Letting the flock roam...

[sweetpea409]

Hello,

I have a nice coop and run for my flock of 5 hens and one rooster, however during the larger portion of the day I let them freely roam the yard. They do really well and seem to enjoy this. We also enjoy having them following us around, as they are very cute and friendly. However, is letting our chickens run free during the day a threat to our health? We didn't even think about it, but someone mentioned to us that it might be extremely unhealthy for us to let our chickens roam our yard.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh goodness me, now I've heard everything! So many well-meaning friends and family members come up with the strangest of theories on chicken-keeping. No, there is no health risk to letting them roam around, however you may notice some health benefits in the form of feeling more relaxed and at peace after watching them.

 

[Nicole01]

No way! Who ever told you that does not like chickens.

We let ours free range. Everyday, I spray the poop into the ground, which keeps the fly population down. I have 10 roaming the yard right now. I will have up to two more in a month or two. I'm letting a broody sit on eggs and we are only keeping one chick. I'm up to my personal max, which is 12. We have a 4 acre lot, but they use maybe a full one acre to roam.

 

[sweetpea409]

Okay, thank you! Yes, someone told us that letting our chickens roam the yard was putting our 3 year old at risk for disease. I might understand this if my son was one to put random things from outside in his mouth, but he doesn't. So my husband and I wanted to make sure we weren't making a huge mistake.

 

[centrarchid]

I am not sure anyone has actually studied the risks imposed by poultry in the yard on human health. I was raised with poultry, other livestock and had frequent intiment contact with wildlife. Some parasites and pathogens are able to use us and chickens as host and some likely can move back and forth between species but I do not recall catching anything. This is not in itself evidence that living with free-ranging poultry is without risk. Bird flu is most frequently seen in people with frequent exposure to poultry but such interactions are not to my understanding like those where bird flu seems to originate. I presently live with free-range chickens and have my family doing same.

 

[BooBear]

Mine get to free range when I am home. It is very relaxing, like watching fish in a tank except the tank is your back yard and the fish are feathered.

My grass is sooo green now too! It grows ubber fast due to all the donated chicken berries. The chickens are also natural tillers. They keep the compost area tilled, turned, and debugged. It is part of their daily ritual right along with their favorite dust bath, favorite shady spots, and favorite watering hole to visit.

Chickens actually can benifit your land (with the exception of flower beds they know you don't want them in but they do it anyways).
Haven't caught anything weird yet.

 

[Nicole01]

If you notice a lot of poop on the grass, spray it into the ground with a hose and nice sprayer. The poop melts right down if it isn't too old baking in the sun.

I have two young girls running around, plus myself without shoes, so I spray the yard a few times a day.

It's a great natural fertilizer too! My grass is super green!