Keeping Chickens Free Range

[SmColorInDaPan]

E gads...I cannot fathom her taking it that far. Course, we're not really SUPPOSED to know all are we....

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Knowing my dad, probably sixty five or seventy down US Highway 29 into town. Much slower otherwise.

E gads...I cannot fathom a chicken taking it that far. Course, we're not really SUPPOSED to know all......

Once again, I warped what I meant to say. Afraid to consider what Mrs. K. interpreted.

 

[bobbi-j]

haha - the only part in the newsfeed "What's the highest speed with her in bed?" I was almost afraid to open it!

 

[vpatt]

Had she been watching tv? Maybe she wanted to become an actress like that red hen on the commercial.

 

[Peeps61]

Had she been watching tv? Maybe she wanted to become an actress like that red hen on the commercial.

Ha ha! Actually, both she and the other RIR hen that were raised together have always been attracted to vehicles, especially if they are open and inviting them to explore..... I think the open bed of this truck (it's pretty big) was convenient for her to "roost" in rather than head back to the coop. She would do that sometimes (hang out in the bushes or trees) rather than go back to the coop. My Mom suggested I write a children's book about, "Ruby, The Traveling Red Hen". I might!

 

[JayColli]

Here's a couple shots of my little flock out on the range. Their coop is about 350 feet from the road and they have a few acres of yards and old fields around the coop that have kept them well enough entertained that they've never made it onto the road - but that could be partially attributed to my vigilant rooster!

When I started out with chooks I'd keep them in their coop/run all day while at work and only let them out for a couple hours in the evenings and on weekends if I was home but after observing my rooster in his role as flock guardian I'm confident enough in his abilities to keep the hens close to cover and alert them to danger so they are out all day every day when the weather is good enough.

Big pros from my point of view include:

• Richer, healthier eggs.
• Significant reduction in feed costs.
• Happier, healthier looking chickens!

The only con I've experienced so far is their tendency to make their own nests and lay outside of the coop but they tend to lay in the same spot for weeks at a time if I leave a decoy egg behind and it has almost always been within 20' of the coop anyways.

I just started keeping chicken this past spring and luckily I haven't lost one yet but I fully expect to loose a few here and there to predators, which I think is an acceptable price to pay for the benefits to overall flock health, production and cost savings. I'll gradually introduce new blood to the flock from breeds known to be good brooders and effective foragers with the goal of creating a self-sustaining flock that is well-adapted to fending for itself. The white chook has shown her willingness to go broody so hopefully the red roo over her will produce offspring that blend into the brush more effectively than she does - or doesn't in most cases!

 

[Beekissed]

Here's a couple shots of my little flock out on the range. Their coop is about 350 feet from the road and they have a few acres of yards and old fields around the coop that have kept them well enough entertained that they've never made it onto the road - but that could be partially attributed to my vigilant rooster!

When I started out with chooks I'd keep them in their coop/run all day while at work and only let them out for a couple hours in the evenings and on weekends if I was home but after observing my rooster in his role as flock guardian I'm confident enough in his abilities to keep the hens close to cover and alert them to danger so they are out all day every day when the weather is good enough.

Big pros from my point of view include:

• Richer, healthier eggs.
• Significant reduction in feed costs.
• Happier, healthier looking chickens!

The only con I've experienced so far is their tendency to make their own nests and lay outside of the coop but they tend to lay in the same spot for weeks at a time if I leave a decoy egg behind and it has almost always been within 20' of the coop anyways.

I just started keeping chicken this past spring and luckily I haven't lost one yet but I fully expect to loose a few here and there to predators, which I think is an acceptable price to pay for the benefits to overall flock health, production and cost savings. I'll gradually introduce new blood to the flock from breeds known to be good brooders and effective foragers with the goal of creating a self-sustaining flock that is well-adapted to fending for itself. The white chook has shown her willingness to go broody so hopefully the red roo over her will produce offspring that blend into the brush more effectively than she does - or doesn't in most cases!

That rooster is simply gorgeous!!!!! Where did you get him? Don't worry too much about the white birds....until this past season the only birds I had lost to an aerial predator was barred birds. This season an owl got some of my white birds, the very first I've had taken on free range in 40 yrs. Guess owls don't care about the color...he took both barred AND white birds, whereas the hawks have only picked on the barred birds.

 

[JayColli]

That rooster is simply gorgeous!!!!! Where did you get him? Don't worry too much about the white birds....until this past season the only birds I had lost to an aerial predator was barred birds. This season an owl got some of my white birds, the very first I've had taken on free range in 40 yrs. Guess owls don't care about the color...he took both barred AND white birds, whereas the hawks have only picked on the barred birds.

I picked him up at an auction this past spring as a "barnyard mix" pullet hahaha, turns out that I spent an unreasonable amount of money on a Production Red cockerel but he ought to have good genes to contribute to my flock in terms of laying ability so I'll just chalk that one up as a learning experience. He's my first and only 6+ month old cockerel and still a bit rough with the ladies when his attempts to swoon them aren't immediately successful but he's been improving as time goes on. He's extremely vigilant, protective and always tidbits for the ladies so I think he's going to be a pretty good fit for the next couple of seasons until I decide to bring in some fresh blood.



I haven't seen many hawks around so I don't know how he reacts to them but there is a lot of good thick cover around so they don't have to go far to get out of the open. He'll stand up to cats without hesitation but when a dog comes running their way (our own dogs from the other side of a 6' high fence) it's like a feathery explosion takes place and it seems to be every chook for themselves... Hoping this changes once he's a bit older.

I'm wondering if anyone has any comments on rooster succession in a free range flock? I hope to have broody hens raise their chicks as part of the flock and in the spring of 2019 that will include sneaking some outside hatching eggs in from whatever breed I choose to introduce to the gene pool (likely Partridge Chantecler, Buckeye or Rosecomb RIR) and hopefully I'll find a new flock master in that clutch so...

My question: Is 3-4 years old about the right time to start retiring a rooster by introducing a new cockerel that will be brought up as part of the flock? I'd like to have enough overlap in their prime years that as the new cockerel grows he'll be kept in line by the rooster who will be soon to step down from his leading role at around 5 years of age.

 

[Beekissed]

That's a good time. I could be wrong but that rooster looks like a New Hampshire and a very pretty one at that. I love the angle of his tail, the depth of his body and even the width of his hips...even his feathering is a delight! Could be he's a RIR mix, what with the yellow legs and darker feathers but he's sure beautiful anyway.

Here's a pic of a NH rooster:

 

[WilloughbyStead]

New to this, but our flock is free range also. Our coop is an old barn shed turned coop. It's still a work in progress but we have it set up pretty nicely for our flock and room to continue to improve. Their coop is in the middle of a very large fenced yard. We let them out in the morning, and shut them in between 4-6 pm. They usually go in on their own and wait for us to shut the door for them. I love our free rangers.