Keeping Chickens Free Range

[OrganicFarmWife]

I want to free range my chickens, I have been letting them out for a few hours before sunset to make sure that they return to their coop and tuck themselves in ( which they do ) they do great at sticking together. I would love to allow them to free range most of the day but am fearful of loosing a chicken or more. Does anyone clip on wing on their chickens to keep them from hopping the fence but still allowing them enough flight to getaway from a predator? 

what are your tips for allowing most of the day free range without worry. We live in the country with 2 acres and I just want to have the peace of mind that if I run to town they are going to still be at home with the goats. 

My dog is the reason I am able to freerange and leave the house without worry. I would not clip wings, when I have had attacks, the fact that my birds could fly up into their roosts was the reason I lost only one instead of my whole flock.
Use some of the suggestions just posted to keep them in your fence, it is safer. And know no matter what you do, you will probably loose a bird. You can keep them in your run and never let them out, you will still likely loose a bird (or your whole flock) to a predator at some point.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

What breed of bird do you have? Some are more vunerable, like silkies because they can't see for feathers. Same for the top knotted breeds like Polish. White birds stick of, too, and hawks can pick off. It takes layers of protection to protect free range birds. LGD is our best overall security. Without George, we would not have any goats or birds.

 

[Tikkijane]

I want to free range my chickens, I have been letting them out for a few hours before sunset to make sure that they return to their coop and tuck themselves in ( which they do ) they do great at sticking together. I would love to allow them to free range most of the day but am fearful of loosing a chicken or more. Does anyone clip on wing on their chickens to keep them from hopping the fence but still allowing them enough flight to getaway from a predator? 

what are your tips for allowing most of the day free range without worry. We live in the country with 2 acres and I just want to have the peace of mind that if I run to town they are going to still be at home with the goats. 

Please, no. If there is any chance for predators, they need 2 working wings to get away.

 

[Tikkijane]

What breed of bird do you have? Some are more vunerable, like silkies because they can't see for feathers. Same for the top knotted breeds like Polish. White birds stick of, too, and hawks can pick off. It takes layers of protection to protect free range birds. LGD is our best overall security. Without George, we would not have any goats or birds.

Clip around the eyes so they can see. I have at least 20 silkies and they do fine so long as they can see {and places to hide}.

 

[dekel18042]

Please, no. If there is any chance for predators, they need 2 working wings to get away.

X2

 

[vpatt]

I chased the fox out of the yard again yesterday.....no casualties. The rooster alerted me. This is getting old.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have an interesting quandary. As I told you in the past, my dog Pearl, is not a perfect dog and had an egg stealing habit. Luckily I was willing to admit all animals including my own are flawed and not especially well behaved.


I was willing to admit my dog "could" be rotten and do something I would not condone. She is not her Mother Reagan. Reagan is a perfect dog and has never chased a bird, eaten and egg, dug a hole or anything else. She is beyond a doubt the only "perfect" dog in the world.

Incase you forgot about Pearl here is her picture after she reformed her evil egg eating ways. She has not had an egg in weeks, of this I am certain.




There is very little chance she could steal a single egg.





Now the dilemma, last evening around 6pm, we found a guinea egg lying on the floor of the dining room. We do not have house guineas. However, we do have criminal guineas. Wait until you hear that they did!



Reagan the perfect dog was lying on the floor and the egg was under her neck, below her ears. Reagan, the perfect Dog is a College Graduate, the first dog in our family to ever finish all schools locally and be sent off to a private Ivy league boarding school. She graduated Summa Cum Laud majoring in advanced discipline and hunting. with a master degree in retrieving. She is the worlds greatest hunting dog. She is now 11 years old and a little stiff in the joints so she does not get around as well as she use to.

There was a time people would ask me to go on hunting trips just to have her with. If I could not go, they would ask " Can Reagan Come then? We really don't need you".


That is the type of dog she is. they never get any better. When we introduced her to chickens there were no accidents. She can pick out a rabbit, squirrel or crow from amongst the flock and remove them without bothering the chickens. She has never chased the chickens ever. She is the perfect dog, she can do no wrong...


So back to the egg under her ear. We know it was not Pearl that brought it into the house. We know it could not be Reagan as she is as perfect as the most perfect dogs some others here has described, maybe even more perfect.... It was the darn Guineas!


The distracted us, when we were looking out the window or off the deck at their, what we thought to be innocent antics, one of them snuck into the house. She went to where Reagan was taking her "grandma" nap as she is old and needs a nap. She is a sound sleeper. She did not notice the guinea come into the house, and lay an egg right next to Reagan. Then the darn Guinea pushed it under Reagan ear so we would think Reagan found a Guinea nest and stole an egg. We are not that gullible, we know better than to think our Reagan could ever do a normal dog thing.


Next thing you know the guineas will scatter and run in every direction when Reagan is around and try to frame her for chasing birds! I tell you The Guineas are evil, I worry they will somehow convince some of the young chickens to go in with them on their outlaw activities!

 

[duluthralphie]

Also, for the person wanting to "clip" a Chicken's wing and free range it.. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO



Let me repeat that NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.




If you clip the wing do not free range, it is asking for the bird to be dinner for a critter.

 

[vpatt]

I am not up on fox shooting so i guess i will have to continue with my present method of fox screaming. Now Wyatt, where was he during this ruckus? Appears he held back while i was giving chase. That is a real trick to move slower than me. He did seem unusually interested in sniffing around the path that Foxy took....after he was long gone. Wyatt and Pearl look suspiciously alike.And he has developed a fondness for chasing chickens....not foxes.

 

[duluthralphie]

Pearl comes from a long line of slackers, so they could be cousins, or something. Pearl can never seem to chase anything I point out to her, but is real good at sniffing where it came from...

She will bark at stranger though, as long as she is well behind me.