Keeping Chickens Free Range

[Tikkijane]

I don't know, maybe it's from being raised in a town and central location and not in the country or maybe it's just me personally, or that I love dogs, I don't know, but I personally don't think I could ever just shoot a dog. Even if it was a stray. Even if it was going after my chickens. Well, maybe if it was attacking my chickens it might be different but even then I don't think so. I'd probably just be like island girl and go chase the dog (s) off or physically drag them away. If me simply going out there wasn't enough then I'd start making tons of noise and acting scary. If that still wasn't enough or they turned aggressive I might get a broom or shovel or something (or my foot) and scare them some more, maybe injure them, but I don't think I could kill them. And especially with the stray thing, you don't know for sure that it's a stray. It could have simply slipped it's collar and that's why it's not wearing one or even if it's dirty and skinny maybe it's just a lost pet that's been missing a while or isn't from the area. Of course being skinny and dirty usually is a pretty good sign it's been abandoned but still. And if you know it's not a stray then I don't know, to me that's somebody's pet and even if it was attacking my chickens it's still a pet. Heck, there's people who may shoot for it just being in the yard. Not saying any of you but I've heard of people like that. That's not right to me, attacking is one thing but just being there nope for me. The way I look at it is that if my dog got loose (which he used to a lot when younger but we found a way to contain him) and somebody shot and killed him I would be devastated. Any good owner would probably be. Now, that said, you don't know if they're a good owner cause some people who's dogs get loose keep them in the backyard and don't care about them but you never know if they're that owner and a loving owner. And some owners will even feel bad their dog caused damages and offer to pay for the birds and damage! Don't know unless you ask. Heck, knowing me I'd probably even try rescuing the dogs haha dog rescues and chickens may not exactly go well together but i do wanna try it one time.

And sorry, i realize this may come off as me trying to say youre a bad person for shooting dogs or whatever but I'm not saying that at all nor am I trying to. I completely understand wanting to protect your flock. I'm just saying that for me personally I don't think I could ever shoot a dog. And then I rambled because I tend to do that haha sorry. Another reason for me is most dogs can be trained out of bad behavior and also most dogd chase and attack cause it's a big fun game. Of course some are hungry or have prey instincts but i know it's not the dogs fault i guess is what i am saying. Of course I'm not saying I'd train the dog, no way, but I'd just bring him back to his owner or the shelter and tell them to contain him better or train him. If he kept coming back I probably would jist take him to the shelter.

Anyway, i dont even think i could shoot a fox or coyote lol

I can PROMISE you- when you get a stray or some other predator tearing your babies to pieces and you hear them scream- your mindset will change. It becomes very clear where your priorities are.

And- if you are not willing to protect them free ranging, please, please rethink free ranging. If you are in the country and want to have farm animals, please rethink it entirely. I'd shoot a predator going after my cats/dogs, too. Had a stray pit bull nearly kill one of my other dogs. It took a bullet whizzing by his head to stop so we could get my dog away. Swear to the big man in the sky, that pit was trying to chew the testicles off the other dog.

I believe that when we commit to having an animal that is dependant on us in some way, that it us our duty to protect them from harm the best we can. And out in the country where I live, that includes lead. {I have kids to protect, too.}

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I don't know, maybe it's from being raised in a town and central location and not in the country or maybe it's just me personally, or that I love dogs, I don't know, but I personally don't think I could ever just shoot a dog. Even if it was a stray. Even if it was going after my chickens. Well, maybe if it was attacking my chickens it might be different but even then I don't think so. I'd probably just be like island girl and go chase the dog (s) off or physically drag them away. If me simply going out there wasn't enough then I'd start making tons of noise and acting scary. If that still wasn't enough or they turned aggressive I might get a broom or shovel or something (or my foot) and scare them some more, maybe injure them, but I don't think I could kill them. And especially with the stray thing, you don't know for sure that it's a stray. It could have simply slipped it's collar and that's why it's not wearing one or even if it's dirty and skinny maybe it's just a lost pet that's been missing a while or isn't from the area. Of course being skinny and dirty usually is a pretty good sign it's been abandoned but still. And if you know it's not a stray then I don't know, to me that's somebody's pet and even if it was attacking my chickens it's still a pet. Heck, there's people who may shoot for it just being in the yard. Not saying any of you but I've heard of people like that. That's not right to me, attacking is one thing but just being there nope for me. The way I look at it is that if my dog got loose (which he used to a lot when younger but we found a way to contain him) and somebody shot and killed him I would be devastated. Any good owner would probably be. Now, that said, you don't know if they're a good owner cause some people who's dogs get loose keep them in the backyard and don't care about them but you never know if they're that owner and a loving owner. And some owners will even feel bad their dog caused damages and offer to pay for the birds and damage! Don't know unless you ask. Heck, knowing me I'd probably even try rescuing the dogs haha dog rescues and chickens may not exactly go well together but i do wanna try it one time.

And sorry, i realize this may come off as me trying to say youre a bad person for shooting dogs or whatever but I'm not saying that at all nor am I trying to. I completely understand wanting to protect your flock. I'm just saying that for me personally I don't think I could ever shoot a dog. And then I rambled because I tend to do that haha sorry. Another reason for me is most dogs can be trained out of bad behavior and also most dogd chase and attack cause it's a big fun game. Of course some are hungry or have prey instincts but i know it's not the dogs fault i guess is what i am saying. Of course I'm not saying I'd train the dog, no way, but I'd just bring him back to his owner or the shelter and tell them to contain him better or train him. If he kept coming back I probably would jist take him to the shelter.

Anyway, i dont even think i could shoot a fox or coyote lol

I can PROMISE you- when you get a stray or some other predator tearing your babies to pieces and you hear them scream- your mindset will change. It becomes very clear where your priorities are.

And- if you are not willing to protect them free ranging, please, please rethink free ranging. If you are in the country and want to have farm animals, please rethink it entirely. I'd shoot a predator going after my cats/dogs, too. Had a stray pit bull nearly kill one of my other dogs. It took a bullet whizzing by his head to stop so we could get my dog away. Swear to the big man in the sky, that pit was trying to chew the testicles off the other dog.

I believe that when we commit to having an animal that is dependant on us in some way, that it us our duty to protect them from harm the best we can. And out in the country where I live, that includes lead. {I have kids to protect, too.}

Yes this is very true. Stray dogs, especially packs of stray dogs will not hesitate to kill you or your children. Unlike a coyote, they have no fear of humans.
My father had that happen to him once as a child (though it can still happen, we have a couple wild packs of dogs ranging to the south of us). A pack of wild dogs came into their yard, they were after the chickens, but they were going to kill whatever they could. My dad and his brothers were out there at the time and their dog fought the pack until the boys could make it safely to the house. They would have killed everything, but my father had a gun and was old enough to know how to use it. He shot one of the dogs, the rest ran away. The dog turned out to be a neighbors dog, and the neighbors were very unhappy with my dad for shooting theit precious baby, never mind what the dog was up to.
Dogs are great, I love my dog and feel safer with her here. But if my dog were to ever pack and start killing, I would blame no one for shooting her.

 

[rottlady]

I'm a hunter. we have lots of guns and ammo. we live on what we kill for much of the year and I just don't get the "kill every animal that might kill or eat something I have" mentality


Kill the animals actually breaking into your pens and thin the prey animals - legally- that consume the crops. and kill prey and predator animals within the legal seasons. But it is my responsibility to fence or contain my animals and crops so the wildlife does not get them while allowing the wildlife to live as best as I can before resorting to blasting and trapping.

ah well

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

And Ralphie is right the busier you can make them the happier they will be. I keep a mirror in my barn over winter (one of those children unbreakable ones) my birds spend a lot of time admiring their beautiful plumage over winter.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I agree a covered chicken run would be your best option

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Just had a scare. Girls were near pasture line, NE of the cabin, when I heard a Chicken Scream 'HELP!' THANK HEAVENS my hound dog, the more protective one, was out! Girls are hiding now, can see where Cornish Rock left feathers but have a head Count, they're ALL there. WHEW!! I wasn't fast enough so without Dixie Dog, I would of been Down One... WHEW!!!

Probably that same fox that nabbed so many of my girls a couple of years ago!!!
Let's hear for our Dogs....

 

[mizz9]

I'm new to having chickens as well. We got them at 5wk old and put them in their coop/run combo and were waiting until they learn the "bedtime routine" before letting them free range in our fenced yard.

The past 3 nights they finally learned how to return to coop from the run by themselves and go to bed! So we figure it's time to let them range for short, supervised times.

To our amusement, we opened the door expecting 3 curious chickens to come piling out but they were too scared! They have only come out about 3 feet away from the door to eat mealworms then they run/flutter back in. It is going to take a little bit of time for them to get their confidence I guess. But at least we know that they like their coop and run and it makes them feel like that is their safe zone to return to

 

[duluthralphie]

My boy and HIS Rooster! Yes, sadly my rooster has decided he loves this boy more than me! Lol, I am SO proud of him and the confidence he's shown with our 12 week old pullets and this Rooster. I really regret not doing this YEARS ago!!

While that is cute and it is great your son and rooster are "friends" just remember a rooster that loses "fear or respect" for people can turn on them especially on smaller people.

JJ my Tom is sweet as punch my grandkids love him, but I would never allow them to be near JJ without me there. No Male farm animal can be trusted completely.

I know many will think I am way off base, I grew up in farm country and live here still. When I was a kid there were many a farmer that had pieces missing or where laid up by a male farm animal they turned their backs on..

Just becareful is all I am saying.

 

[lazy gardener]

The m

Hi I have 2 2yr old barred rock hens and 4, 4 mo old pullets, Brahma, Buff Orpington, Australorp, and Rhode island red, I have a huge pen that I keep gated in the middle to keep the older ones from the younger ones, until i feel th older ones will stop pecking the younger ones, or until the younger ones can stand up for themselves. I let them out in the yard together a couple times a day when i can be out with them to keep them safe from hawks. The 2 B.Rs won't stop chasing the younger ones although they are nearly the same size now. They are already kept separate , so isolating them isn't applicable, unless I create a smaller area and one at a time I put them in chickie jail. What I do now is whichever chicken chases or pecks the younger ones, I run after that chicken, kind of like, see how you like it.. she pretends to just be minding her own business and we watch her inch closer and closer to the younger ones, until she makes a sprint for them and pecks ones tail feathers. Sometimes I pick her up and put her in while the others are allowed to free range, but I really wish I could come up with a way to get them to stop bothering the younger ones. I tell her, if you don't peck the others you can all have twice the space. But they don't listen.. lol... they are not stressed, they have plenty of food, plenty of room. My next approach will be to open the gate and if they start pecking at the younger ones inside the run, then close the gate again and maybe they'll make the connection that they can have the run if they behave.
Any ideas?

The more you interfere and keep them from working out the pecking order among themselves, the longer it will take them to establish the pecking order. You are doing a good thing by letting them out to free range together. I suggest that you toss some scratch across the area, and then leave them alone. The Alpha hens will continue to chase the younger ones until they are satisfied that the younger ones respect the pecking order. As long as there is no blood shed, leave them to their business. They are doing what chickens do!

 

[duluthralphie]

I always thought hanging CD's was impossible and would not help with my predator problem. *knocking on wood here...


It has. Hanging them was extremely hard because I have such a large open area. I bought 500 yards of monofilament fishing line 40-50 pounds as I recall. The cheap stuff I would never use for fishing.

I hung them as high as I could in light poles, trees buildings and so forth. I even put them between fence posts in the pasture. Then I hung the CD's from drop lines with washers to hold them on and as weights. Some of the lines are 200 yards long and droop a little but it worked.

I used plastic twine on each end to keep the fishing line from the trees/poles and so on, so the line does not chaff. Also I left enough on the ends, of the twine, so I can drop the lines to change the fishing line or CD's without climbing up again.

I hung them across the garden. Everywhere I could think of. They have done wonders. Even on still cloudy days they seem to scare the birds. I did train the POB also, They do not like the retort of a rifle, so I shoot around here a lot now. Just to scare them. If fire crackers were legal here I am sure they would work. The combo of the CDs and the bangs seems to have worked.

I also denuded the woods, I hated to do it, but I brush hogged all the underbrush to my line which gave me clear shots at anything sneaking into the yard. The only negative is the chickens now range further into the woods than they did before.

A side effect of the CDs is it has cut down on deer damage in the garden. Which is good, even at night they must be able to get a glimpse of the CDs flashing.


I am at this point a believer in CD's hanging and flashing. I am going to add motion detectors with lights that shine on a CD or two and that turn on an old car radio to a talk radio station to further scare them away. I figure I will move the radio lights from time to time so they do not get use to them in the same place.



Just thought I would tell you what has helped with my BoP s.