Keeping Chickens Free Range

[Beekissed]

Greetings,

I am experimenting with keeping 3 black Australorps free range without supplemental feed. I bought them as 1 day olds and put them in the coop that day. The coop has a wire floor and is raised 3 ft off of the ground. I purchased one 15lb bag of starter. When the starter ran out, at about 5 weeks, I started opening the door to the coop each morning and closing at night. The coop has water, but no feed.

Outside the coop, they have access to a small neighborhood backyard of about 4000 sf privacy fenced. The backyard has two trees and 7 raised garden beds. They spend their day visiting every square inch of the yard, and every raised bed. The only vegetable I had trouble with were tomatoes within 24 inches of the ground. They do have one supplement: we daily through kitchen scraps into the compost pile. All three birds immediately sift through and eat 80% of it. Then, as trusty gardeners they stir up the compost and level it near perfectly. They promptly put themselves to bed at 8:35pm each night, and sleep on the highest roost in the coop next to a wire window.

All three birds are now 6 months only, very large and very fast. They haven't started to lay yet. For the first 5 minutes that I go into the yard, they will surround my feet clucking loudly. If I throw a piece of toast, they will each grab a piece and ignore me for the 5 secs it takes to swallow. If I throw scraps into the compost, they will attack the compost - leaving me behind. If I stand there and give them nothing, after about 5 minutes, they will wander away.

I can't prove that they are getting enough to eat, but they definitely don't look malnourished. If anything, they look a little on the portly side. They are much bigger birds than I had expected. Still no eggs though. It is just now starting to cool down. Waiting to see.

Paul
Georgetown, Texas

The first and the last lines of this man's post show he isn't ignorant of what his birds may need. He's conducting an experiment to see how well his range can support his three birds with minimal supplementation. One cannot find this out if they are constantly feeding the birds formulated feeds "just in case".

He has assessed their body condition and has decided they are not showing signs of poor conditioning. His very last words show he is continuing to evaluate his methods, which indicates he's not just throwing them out there with a kiss for luck, but will be continuing his experiment and will make adjustments as needed.

I do the same thing each spring and fall to test the available forage...taper off on feed and see how well the birds maintain condition. Usually they will let me know how much they are getting out there by leaving feed behind. Then I decrease daily rations until they no longer leave feed behind...sometimes they eat so little that I have to cut WAY back on the amounts I ferment.

I respect his attempts at testing his range and forage....it shows great wisdom and caring for his birds.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I don't want to have to delete this thread because I like it so much. My mom is going through radiation and chemo for colon cancer. My son is 9 months old and sick constantly. No answers from the doctors. With 4 kids and family staying with us right now this is my downtime place. I really don't need the extra stress...




Edited by Staff

 

[lazy gardener]

I have finally decided that the 4 huge birds that were soaring around my yard yesterday were turkey vultures. Some one needs to tell those birds that the bird maps say they are not found in Maine. Interested in hearing folks experience with these birds as they relate to chickens.

 

[centrarchid]

I have finally decided that the 4 huge birds that were soaring around my yard yesterday were turkey vultures.  Some one needs to tell those birds that the bird maps say they are not found in Maine.  Interested in hearing folks experience with these birds as they relate to chickens.

Ranges of many birds are shifting north, including vultures. Here we have Black Vultures that are now more than 200 miles north of where they used to be. it will continue with species whose mobility is not limited by habitat connectivity. In your area expect the American Lobster to shift north away from you,

 

[Tikkijane]

I have finally decided that the 4 huge birds that were soaring around my yard yesterday were turkey vultures.  Some one needs to tell those birds that the bird maps say they are not found in Maine.  Interested in hearing folks experience with these birds as they relate to chickens.

I've had zero issue with turkey vultures, and we have a lot of them. It's actually pretty cool to see them doing their mating rituals in the pastures. The cows/chooks/ducks/guiness/horses etc just basically ignore them. No harm; no fowl.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

In our world it requires 25 acers of land to successfully free range a chicken without supplemental feed of some kind.

The best free range supplemental chicken feed on planet Earth is the manure from cattle and horses.

I have watched my hens follow my cows around while the hens' baby chicks followed their mother in expectation of a green bovine salad.

In fact when a cow first gave an indication that she was preparing to defecate the hen began calling her children to dinner with some urgency.

And this was with hens and peeps who had food before them at all times during the daylight hours.



Edited by Staff

 

[centrarchid]

In our world it requires 25 acers of land to successfully free range a chicken without supplemental feed of some kind.

The best free range supplemental chicken feed on planet Earth is the manure from cattle and horses.

I have watched my hens follow my cows around while the hens' baby chicks followed their mother in expectation of a green bovine salad.  

In fact when a cow first gave an indication that she was preparing to defecate the hen began calling her children to dinner with some urgency.

And this was with hens and peeps who had food before them at all times during the daylight hours.

Where I am at it takes about 5 acres and it cannot be just any type of vegetation. Livestock helps big time but some areas need to be protected from grazing.

 

[Beekissed]

Where I'm at, I can support a flock of 15 on three acres without supplementing until winter if I so wished.


Edited by Staff

 

[duluthralphie]

In our world it requires 25 acers of land to successfully free range a chicken without supplemental feed of some kind.

The best free range supplemental chicken feed on planet Earth is the manure from cattle and horses.

I have watched my hens follow my cows around while the hens' baby chicks followed their mother in expectation of a green bovine salad.

In fact when a cow first gave an indication that she was preparing to defecate the hen began calling her children to dinner with some urgency.

And this was with hens and peeps who had food before them at all times during the daylight hours.

Hre we can free range 4-5 cows, 5 sheep, 2 goats and 300 chickens at a minimum on 25 acres.

I have close to a 100 birds free ranging all summer in my yard and they do not cover more than 2-3 acres of it. Of course, I do give them table scraps, unless the dogs beat them to the scraps.



Oh and I forgot to mention the deer, squirrels, wild turkeys and other critters that live on the same 25 acres.


That is summer of course. Being in the area global warming has skipped over, winter requires feed.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Electronic training collars work great, but some dogs have such a strong prey drive they might never be trustworthy. My Great Dane is great with my girls but my brother brings his two boxers to my house and the chickens have to go back in the run. One of the boxers is ok but the other is not, I have just started to work them on the collar but don't have high hopes for the one dog.