Keeping Chickens Free Range

[TwoCrows]

I did some editing of recent posts. Lets not get our feathers in a ruffle about how much space it takes to free range birds. EVERYONE'S property is vastly different. Some plots of land are low in nutritional value, some are exploding with wonderful vegetation. No basic rule will fit the same for each flock of birds in different territories. So lets not be judgmental please.

Thank you for your cooperation,

-BYC Staff

 

[jenniferlamar70]

I did some editing of recent posts. Lets not get our feathers in a ruffle about how much space it takes to free range birds. EVERYONE'S property is vastly different. Some plots of land are low in nutritional value, some are exploding with wonderful vegetation. No basic rule will fit the same for each flock of birds in different territories. So lets not be judgmental please. 

Thank you for your cooperation,

-BYC Staff

X2 very well put.

 

[maryann momhen]

JenniferLamar70, praying for your mom and your family.

 

[maryann momhen]

I have 6 chickens on only half an acre, so yeah, I definitely have to supplement. But my yard is like a tropical rainforest, loaded with plants trees bushes , plenty of cover, and huge oaks for Hawks to hide in too. But I think my chickens may have depleted the bugs, I didn't see many bugs or worms this year. I only had 2 BRs for the past 2 yrs this year I added 4 pullets 3 of which are laying now, the buff I hear is always a late layer. But I'm so afraid of Hawks getting them I only let them out for 1 to 2 hrs a day. I wish I could let them out longer, but im afraid not to stay close to them. I see turkey buzzards flying very high so I've assumed they are not a threat, just the red tail and sharp shin would come in the yard I think.

 

[Beekissed]

I did some editing of recent posts. Lets not get our feathers in a ruffle about how much space it takes to free range birds. EVERYONE'S property is vastly different. Some plots of land are low in nutritional value, some are exploding with wonderful vegetation. No basic rule will fit the same for each flock of birds in different territories. So lets not be judgmental please.

Thank you for your cooperation,

-BYC Staff

Agreed. And I'm sorry for being a part of causing you to have to police the thread, TwoCrows.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you as much as mow your pasture or fence it, you have created an un-natural habitat. How many chickens will your land or the land of your near neighbors support if that land is in the state it was in when Eve and Adam walked upon it? "

As far as cattle are concerned they are chicken food combines that gather, concentrates, predigests, and delivers chicken food to your birds.

When people say that chickens are omnivores they really are, the chickens that is.

None of my forgoing post means that chickens search every square foot of every 43560 square feet in an acre every day for food but if they live on a piece of land 365 they will deplete the food resources.

100 chickens ranging on a 3 acre back yard leaves each bird about 1300 square feet. or 300 chickens ranging on 25 acres is equal to about 3200 square feet per bird. I suggest that you try to keep one standard size chicken peened 24--7-365 in a run this size and not feed it anything but instead let that one chicken fend for itself and see how well that chicken gets on.
Edited by Staff

 

[lazy gardener]

One thing the home owner can do is purposefully create chicken friendly foraging habitat. I am working on that: Lots of weeds at edge of lawn, with those weeds being left to go to seed. Wild primrose is a wonderful Japanese Beetle trap crop. I encourage it in both weedy edges and my wild flower beds. Berries, both wild and cultivated: Raspberry, blackberry, wild strawberry, June berry, high bush cranberry, elderberry. Plant chicken friendly veggies around edge of run: yellow squash. Also planted day lilies for a splash of color and shade. High protein plants: White clover, Siberian Pea tree, Comfrey (Bocking #14 is a Russian cultivar that does not re-seed.) Nutrient dense weeds: dandelion abounds in my yard. Woody areas with plenty of leaf mold and other rotting debris to attract insects as well as chickens. Vernal pools to encourage higher frog population. And in the run: lots of deep litter. My goal is to have a 6" deep layer of black spongy compost covering the entire run.

 

[RobertPlamondon]

The usual way poultry scientists test for feed adequacy is to weigh the chickens frequently -- say, every week. Chickens who are losing weight obviously aren't getting the nourishment they need! That and rate of lay are pretty good indicators.

One thing that isn't a good indicator is activity level. Underfed chickens forage with great activity until their strength gives out.

Robert

 

[lcertuche]

My birds have my 3 acres plus surrounding woods and 3 ponds. It has mowed lawn, weeds galore, berry and nut trees, bushes, all kinds of creepy crawlies to chase around. Most of our table scraps. Maybe in some places it takes more for birds. Right now I only have 15 but plan to get rid of at least 7 cockerels and pick up more pullets in the Spring. Here we could probably raise a cow or a cow and a calf on a good pasture but not everyone has this good enough environment. Now I will give them grain or FF in the winter but I don't find it at all necessary in the summer when they do a good job of finding their own food. When I butcher my chickens, BSL cockerels they seem plump enough. They don't have globs of fat but that's something I don't want anyway. I am looking for a sustainable flock, not a hothouse orchid.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

The usual way poultry scientists test for feed adequacy is to weigh the chickens frequently -- say, every week. Chickens who are losing weight obviously aren't getting the nourishment they need! That and rate of lay are pretty good indicators. 

One thing that isn't a good indicator is activity level. Underfed chickens forage with great activity until their strength gives out.

Robert

I've read alot about the complications of having overweight chickens. I'm curious if they only measure by weighing them how can they tell if they are getting nutritional value and not just fillers?