frog eggs from the local ponds and hatch them out in a kiddie pool. Never enough frogs around here. Just might be a good way to provide fresh meat for the flock!

 

[duluthralphie]

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Lol my ducks and chickens fight over the frogs. I would hate to be one in that pen lol

I think next spring, I'll gather some frog eggs from the local ponds and hatch them out in a kiddie pool. Never enough frogs around here. Just might be a good way to provide fresh meat for the flock!

I want to figure out a way to get my chickens to attack and eat chipmunks. I have been over run by chipmunks. I saw a chipmunk run into the rooster pen to steal their treats. I saw a rooster run over to it, and thought, that chippy is dead, the rooster will kill ham and play keepaway with his body...


The rooster ran over and watched it steal his food and then watched him leave with it, never even pecked at the chippy! stupid bird.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

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Lol my ducks and chickens fight over the frogs. I would hate to be one in that pen lol

I think next spring, I'll gather some frog eggs from the local ponds and hatch them out in a kiddie pool. Never enough frogs around here. Just might be a good way to provide fresh meat for the flock!

We have so many it's not even funny..

I want to figure out a way to get my chickens to attack and eat chipmunks. I have been over run by chipmunks. I saw a chipmunk run into the rooster pen to steal their treats. I saw a rooster run over to it, and thought, that chippy is dead, the rooster will kill ham and play keepaway with his body...


The rooster ran over and watched it steal his food and then watched him leave with it, never even pecked at the chippy! stupid bird.

Lmao sounds like my rooster lol

 

[country girl44]

Thank you beekissed, for all you said. Yes they are safe in the area I want the to range. Yes I have a dog that also walks in that area, but I think he's afraid of his owe shadow ( which is also his name), so he might not be of much help. LOL - I just feel that their bored in there area, so I want them to know that they can go where the grass is greener for a little bit, and come back to their home. and I would never let them go alone until I am certain they will go back to their safe stop. I always worry about whats up above, which is one of the reasons, I just get them things to do to keep them busy and happy where their safe.

 

[Tikkijane]

Hey guys does anyone here free range their ducks also?

I do. They don't go as far as the chickens, which is good.

 

[Tikkijane]

My chickens don't even notice them anymore. They get to many treats lol. We have been free ranging them for awhile without issue. I need more room for my ducks though. We don't have a pond. My friend free ranges her ducks and they don't eat anything but she has 40 acres. They sleep on her porch and are around all her things. I can't decide if mine would be ok or not because we don't have near that much property...

I hope they at least have a kiddie poo. Ducks need to be able to submerge their heads at least once a day to blow out their nares or they can have big problems.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I hope they at least have a kiddie poo. Ducks need to be able to submerge their heads at least once a day to blow out their nares or they can have big problems.

Lots of people keep ducks and don't have ponds and hopefully people who have ducks Adleast know the basics like this.. we have 3 kiddie pools thanks..

 

[duluthralphie]

I just found this about Mericks:

The route of infection is usually respiratory and the disease is highly contagious being spread by infective feather-follicle dander, fomites, etc. Infected birds remain viraemic for life. Vertical transmission is not considered to be important.


And this:


Transmission and Epidemiology

The disease is highly contagious and readily transmitted among chickens. The virus matures into a fully infective, enveloped form in the epithelium of the feather follicle, from which it is released into the environment. It may survive for months in poultry house litter or dust. Dust or dander from infected chickens is particularly effective in transmission. Once the virus is introduced into a chicken flock, regardless of vaccination status, infection spreads quickly from bird to bird. Infected chickens continue to be carriers for long periods and act as sources of infectious virus. Shedding of infectious virus can be reduced, but not prevented, by prior vaccination. Unlike virulent strains of Marek's disease virus, which are highly contagious, turkey herpesvirus is not readily transmissible among chickens (although it is easily transmitted among turkeys, its natural host). Attenuated Marek's disease virus strains vary greatly in their transmissibility among chickens; the most highly attenuated are not transmitted. Marek's disease virus is not vertically transmitted.



from: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html


I can understand why the rumor is out there it is vertically transmitted, because from what I have found there is evidence of resistance at the I believe it was b21 loci that can breed into flocks. The trick of course is finding a bird that has the mutant gene at that location.


I also read that it should be assumed that all flocks have mericks whether is manifests itself in the flock depends on the feeding and sanitary conditions of the flock.

That said I think, old age memory working here, there are 4 strains of Mericks, (do not quote me on that). It could be more or less.


I am learning more about Mericks than I ever thought I would, but I take it pretty serious when someone says they got a disease from me or even could have. I am pretty strict on my disinfecting and sanitation.