Keeping Chickens Free Range

[duluthralphie]

Yes, but I need to alternate with our dogs ... sometimes I need to get them back in the pen/coop around 2 pm. Waaaay before they want to. They are not done with the compost pile yet.

I think that will be hard. When training any animal you have to work with their natural instinct, or trick them. Food can be used to trick them, but they have to be hungry, which means if they gorge on the compost pile they may not want to go in at 2pm.

Maybe if you feed them everyday at 2pm, they would get use to it, but your are fighting their nature doing that.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Yes, but I need to alternate with our dogs ... sometimes I need to get them back in the pen/coop around 2 pm. Waaaay before they want to. They are not done with the compost pile yet.

I would recommend training your dogs to live along side your chickens with no problems. I have a German Shepard and a Pit Bull that we have trained not to bother the chickens. They actually protect my chickens. They both stay outside with them if I have to leave and we have had no predator problems. Even my Cornish X brooder with 30 chicks open to the air is not bothered by them and they could easily jump inside it and have a meal. It is not a rare occasion to look out and see my dogs laying in the yard with chickens pecking around all around them. It really is a lovely thing to see.

Your dogs and chickens (and you) would be so much happier if all could live in harmony together. There are always risks with dogs around but I can say that I have had a wonderful experience with it and highly recommend giving it a try. Chickens leave dogs so many "gifts" laying around that dogs generally determine that keeping them around is more beneficial than getting rid of them.

 

[duluthralphie]

I would recommend training your dogs to live along side your chickens with no problems. I have a German Shepard and a Pit Bull that we have trained not to bother the chickens. They actually protect my chickens. They both stay outside with them if I have to leave and we have had no predator problems. Even my Cornish X brooder with 30 chicks open to the air is not bothered by them and they could easily jump inside it and have a meal. It is not a rare occasion to look out and see my dogs laying in the yard with chickens pecking around all around them. It really is a lovely thing to see.

Your dogs and chickens (and you) would be so much happier if all could live in harmony together. There are always risks with dogs around but I can say that I have had a wonderful experience with it and highly recommend giving it a try. Chickens leave dogs so many "gifts" laying around that dogs generally determine that keeping them around is more beneficial than getting rid of them.

As have I. Dogs are much easier to train than chickens. Especially when you add an electronic brain.

Here is the brain you need for them:

http://www.amazon.com/Dogwidgets®-R...08818778&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+training+collars

 

[semcat66]

Not sure this is considered "free range" or not - when we moved our chicks outside from the brooder, we put them in the coop w/big run we built. We leave the door to the coop open but close the door to the run after they've gone inside at night and we will close the door to the coop once the weather turns cold. We let them out into the yard every morning and they roam all over - we have noticed the wonderful decline in our grasshopper population!! The garden has reached the point that we're letting them in there to help with pest control and I'm happy to see that they do seem to instinctively know what not to eat (tomato and eggplant leaves) and they don't seem interested at all in pecking at any of the veggies. My concern is, this will be our first winter with chickens. I am guessing they aren't going to want to be out in the snow and we will clear away the snow from a portion of the run for them so they can get outside to stretch and enjoy whatever sun may be available, but we can't clear the entire yard. I'm hoping that they can have some days where we don't have snow on the ground so they can get out into the yard - how warm does it need to get for them? I know the dangers are mainly from wind/moisture, but if the air temp is only 25 - is that too cold for them to be outside, even if it's dry? How cold is "too cold" even if there is no snow/wind?

Thanks!
Susan

 

[duluthralphie]

We consider -25 to be a warm winter day and a sign of spring here and I plan to let mine outside all winter. HOWEVER, I will keep them in a pen/paddock over winter because predators will be relentless then.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Not sure this is considered "free range" or not - when we moved our chicks outside from the brooder, we put them in the coop w/big run we built. We leave the door to the coop open but close the door to the run after they've gone inside at night and we will close the door to the coop once the weather turns cold. We let them out into the yard every morning and they roam all over - we have noticed the wonderful decline in our grasshopper population!! The garden has reached the point that we're letting them in there to help with pest control and I'm happy to see that they do seem to instinctively know what not to eat (tomato and eggplant leaves) and they don't seem interested at all in pecking at any of the veggies. My concern is, this will be our first winter with chickens. I am guessing they aren't going to want to be out in the snow and we will clear away the snow from a portion of the run for them so they can get outside to stretch and enjoy whatever sun may be available, but we can't clear the entire yard. I'm hoping that they can have some days where we don't have snow on the ground so they can get out into the yard - how warm does it need to get for them? I know the dangers are mainly from wind/moisture, but if the air temp is only 25 - is that too cold for them to be outside, even if it's dry? How cold is "too cold" even if there is no snow/wind?

Thanks!
Susan

Last year our chickens were in more of a lean-to than a coop, with heat lamps and they would get out and run around in the snow. I kept feed down for them and they never seemed to mind the snow. The snow either melted in a couple of hours or was so deep we couldn't have shoveled it out for them so either way made no difference to them. This year we have a building for the coop and I still have heat lamps but I also have a room heater for them when they need it.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

As have I. Dogs are much easier to train than chickens.  Especially when you add an electronic brain.

Here is the brain you need for them:

http://www.amazon.com/Dogwidgets%C2%AE-Rechargeable-Training-Individual-Vibration/dp/B00771WQIY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408818778&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+training+collars

My old greyhound is the only one with prey drive. My lab I think would like to carry one around as a trophy, but is too lazy to chase one aggressively. My roommate's cocker/poodle cross has taken it upon herself to be the herder of the flock. So, yeah, just have to contain the sighthound!

 

[QueenBubbles]

Hi,
Here is my experience with chicks and free ranging. I live in town and have had two sets of chicks so far. I put them out right away - the first week only a couple hours and stay with to supervise. I check on them several times a day and get them to eat and drink because for the most part they stay hidden and sleep. I would be checking the same if they were inside - 5 times a day is what I read somewhere. As they get older, they spend more time scratching and pecking but checking in conditions them to come when they hear me call.
There are lot of hawks around here and I did lose one baby chick but they really do spend most of their time out of sight, in or under bushes and can disappear quite amazingly. They tend to not stray too far if there is good cover. They don't feel safe out in the open because they aren't safe. I keep trying to get mine on the other side of the drive way for bug control but it isn't long before they are back on their side, behind the Nandina or in the bushes.
In the evening, they want to go to bed. They are not so interested in going to bed in the late afternoon, however. If you try herding them in before before the day is over according to them, it is very frustrating. Especially if they have that excellent cover that foils predators. Sometimes grabbing one or two will get the others to follow, but all too often they escape as you walk.
However, if you can sit (or lie down) with them until the sun goes down enough for them to realize they can't see, they will come much more willingly. They can't see in the dark (no rods), so they want to be safe before it gets dark. The babies don't seen to know that until they experience it. If they have had the heat lamp on at night their whole lives, they don't know much about the dark , but once they do, the night time routine is much easier. When they are feathered out enough to be outside at night and the coop is assessable, they will be happy to put themselves to bed and not have to find you.
Chasing them around doesn't really work because then they start not trusting you when they are outside. Herding with a stick can work but I found they just freak out and run willy nilly.
What has worked for me is luring with treats and using their instincts to your advantage. You want them to come associate you with the best treats (Meal worms, king worms, sunflower seeds, cat food..) so when they hear your voice they come running to see what you have.
Also, bending down and encouraging them to jump on your back is another use of their instincts - mama hens let babies jump on their backs. They are more comfortable jumping on your back than being grabbed with hands. I say "up" and pat my shoulder or back.
I am fortunate to have a fenced yard with plenty of trees and a hedgerow that is a great place for the babies to hide. The hawks do circle but the chickens have lots of places to hide and spend very little time in the open.
My chickens are always happy to see me and I love seeing them frolicking in the yard and not caged up. I do sprout sunflower seeds for them so they don't eat all my landscaping.

 

[Tikkijane]

Not sure this is considered "free range" or not - when we moved our chicks outside from the brooder, we put them in the coop w/big run we built.  We leave the door to the coop open but close the door to the run after they've gone inside at night and we will close the door to the coop once the weather turns cold.  We let them out into the yard every morning and they roam all over - we have noticed the wonderful decline in our grasshopper population!!  The garden has reached the point that we're letting them in there to help with pest control and I'm happy to see that they do seem to instinctively know what not to eat (tomato and eggplant leaves) and they don't seem interested at all in pecking at any of the veggies.  My concern is, this will be our first winter with chickens.  I am guessing they aren't going to want to be out in the snow and we will clear away the snow from a portion of the run for them so they can get outside to stretch and enjoy whatever sun may be available, but we can't clear the entire yard.  I'm hoping that they can have some days where we don't have snow on the ground so they can get out into the yard - how warm does it need to get for them?  I know the dangers are mainly from wind/moisture, but if the air temp is only 25 - is that too cold for them to be outside, even if it's dry?  How cold is "too cold" even if there is no snow/wind?

Thanks!
Susan

I let them decide. I shovel around the coop and usually that's enough to encourage them to come out. I always give the option.

 

[Tikkijane]

Last year our chickens were in more of a lean-to than a coop, with heat lamps and they would get out and run around in the snow. I kept feed down for them and they never seemed to mind the snow. The snow either melted in a couple of hours or was so deep we couldn't have shoveled it out for them so either way made no difference to them. This year we have a building for the coop and I still have heat lamps but I also have a room heater for them when they need it.

Chickens *do not* need supplemental heat. Really. They do just fine without it. The key is making sure they have a draft-free coop with wide roosts so they can tuck their whole foot under the body and avoid frostbite. Deep litter works well. Supplemental heat can interfere with their ability to acclimate to the cold. Heat lamps are very dangerous-numerous coops burn down every year due to heat lamps.

Chickens will start to eat more in the fall. They pack on a fat layer for insulation. They seriously can raise coop temp by a good 10-20 degrees- make sure they have the right space so they can heat it sufficiently. If you have a huge coop and just a few birds, find a way to cover their roosts and make a cubby to help trap their heat in.