Keeping Chickens Free Range

[lazy gardener]

How close is your coop/run to the road? By letting them out close to roost time, they will not wander very far. As they get more confident, they will expand their range. You can help to keep them close to home by scattering some scratch where you want them to range.

 

[duluthralphie]

I want to start letting our birds free range - I am thinking of starting by letting them out for 2-3 hours before nightfall, to see how it goes. We are on a heavily wooded Appalachian hillside, and we have raccoons & possums, but during the daylight my big fears are wandering dogs & speeding cars (my neighbor takes our mostly-empty road very fast; also, if they make it to the bottom of the hill, there's a state highway)

If anyone with more experience has advice, i'd love to hear it (no chance of getting the neighbor to slow down, though).

Hi

Welcome to BYC.

Only you can tell for sure, the rest of us are guessing based on what our property looks like. That said, I live close to a major county highway where people drive around mach 2.3.

The only birds that get to the highway are the guineas. They go down there to rob the brinks trucks for gold and treasure. Guineas are that way. I lose a lot to the road. I have never lost a chicken to the road. I live on a small farm surrounded by Federal wildlife area that does not allow trapping or hunting of predators. I lose some to them. It is not enough to get me to stop free ranging.

The birds really do not go far from the coop. The furthest they go is 300-350 ft towards the other barns, They really stay in the area I have mowed and we live in. There is an unmowed woods right behind the coop they only go 50-100 ft into that.

Good luck on your trial runs. BTW I make mine stay inside until 9-11 am because of birds of prey. Mainly eagles, I have a neighbor across the main road that has a few chickens. I normally wait until I see the BOP take one of his before letting mine out. I figure they (the BOP) have eaten for the day then....

 

[lcertuche]

No matter where I've lived I always lose more birds to dogs than anything else. They wise up pretty quick to hawks and I've always locked them up tight at night. Years ago someone (human) stole my whole flock one night. I live where there are coyotes, black bears, bobcats, raccoon's, opossums, skunks not to mention the flying raptors.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I've lost some chickens and ducks to hawks and foxes during the daylight hours and to owls and coyotes after dark (the ones out after dark were ducks that flew up high before I started clipping their wings and roosters whose hoop house/tractor was lifted by very high winds that I've since addressed by staking the structure down). I just can't see restricting them to a pen - they thrive on being able to find/catch their own snacks and roam within the confines of my property's fencing. While it's painful to lose any to predators, it's a risk that I am willing to take in the belief that they are happier and healthier.

Edited to add that they are locked up at dusk at let out in the morning.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

No matter where I've lived I always lose more birds to dogs than anything else. They wise up pretty quick to hawks and I've always locked them up tight at night. Years ago someone (human) stole my whole flock one night. I live where there are coyotes, black bears, bobcats, raccoon's, opossums, skunks not to mention the flying raptors.

I hope that they scratched the living daylights out of the person or persons who stole your chickens!

 

[duluthralphie]

No matter where I've lived I always lose more birds to dogs than anything else. They wise up pretty quick to hawks and I've always locked them up tight at night. Years ago someone (human) stole my whole flock one night. I live where there are coyotes, black bears, bobcats, raccoon's, opossums, skunks not to mention the flying raptors.

I know how that ticked you off.

I had 4 Speckled Sussex chicks stolen from me this summer. They came in the middle of the night lifted the tractor cover and took 4. They did not get the cover back on tight. There are some names and wishes I have for the person (s) that took them, but all of them would get me in trouble on BYC.

 

[lazy gardener]

This noon, while hubby and I were out winterizing the run, we witnessed 5 crows chasing off a hawk. I love my crows!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Lucky you! Send some my way?

 

[dekel18042]

Lucky you! Send some my way?

You can encourage crows and blue jays by setting up feeding stations for them. They love corn, sunflower seed, peanuts and dog or cat kibble. Both annoy and chase hawks.
I know some people have said you can have a problem with both these birds and baby chicks, but I never have had. Their feeding stations are outside the yard and I have never seen them land in the yard.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

   You can encourage crows and blue jays by setting up feeding stations for them.  They love corn, sunflower seed, peanuts and dog or cat kibble.  Both annoy and chase hawks.
    I know some people have said you can have a problem with both these birds and baby chicks, but I never have had.  Their feeding stations are outside the yard and I have never seen them land in the yard.

Thanks for the ideas! There are jays around here, but they don't seem to go after the hawks much that I've seen. It's usually the small blackbirds that seem to chase them...at their own peril.