Keeping Chickens Free Range

[widge85]

I free range. I have 4 ex batts and they've made the transition very well.

They have 5 acres to roam in, but tend to spend the day in the front garden not too far from their coop.

They pop themselves away each night when it gets dusk and I feed them each morning as I wasn't sure if they would get enough food just free ranging. Plus all our scraps.

 

[slordaz]

I free range mine all day and put them in the coop at night, even my 3 week old RIR's are out with the older chicks and ducks , today a wild cat came around and the older ones surrounded the babies while the chick playing momma to the babies,older duck, rooster and boxer chased the cat off.

My current flock is young 3 weeks to 3 month olds . They have been outside in their coop and run at about a 3-4 weeks old with exception of the RIR's that went outside when they were brought home at 2-3 days old. We waited 4 days then started letting them out to free range under close supervision while working to teach the boxer to protect the flock and their boundaries too. we started with bout an hour the first couple of days as was all the time we had to supervise them closely and showing them where safe spots they could hide, within a week they were out from morning until almost time for bed on their own also started increasing their ranging so we put the front yard off limits to them so they didn't go towards the road. We don't have older flock members to really teach them but instinct seems to have kicked in just fine

5 barred rocks
1 amerecuana
6 cornish crosses
4 Rhode Island Reds
1 Blue Swedish duck
1 baby Mallard

 

[mother of many]

We have all but 1 of our feathered children outside free ranging. So in all we have 14 outside, 2 are temporarily cooped due to some flock tension. They all range in age from 4 weeks old to 15 weeks and 3 one year olds . And will soon be building mating/breeding coops to separate and ensure breed purity. Thankfully we havent lost any even though they have all been outdoors free rangings since 3 weeks old. They coop themselves at night and let themselves out in the morning. They have been roaming further the past couple days into he neighbors corn field but havent disturbed the corn only foraging for bugs but still chase them back home. Will be getting some more babies this weekend to give our indoor baby a tiny group to roam with since the other chicks are bullies to her.

 

[Chaos18]

I free range mine all day and put them in the coop at night, even my 3 week old RIR's are out with the older chicks and ducks , today a wild cat came around and the older ones surrounded the babies while the chick playing momma to the babies,older duck, rooster and boxer chased the cat off.

My current flock is young 3 weeks to 3 month olds . They have been outside in their coop and run at about a 3-4 weeks old with exception of the RIR's that went outside when they were brought home at 2-3 days old. We waited 4 days then started letting them out to free range under close supervision while working to teach the boxer to protect the flock and their boundaries too. we started with bout an hour the first couple of days as was all the time we had to supervise them closely and showing them where safe spots they could hide, within a week they were out from morning until almost time for bed on their own also started increasing their ranging so we put the front yard off limits to them so they didn't go towards the road. We don't have older flock members to really teach them but instinct seems to have kicked in just fine

5 barred rocks
1 amerecuana
6 cornish crosses
4 Rhode Island Reds
1 Blue Swedish duck
1 baby Mallard

How does one teach a chicken free ranging boundaries?

 

[slordaz]

How does one teach a chicken free ranging boundaries?

well as ours are very young, we kinda herd them back if they get into an area we don't want them such as the front yard, driveway or the pond, then let them be, some of them take more time herding them out of an area they aren't supposed to be in but sooner or later they learn to not go there. the Dog has now learned the perimiters we set and does most of the herding for us. They have all of the back yard except the steps and back porch, a corral, and 5 acres of pasture to themselves.

Takes some time but better than having angry neighbors or run over chickens

 

[cmf12230]

Yesterday morning I went out to let the girls out and counted them as they hopped out to enjoy a beautiful day of free ranging while my fiancé and I cleaned the house and worked on the bazzilion things that needed to be done around the house. Well when I counted them I was one short which I quickly determined was one of my leghorn roosters. I thought it was strange but figured maybe he got lost in the woods and didn't make it back for bed last night or maybe he became part of the food chain... I wasn't thrilled about losing him who would be but I know that realistically I take a risk when I let them free range. Well around noon my fiancée starts screaming for me to come outside. And low and behold there is a red fox being chased off by him. It didn't deter him that in had my golden retriever out or that he was outside at all. :/ which makes me a little nervous as I have a two year old and four year old that are usually down by the coop feeding the chickens and trying to catch them throughout the day.... Anyways I tried to bribe the girls in after the fox was chased off and had no luck they were hiding in the brush. So I chained the golden retriever at the coop (she can't be off leash or she takes off ) and the chickens all layed with her the rest of the day... My final loss for the day was an additional 5, two hens and three more Roos... Now six chickens to one fox within 24 hrs isn't the part food chain I want to play. At this rate my girls would be wiped out in a matter of days! So we followed feather trails didn't really find anything but I guess we will set up some traps. And I will start looking for replacement chicks. The girls are locked in today. And tomorrow when I'm home all day I will open my run back up and put the dog down there for the day but I'm definitely hesitant to let them free range again till we catch him. Ugh. This part of chicken owning sucks!!!!

 

[dekel18042]

This part of chicken owning sucks!!!!

We're in PA too and foxes are the worst of the predators. Our chickens were safe when we left our dog dog out with them. Then if the dog came in for five minutes the fox would appear. That told me it was watching the chickens and the minute the dog was in, it acted. They're the worst and sneakiest of the varmints. Good luck with catching yours.

 

[cmf12230]

We're in PA too and foxes are the worst of the predators. Our chickens were safe when we left our dog dog out with them.  Then if the dog came in for five minutes the fox would appear.  That told me it was watching the chickens and the minute the dog was in, it acted.  They're the worst and sneakiest of the varmints.  Good luck with catching yours.

Other than leaving your dog out what do you guys do to deter him? I couldn't believed they took that many at once... I can understand a chicken getting secluded but five between 9-12!

 

[dekel18042]

Other than leaving your dog out what do you guys do to deter him? I couldn't believed they took that many at once... I can understand a chicken getting secluded but five between 9-12!

We added more runs and covered them....so far so good. Chickens are out only when we're out, but we're about to add more fencing so their space is even larger. Unfortunately the foxes were great at evading traps.

Since they can't get anything here they moved on up the road and are attacking our neighbors chickens and guineas.

 

[JackE]

A fox will wipe you out. I lost 9 in one day attack(Out of 11), and 7 in another three months later. And they will take them in a hurry. They are VERY opportunistic. The second attack we had, we left the birds alone for not even an hour, and the fox took advantage of it. Electrified poultry netting was the answer for me. I have 650' of it. The birds get out every day, and I don't have to worry about them.