letting chickens run free?

[gritsar]

My chickens have been totally free ranging since they were about 10 weeks old. Before that they were out, but I supervised heavily.
Will I lose some eventually? Probably. Not gonna stop me from free ranging though.
A good dog, a good rooster and plenty of cover. Locked in a predator proof coop at night. They're happy, they're healthy and even in 100 degree heat they haven't slowed down on their egg laying one bit. They're not stuck in a hot ol' coop and pen all day long. I believe it does make a difference.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
In your case, I would agree. I know you have more than a few chickens, so there is saftey in numbers for them. The few that get nabbed are part of the natural selection process. And if they are like most of their kind, they dont' get terribly far from the coop and feeder. So in a sense, you've created a microcosm and ARE managing them after a fashion.

But you made a telling comment: "Will I lose some eventually? Probably."
That pragmatism is easy when you have a large flock and the expectation that some of them will succumb, eventually.

For the person with only a few and/or the desire to keep what they DO have long term, I would encourage them to keep them closer to home.

Again, the gulf between turning them loose out the open gate and close confinement in a run is wide. Fortunately, there is usually a workable compromise.

 

[citrusdreams]

It's also wise to expect that, unfortunatley, you will probably eventually lose some when they are confined as well. Snakes can slither into the pen quite easily unless you use fencing with really small openings. And small skinny snakes can even get in and eat chicks. In addition, if a large predator wants in, they can get though fencing, and can even rip apart wood. Just look though a few of the posts in this section: big dogs tore a whole in a wooden coop, and some predator put a big dent in a chain link fence. In addition, if a chicken is standing close enough to your fence, and the skinny lil arm of a raccoon or possom can slide in, he will grab it and pull it right though the fence in pieces.

If you have predators, unfortunately, you will lose some chickens to them no matter what you do. Your best optimistic goal is to lose as few as possible while keeping them as happy and healthy as you can, tailored to your specific environment and management philosophy.

 

[Sjisty]

I free range my guys. We have 3 acres fenced where they can run to their hearts' content. Our dog and a couple of roosters are very good at keeping the hawks at bay during the day and at night we close each flock up in their respective coop. My newest flock is about 5 weeks old and stay pretty close to their coop. Our dog also stays close to them - I think she thinks they're her babies!

 

[Tweeza]

When I started to free range, out of necessity, I started by letting them out an hour or two before dark. I clipped the flight feathers on one wing so they couldn't fly over the fence. They tried to fly at first but gave up trying after a few days. I could never leave them cooped up again. They love to be out at the crack of dawn. I understand that at some point I might lose some but have not lost any yet (since January). I really only wanted six but the 4 extras I got just in case are still living so I could lose a few and still be okay, chicken number wise that is.

I free feed them in their coop but no water in there anymore. My chickens are still laying the same they did two months ago. I talked today with another chicken owner that doesn't feed anything but a little scratch, no laying feed at all. Her chickens are lot laying. She said it was because of the hot weather. She was surprised that mine are still laying. We live in N. Central Texas were it's been pushing 100 degrees.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
Your post just tickled me to death. Not because anything you said was funny. It just reminded me of a conversation with a neighbor (too many, actually) who is so frugal she doesn't feed her animals well, and one of the results is her not understanding why they aren't laying, or not laying enough, or eating their eggs

She feeds them a few handfuls of scratch only, no layer mash. I don't even think they free range anymore.

I actually got eggs thoughout the winter too. Neighbor told me you're not supposed to feed them layer mash in the winter, and that they shouldn't be laying in the winter anyway or they'll burn out

I have less chickens now and the same amount of eggs, so they can't be that burned out. They look great and I'm pleased with their health, so

 

[Tweeza]

Quote:
Your post just tickled me to death. Not because anything you said was funny. It just reminded me of a conversation with a neighbor (too many, actually) who is so frugal she doesn't feed her animals well, and one of the results is her not understanding why they aren't laying, or not laying enough, or eating their eggs

She feeds them a few handfuls of scratch only, no layer mash. I don't even think they free range anymore.

I actually got eggs thoughout the winter too. Neighbor told me you're not supposed to feed them layer mash in the winter, and that they shouldn't be laying in the winter anyway or they'll burn out

I have less chickens now and the same amount of eggs, so they can't be that burned out. They look great and I'm pleased with their health, so

You know until you mentioned the egg eating I hadn't thought about it. Her chickens could be hungry enough and calcium starved that they could eat the whole egg and she wouldn't know it. My hens eat a fair amount of egg shells pretty quickly but ignore the oyster shells in their coop.

 

[70monte]

Years ago when I was in high school, we always let our chickens free range and very rarely did we lose any. The few we did lose were from our dog. I believe that chickens stay healthier when they can run around versus staying cooped up and I like watching them when they can run around.

Wayne

 

[LaSombra]

Quote:
For my run, I used plywood for the lower 2 1/2 feet of fencing with almost a foot of overlap to be sure the chicken wire is secire. I'm more scared about my cats reaching in than anything else since I do have dogs out there in the daytime. My cats...I know they'd reach through even the 1 inch mesh.

Here's a pic of my pen:

 

[YellaDog]

Ours free-range, they never go very far...and they could if they wanted to. I think a lot of you must be closer to cities than us. I grew up in a big city which all have wild animals, raccoons, possums, etc. Those are city-fied wild animals and they have no fear of humans or their homes. We are way out in the country now and a predators do not come near the house. We can leave dog food on the back porch and nothing touches it. We do have 4 dogs though and if a rabbit, deer, or turkey wanders onto the property...they chase it away.
They are absolutely so excited when they hear us coming to the coop in the morning. They can't get out fast enough to see who can get to the weeping willow tree first to scratch for worms.
And TICKS in the yard....gone!