Keeping Chickens Free Range

[slordaz]

I've found with my second year of free ranged flock which some are from breeder while others are production chicks we picked up last year at the local farm store, they all go broody, even the mixed breeds that hatched out in the spring had broody down from first egg which was quite funny. they brood them in the coop where they lay then when they hatch out they move themselves and their new babies to the insulated coop that nobody wants to use for anything else.

We have 2 roosters that work together pretty good , main one is breeder barred rock and yea he's mean ya upset the hens and very observant, if you got the wrong shoes on he's more likely to go after the shoe lol, but he don't care what it is you mess with his hens or upset them he'd give his life protecting them, the other is a RIR who is super calm and stays with the hens moving them to safety while keeping them calm.The main problem with the barred rock rooster is if people back down or run from him , he's respectful to most but he's got your number if you do back down or run and will bully anyone that does. We do have to lock him up when company is there for our peace of mind but it's a small price to make sure our hens are safe when out free ranging, the hawks and magpies moved on when they had to deal with both roosters and a big swede drake.We did have to live trap and relocate a bunch of feral cats though as they wanted chicken and banded together to suprize a hen without alerting the roosters, 6 of them banded together to hunt when he killed em singly trying to get into the coop. took us a while to figure out cause they were each different and different times with different attack mode. We found a farmer that had mice problem and no neighbors that had birds so was win win situation for all. obviously though need to get different type of live trap, besides the feral cats we were catching caught 2 skunks trying to move in when hay was brought in for the cows and them open wired live traps are not fun for those.
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[EmilyP]

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!

Our RIR hens love all kinds of vehicles!! They will go in any open door! And love steering wheels and tractors!

 

[Peeps61]

Yes, those steering wheels make great roosts, much to my husband's displeasure! He finally moved his tractor away from the coop because the girls liked to get on the steering wheel and rest during the day. Unfortunately, they also pooped there are well!

 

[chameleon]

I want to free range my chickens, but my husband doesn't want them pooping everywhere and digging up the garden. I can fence off around 300 square meters of lawn for them. How many large layers can free range in that area without turning it to mud? It's about 3200 square feet.

 

[lcertuche]

I'm not good with judging sizes but I can tell you I had at least 40 chickens penned up during the winter in my garden. It was about 40 ft. by 60 ft. All winter I threw hay, leaves, vegetable scraps in and they kept busy scratching and tilling up my garden spot. In the spring I just planted it. If you could make your garden twice as big with a fence seperating them you could switch the garden back and forth and keep your girls happy scratching. Just have a coop next to the middle of the garden with a chicken door on both garden halves and just open the one you aren't gardening in. You will have the best garden in the neighbor hood. A win-win!

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm not good with judging sizes but I can tell you I had at least 40 chickens penned up during the winter in my garden. It was about 40 ft. by 60 ft. All winter I threw hay, leaves, vegetable scraps in and they kept busy scratching and tilling up my garden spot. In the spring I just planted it. If you could make your garden twice as big with a fence seperating them you could switch the garden back and forth and keep your girls happy scratching. Just have a coop next to the middle of the garden with a chicken door on both garden halves and just open the one you aren't gardening in. You will have the best garden in the neighbor hood. A win-win!

Not to mention, that I bet insect issues in such a garden would be almost unheard of.

 

[chameleon]

I'm not good with judging sizes but I can tell you I had at least 40 chickens penned up during the winter in my garden. It was about 40 ft. by 60 ft. All winter I threw hay, leaves, vegetable scraps in and they kept busy scratching and tilling up my garden spot. In the spring I just planted it. If you could make your garden twice as big with a fence seperating them you could switch the garden back and forth and keep your girls happy scratching. Just have a coop next to the middle of the garden with a chicken door on both garden halves and just open the one you aren't gardening in. You will have the best garden in the neighbor hood. A win-win!

Thanks, I was actually wondering if I could divide it in half and rotate them, but I wasn't sure if it'd still be big enough. How often would you rotate them to keep the lawn looking decent?

Not to mention, that I bet insect issues in such a garden would be almost unheard of.

Great point! I do have a vegetable garden, with a serious bug problem, right next to the area I'd fence off. I could rotate them in and out of there too to turn the soil in between planting and get rid of those pesky bugs.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks, I was actually wondering if I could divide it in half and rotate them, but I wasn't sure if it'd still be big enough. How often would you rotate them to keep the lawn looking decent?

You are the only one who will know when to rotate, as not all lawns are the same. When you start to see the soil and grass becoming too trampled, any bare spots showing besides a few dusting areas, the grass not being able to recover quickly, etc. Lean to the side of switching too soon rather than too late, as the soils and grass will recover more quickly if not heavily impacted by the chickens.

Meanwhile, continue to mow their area on high on occasion so that you don't wind up with only the weeds getting to go to seed or you will wind up with the more tender and nutritious grasses becoming depleted and the tougher, weedier type lawn covering being able to thrive and reproduce over time.

You've most likely seen that happening in some cattle pastures where all the grasses are too short from overgrazing and the weeds they won't eat are sticking up throughout the pasture....over many years that pasture will slowly change into what good farmers will call a "trash" field, where thistles, burdock and other woody weeds have been left alone by the livestock to reproduce and spread seeds and the grasses have not had enough rest to do the same, so the field starts yielding less and less overall nutrition.

A good way to do this is mow in strips, leaving some grass shorter to reveal the bugs and tender grasses, the strips not mowed will provide good bug habitat that will allow the bugs to hide and reproduce. The next time you mow, reverse the strips...still mowing on high. In the rainy season, take the opportunity to overseed the empty side with white dutch clover and/or other nutritious perennials that thrive where you live and let them get well established before turning the flock back into that side...might as well get more bang for your buck.

 

[chameleon]

You are the only one who will know when to rotate, as not all lawns are the same. When you start to see the soil and grass becoming too trampled, any bare spots showing besides a few dusting areas, the grass not being able to recover quickly, etc. Lean to the side of switching too soon rather than too late, as the soils and grass will recover more quickly if not heavily impacted by the chickens.

Meanwhile, continue to mow their area on high on occasion so that you don't wind up with only the weeds getting to go to seed or you will wind up with the more tender and nutritious grasses becoming depleted and the tougher, weedier type lawn covering being able to thrive and reproduce over time.

You've most likely seen that happening in some cattle pastures where all the grasses are too short from overgrazing and the weeds they won't eat are sticking up throughout the pasture....over many years that pasture will slowly change into what good farmers will call a "trash" field, where thistles, burdock and other woody weeds have been left alone by the livestock to reproduce and spread seeds and the grasses have not had enough rest to do the same, so the field starts yielding less and less overall nutrition.

A good way to do this is mow in strips, leaving some grass shorter to reveal the bugs and tender grasses, the strips not mowed will provide good bug habitat that will allow the bugs to hide and reproduce. The next time you mow, reverse the strips...still mowing on high. In the rainy season, take the opportunity to overseed the empty side with white dutch clover and/or other nutritious perennials that thrive where you live and let them get well established before turning the flock back into that side...might as well get more bang for your buck.

Thanks for all that great information. All this planning is getting me really excited to start expanding my flock

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I want to free range my chickens, but my husband doesn't want them pooping everywhere and digging up the garden. I can fence off around 300 square meters of lawn for them. How many large layers can free range in that area without turning it to mud? It's about 3200 square feet.

My chickens hardly disturb my yard at all, they only dirt bathe in the holes my Great Dane start for them.