Keeping Chickens Free Range

[SmColorInDaPan]

Well, I lost my setting hen, her eggs & the 2 chicks I had in the hutch. Floor of hutch reinforced NOW.

My Dixie Dog didn't get outside soon enough. My older girl hasn't laid in a while, will end her troubles soon. Butchered mean Rooster, so NOW know how. *(THANKS to video link posted here~)*
He was Born March, butchered Mid October & tough!
2 Prod Reds have decided to lay somewhere else.

Don't see any evidence of molting..Just hiked to the spots frequent for laying. NOW, Will need to be up early to watch WHERE they lay.
Wood piled btwn pillars on back porch tumbled down today. KNEW when two others were SURE they knew how to stack, it would come down. Chickens were atop, behind it, when it happened. NOT likely many poops on the firewood, from now on!

 

[Beekissed]

You might want to station the dog outside 24/7 from now on...they can't keep predators away from indoors. When hens start laying out too much, I usually pen them in the coop for a week to retrain to the nests. After letting them back out, I then leave wooden eggs in the nest so they don't feel like the nests have been too compromised by egg collection to lay there.

All tricks of the trade with free ranging.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

You might want to station the dog outside 24/7 from now on...they can't keep predators away from indoors. When hens start laying out too much, I usually pen them in the coop for a week to retrain to the nests. After letting them back out, I then leave wooden eggs in the nest so they don't feel like the nests have been too compromised by egg collection to lay there.

All tricks of the trade with free ranging.

Will try. They're laying somewhere close by. Found the other dog with an egg this morning. HE WON'T be going out until I do, from now on..

Dog for predators is a hound dog, will chase, go after, BARK @ just about ANYTHING, keep everyone up. WHY I keep her in, in the evenings. Takes me a bit to get to the door.
Will try that although they don't have a coop, roost on back porch. New extension pen ought to do it.
THANK YOU!

 

[Beekissed]

Will try. They're laying somewhere close by. Found the other dog with an egg this morning. HE WON'T be going out until I do, from now on..

Dog for predators is a hound dog, will chase, go after, BARK @ just about ANYTHING, keep everyone up. WHY I keep her in, in the evenings. Takes me a bit to get to the door.
Will try that although they don't have a coop, roost on back porch. New extension pen ought to do it.
THANK YOU!

I keep my two on a wireless containment system so they can't go after the preds but they can bark at them or even kill them when they come close enough to do so. I also expect them to bark when necessary only, so will give verbal correction if they just hang out and bark for too long at a time..this doesn't happen too often but it does happen. Mostly they are very quiet dogs.

Think you could train your dog on what is barkable and what is not? You can usually tell by the bark what is a real threat and if the dog is just barking out of boredom.

I had a dog here for a short while that barked at deer all night....NOT acceptable and I couldn't get him trained out of it~in his defense he had been kept in a house at night all his life and didn't know much about what is a threat and what is not~so he had to go. Nice dog but not suitable for guarding anything but a couch.

My dogs will hoover all eggs laid within their boundary too.

I consider that fair payment for the job they do.

 

[mountainrun]

By only letting half of your flock out at a time, the ones that are out may stay closer to the run b/c they won't want to be separated from their caged flock mates.

They won't be in sight, since you only level area I have that will support a "chicken tractor" is on the other side of the house.

The tractor we have is set up to be secure overnight, but it only holds 12 max.

If that goes well I will open the whole flock to free range in the spring, and keep back any birds I want to breed in the tractor.

Anyway that's the thought. Things have been so crazy busy lately... :/

 

[mountainrun]

So today I let them out - they've been living in a chicken tractor-type pen, and they're used to it & consider it home. So when I let them out, one ventured out & stared at the others through the hardware cloth for awhile. Then she went back in & another came out, staring at US and grabbing bits of nearby plant, which she gulped down looking very defiant. Then the first one came back out, and they began to move about - so the rooster came out and chased them both back into the pen!

Will try again later lol

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Well, older hen still at it. The prod Reds, my best layers, came back to the same box they've been using. As recommended HERE, I put it inside new cage, didn't get around to penning them into it.. When I did look,Had an extra egg in there, surprising the heck out of me! The Older Girl CAN still lay, WOW! Having more problems with Nutty neighbor.
So cute how when I go out to feed horses, Roo and 2 PRs scamper out with me. Hay has alfalfa in it, they seem to peck at it... Been warm, for US, lately so KNOW they're enjoying it.

 

[Beekissed]

Caught these sisters out on the back porch gate today in a mirror image....




And the some of the flock taking it easy on the glider....

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Caught these sisters out on the back porch gate today in a mirror image....




And the some of the flock taking it easy on the glider....

Gads, I WISH I could keep that many! 1 of these Days...Course, I wouldn't Eat anything but eggs....LOL!
Had one like Your 'Sisters' My Daughter named her Freckles, which fit her..
Love the Solar panel in the background.

The whole area is Nice. We're so Dry up here now....

 

[Beekissed]

That's not even half of the flock there, I don't think. Of course, will be knocking those numbers down as the days go by until there's only about 16 or so....you mean you wouldn't eat this delicious chicken????




Until you've had free ranged, home grown, retired old layer hen fed on fermented feed, you haven't tasted chicken....all that other stuff is pretty much tasteless compared to this chicken.