Keeping Chickens Free Range

[jenniferlamar70]

Color is not important when the birds are moving. It may be important with motionless hens on nest or otherwise covering brood. It may also be important when chickens freeze while in cover. Even my wild-type colored rooster are hard to see when in shadows and cover they retreat while they are motionless. To get a feel for this yourself you need to have a range of color types trying to hide from you. When moving all are easy to see. When they hunker down in the vegetation the birds not matching background stick out like sore thumbs.

I just heard the black chickens resemble crows which is a hawks enemy. Idk if that's true or not. We have lots of vegetation for our chickens to hide in and lots of places for them to duck cover.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
No they don't. I have huge white chickens and I challenge anyone to find my broodies when they take to the woods on a nest.

We were successful in finding only one and that was after repeated searching in the same area by two people and that wasn't even in heavy vegetation. The only reason we even found her was by listening for when she laid an egg and watching closely the direction from whence she was coming but even with all of that we didn't find her nest until it was completely full of eggs.

I've even went looking for them during an active hawk threat, with white birds of all sizes and ages hunkered down in the undergrowth and couldn't find a one that had hidden. I sat down to wait and see from whence they would emerge and they did so after the hawk left, some springing up right near to me....I could have stepped on them they were so well hidden.

The vegetation breaks up their outline so well that they could just as well be patterned birds, looking like a rock, a piece of fungus, etc.

I've never had a solid colored chicken taken by an aerial predator....only barred patterned birds all through the years, different locations, different flocks, different cover available. Even at night, just the barred birds taken.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

No they don't.   I have huge white chickens and I challenge anyone to find my broodies when they take to the woods on a nest.    We were successful in finding only one and that was after repeated searching in the same area by two people and that wasn't even in heavy vegetation.  The only reason we even found her was by listening for when she laid an egg and watching closely the direction from whence she was coming but even with all of that we didn't find her nest until it was completely full of eggs. 

I've even went looking for them during an active hawk threat, with white birds of all sizes and ages hunkered down in the undergrowth and couldn't find a one that had hidden.  I sat down to wait and see from whence they would emerge and they did so after the hawk left, some springing up right near to me....I could have stepped on them they were so well hidden. 

The vegetation breaks up their outline so well that they could just as well be patterned birds, looking like a rock, a piece of fungus, etc. 

I've never had a solid colored chicken taken by an aerial predator....only barred patterned birds all through the years, different locations, different flocks, different cover available.  Even at night, just the barred birds taken. 

Don't say that lol. I just ordered a bunch of chocolate cuckoo hatching eggs lol.

 

[fancychick1]

Hey I have a question. We have just started free ranging our flock on our property of about an acre. We don't have alot of wild predators but in sure there are a fee around. Mostly hawks. My friend free ranges and has 40 acres. They don't lock there hens up at night even though they have a hen house open for them. Do you always have to keep a hen house at night? Do people sometimes let the roost where they want? We have alot of outbuildings etc..

I also free range my flock on a little over an acre. It has a privacy fence around it and my chickens just do as they want. I keep the coop open now during the summer because it gets hot in there and and keeping the door open helps it be cooler for those that roost there at night. My turkeys and two chickens that were raise with them like to roost outside and my ducks like to come and go at night. This is my third year raising my flock and I haven't lost any to predators. They have plenty of areas to hide from the various hawks that fly overhead. My flock is happier coming and going as they please. If you feel comfortable with leaving your chickens out then do it everyone has their own way of raising their chickens. You know your yard better than anyone else. I have cats that sneak in but they don't stay long because my flock doesn't give the cat a fair fight, they beat them up and it is so funny. Enjoy your chickens and make them happy and they will work hard for you as free rangers.

 

[deepbluesea]

I have half an acre and a privacy fence, so I let them out in the morning and they wander around at will. I have overgrown hedges lining one side of my yard--I justify its shagginess as chicken protection

They wander around all day, go back to the coop (mostly) to lay and then go into the coop to roost around sundown. When I first got them my Easter egger hid her eggs--when we found them there were six or seven!

I've never lost one to a predator--they seem to listen to the wild birds when a hawk comes around. They chase any random cats that show up and have killed at least one snake. So far, so good.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I also free range my flock on a little over an acre. It has a privacy fence around it and my chickens just do as they want. I keep the coop open now during the summer because it gets hot in there and and keeping the door open helps it be cooler for those that roost there at night. My turkeys and two chickens that were raise with them like to roost outside and my ducks like to come and go at night. This is my third year raising my flock and I haven't lost any to predators. They have plenty of areas to hide from the various hawks that fly overhead. My flock is happier coming and going as they please. If you feel comfortable with leaving your chickens out then do it everyone has their own way of raising their chickens. You know your yard better than anyone else. I have cats that sneak in but they don't stay long because my flock doesn't give the cat a fair fight, they beat them up and it is so funny. Enjoy your chickens and make them happy and they will work hard for you as free rangers.

Our yard is also completely fenced-in. We have had cats around but the only ones we worry about are the chicks. They have a grow out pen in the coop though so I know they are safe. We don't have many night time predators except I do worry about racoons. We have wild turkeys and guineas in our neighborhood though which makes me wonder. Their are coyotes but our property is fenced so they can't get in. Definitely something I'm going to have to really think about. Some of my chickens don't want to sleep in the coop Soni have to catch them every night lol. They like roosting up really high.

I have half an acre and a privacy fence, so I let them out in the morning and they wander around at will. I have overgrown hedges lining one side of my yard--I justify its shagginess as chicken protection  

They wander around all day, go back to the coop (mostly) to lay and then go into the coop to roost around sundown. When I first got them my Easter egger hid her eggs--when we found them there were six or seven!

 I've never lost one to a predator--they seem to listen to the wild birds when a hawk comes around. They chase any random cats that show up and have killed at least one snake. So far, so good. 

 

[duluthralphie]

I also free range my flock on a little over an acre. It has a privacy fence around it and my chickens just do as they want. I keep the coop open now during the summer because it gets hot in there and and keeping the door open helps it be cooler for those that roost there at night. My turkeys and two chickens that were raise with them like to roost outside and my ducks like to come and go at night. This is my third year raising my flock and I haven't lost any to predators. They have plenty of areas to hide from the various hawks that fly overhead. My flock is happier coming and going as they please. If you feel comfortable with leaving your chickens out then do it everyone has their own way of raising their chickens. You know your yard better than anyone else. I have cats that sneak in but they don't stay long because my flock doesn't give the cat a fair fight, they beat them up and it is so funny. Enjoy your chickens and make them happy and they will work hard for you as free rangers.

I wish I could do this!

I lose 15-20 birds a year and I lock everything up at night. I lose them during the day. They simply go! I thought I would let some teenage turkeys stay outside with their parents. It went well for a month. Then one night I lost all 4! I am forced to lock the turkeys up again.

I think that was a dog. At first I blamed a cat I caught on my game cam. More evidence indicts the dog.

You are living on luck right now. I understand the desire to let the birds run free. I hope you can for a long time. I fear, one day it will come to an end. I know of a person in Minnesota that actually captured a video on a game cam into his coop during the day and coming out with a chicken!

Good luck, Just know it could come to an end. I would. of course, go as long as I could like you, before becoming Fort Knox.

 

[lazy gardener]

Lol my kids have me losing my mind more the the chickens lol. I'll go through every dogs name before I get to a kids name when I'm calling them lmao..

I heard that having black chickens can help deter hawks but I haven't tried it.. our biggest predators where we are now are hawks and coyotes..

You're in good company. I was once collecting kid kisses before heading out the door to go to work. I bent over and presented my cheek to the dog. She obliged. I have to go through several deceased dog names before arriving at the correct in residence canine name. As far as black chickens, I don't think it matters. I don't think size matters either. The birds that were taken last summer by Northern Goshawk were bigger than the hawks. The hawks had bigger wing spans, obviously, but the chickens outweighed them.

I had a lot of land cleared, so the tree cover behind the coop is mostly on the neighbor's land, with neighbor house about 150' through the woods on that side, then a very busy road. So, if my birds were free ranging, they would most likely end up in neighbor's yard and possibly in the road. I may end up putting electro net up from run and around part of the orchard next season, once the trees get some size on them. I do believe that folks who have a privacy fence around their yards have a decided advantage. Land predators have to cross that barrier x 2 in order to get a chicken buffet.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

You're in good company.  I was once collecting kid kisses before heading out the door to go to work.  I bent over and presented my cheek to the dog.  She obliged.  I have to go through several deceased dog names before arriving at the correct in residence canine name.  As far as black chickens, I don't think it matters.  I don't think size matters either.  The birds that were taken last summer by Northern Goshawk were bigger than the hawks.  The hawks had bigger wing spans, obviously, but the chickens outweighed them.  

I had a lot of land cleared, so the tree cover behind the coop is mostly on the neighbor's land, with neighbor house about 150' through the woods on that side, then a very busy road.  So, if my birds were free ranging, they would most likely end up in neighbor's yard and possibly in the road.  I may end up putting electro net up from run and around part of the orchard next season, once the trees get some size on them.  I do believe that folks who have a privacy fence around their yards have a decided advantage.  Land predators have to cross that barrier x 2 in order to get a chicken buffet.

Yeah we are definitely lucky for the fence around our property. I do have a coop and run. I use heavy duty deer netting over the top to keep out hawks but so far it's worked for cats and whatever else too. Now I'm letting most my chickens free range during the day and putting them to bed at night. Id really like to figure out a way to let them roost outside safely but I'm still working on that..

 

[Monstro]

Hey all. I've free ranged for a few years, locking them up at night. Currently have 7 ducks and 5 chickens. Had more chickens until raccoons found them earlier this year. So now they're squished into a grow out pen until the big coop and run is redone.

We lock them up at dusk or just after dark. They all migrate towards the big barn since we keep a light left on. Then we heard them to the small coop. The ducks we use a flashlight and they pretty much stay in the light making them easy to put away. The youngest two chickens "sometimes" follow the ducks. The oldest 3 we've had since the beginning and are stubborn so we carry 2 of them. The 3rd roosts in the 2nd story barn rafters so we can't catch her.

I'm wondering if putting a solar light near the coop door would encourage them to putting themselves to bed?