Keeping Chickens Free Range

[earlyredrooster]

For those free rangers here that only have a coop(no run)- what do you do when you go on vacation? 

My neighbor down the road puts them up feeds and lets them out for a months eggs.

 

[Tikkijane]

I hear a lot about free ranging just being a hassle. Chickens all over your house and car pooping all over everything and laying eggs in places you can't find them.

Is this at all like the experiences of you guys here?

If I train the chickens to use their coop as home and I have plenty of good land for them to enjoy should I still expect them to poop on everything I own?

Bear in mind- your coop/run will be a *thousand* times nastier if they are in it all the time because you aren't losing much to the environment. There is nothing nastier than a slushy, slick, poopy run {you'd need a pretty deep sand layer to drain it all off. }

I have not had them poop on the cars. They can be trained to lay in the nesting boxes. Some breeds {like lakenvelders and hamburgs} do like to lay in some non-standard locations , but that doesn't bother me at all. Watch them and listen for the egg song, and you can usually find any stray nests pretty easily.

They really are so much better being out. And a good power washer never hurts anything.

 

[Tikkijane]

I wonder how many people that free range do not have a run/pen/paddock or something like that?

I free range 99.9% of the time, but I have 3 pens now with plans to add more.   There are times I just need to keep certain birds segregated. ( like breeding season, or just prior to departure to freezer camp.)

I don't have a run at all....

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

I wonder how many people that free range do not have a run/pen/paddock or something like that?

I free range 99.9% of the time, but I have 3 pens now with plans to add more. There are times I just need to keep certain birds segregated. ( like breeding season, or just prior to departure to freezer camp.)

I don't have ANY coop my kids use, other than a hen hutch and wood box when it dips below -0 windchill @ night.


I just answered an ad for a white Turkey 'pet'. Poster/ad sound a bit on the 'my way or the hiway' side. To those who have turkeys, do they roost in trees, are they able to handle free range with chickens…..It seems to me, a birds a bird but knowledge is in asking….

 

[duluthralphie]

I don't have a run at all....

Interesting, What do you do in case of predators or if you need to separate some?

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Haven't had a need to separate, let the Roo do what he's going to do. Bantam Roo so not like with 2 Ply Rocks, SL, & leghorn Odds AREN'T stacked high I'm getting chicks. Predators aren't much of an issue thus far; Dogs, Roo and LOTS of cover spots. Have found ALMOST all of them under the front porch, nervous, which I THINK was a hawk flying around.
Know anything about Turkeys? Worried if I take one in, a former pet, won't last, learn.
I don't know much about them, Still learning MOST chicken from BYC.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have 10 turkeys, with more expected next week. Ethel is broody and shows up once ever day or two for food.

I have slate blue's. The roost everywhere. They are not fond of being indoors. They may go into a shed if it is pouring rain, but otherwise they are outdoor animals. All my turkeys are very sociable birds. The run to greet me when I go out the door. If they have not seen me in 10 minutes they come running like we have been apart for years.

I am not sure what one turkey alone would be like. I would think they would be underfoot all the time. My turkeys live with my chickens, they will lay together during the day, they graze together, there are a couple chickens that have even decided to roost with them at night. They want to get as high as they can. I had one on the highline wire coming to the house last week, I was afraid he would pull it off the pole! Took 3 rocks to hit him and get him off.

The turkeys will be top of the pecking order, even King Brutus bows before JJ. ( JJ is my Tom.) Ethel is very possessive about food and runs the chickens off, when eating, except the 5 she raised. They can take food from her!

I have no idea how she can tell which ones are hers, I can barely tell. ( We call them the turkens). I am keeping the turkeys in a separate coop and pen this winter. I am building a 8x8 coop for them attached to a 45x45 paddock. They will fly over the fence with no problems all winter, however I will be putting a 50x50 bird net over it in the spring, so I can gather the eggs for a couple months.

 

[Tikkijane]

Interesting, What do you do in case of predators or if you need to separate some?

In addition to the dogs and guineas, I have 15 boys right now. If someone is injured, they come inside until they are well enough to go back out. Injuredes I've put in the grow-out coop with the keets. Zero problems.

The best thing for predators (besides dogs/guineas/roos is making sure they have safe areas- cover, places to hide, etc.

 

[duluthralphie]

In addition to the dogs and guineas, I have 15 boys right now. If someone is injured, they come inside until they are well enough to go back out. Injuredes I've put in the grow-out coop with the keets. Zero problems.

The best thing for predators (besides dogs/guineas/roos is making sure they have safe areas- cover, places to hide, etc.

I agree about predators, chickens are great at hiding. I use fences/pens and cages for my convenience and not the chickens. Do you have a coop or are the chickens purely free range?

I am not sure that would work here, as I would think I would get a chickensicle in the winter.

 

[Tikkijane]

I agree about predators, chickens are great at hiding.   I use fences/pens and cages for my convenience and not the chickens.    Do you have a coop or are the chickens purely free range?

I am not sure that would work here, as I would think I would get a chickensicle in the winter.

Oh, no. I absolutely lock them up at night. I Ft. Knox them at night. One dog is outside at night when it's not too cold. He's gotten two opposums in recent weeks; keeps the foxes away. Guineas are basically blind at night, too, so they go to bed and are locked up as well. There's nowhere I could live where I wouldn't lock them up at night. Just not safe, imo, when all the critters are out wandering.