Limited Free Range?

Pics
Date sort Score sort
MsKathyNY, I feel more comfortable that my chickens will be limited free range only because we have lots of predators around. Having two big dogs in the yard is a plus as well. I've heard even little Chihuahuas will scare off most predators. Do you have a dog?
 
Thanks all, especially Robin and Wesley, for your comments. I don't have a dog and unfortunately can't have one. The electric fence idea is a very good one and I've now explored the board to learn a bit about it. But our property would be very difficult to fence in any effective way. I haven't seen a fox around in a very long time but of course that doesn't mean a lot as I haven't had chickens on the property in about a year. I think I'll try limited free-ranging. I'll let them out late morning and see if I can coax them back into the run late in the afternoon. In the past, my free-rangers got used to running toward me for treats - a dish of yogurt, veggies, etc. - but this trio hasn't had that experience so I'll have to work with them a bit in the beginning to teach them that banging on the tin bowl means treats are available! If a fox takes one, I will have learned my lesson once and for all and back into the run they'll go. If that happens, I'll start using my makeshift moveable run so they can at least get fresh grass most days.
 
My chickens have limited free range in a large fenced in area which is wooded. I lost 4 hens this spring to raccoons. These incidents happened when we didn't get the coop locked up before dark and when they were let out early because of daily plans. They have since been trapped and killed. We built a run over the winter to provide a dry outside area. We need to get the wire up soon and the plan is for an auto door for the run
 
Well here's what I've been doing: I let them into their run first thing in the morning. (I ALWAYS lock them in at night.) And some time in the early afternoon I let them out of the run to free-range, but only if I'm outside near them and can keep an eye on them. They seem so happy to be out and I love watching them. Then after a couple of hours, or whenever I have to be elsewhere, I get them back into the run where they're totally safe. If I'm away all day, they just spend the day in the run; it's better than being a fox or hawk lunch! So far, so good!
 
That's sort of what I do. I normally let them out not too early since we live in a wooded area near a creek with a lot of predators, and put them to bed before dusk. We have dogs that bark and chase hawks and raccoons and the chickens and dogs love each other. I normally coax the chickens into the coop in the early evening with bread or yogurt. But last week when I was making dinner for my injured daughter I forgot and didn't have my phone on me so I didn't hear my chick bed time alarm. It was 8 pm before I realized and the dogs had gone on an outing with my son and his wife. The chicks had disappeared and after calling and searching for an hour, only one traumatized Orpington came back through the thick underbrush. We searched for the others for three days but its like a jungle since we live on the coast. They normally come when called, so we feared the worst, either hiding in shock or killed by predators. There were no feathers, no sign of predators, except a raccoon running by early the next morning, but the Orpington survivor was terrified and seemed to be in shock. She ended up a house chicken for a couple days.

The missing chicks were an 11 week old Barred Rock pullet, a 12 week old Buff Silkie pullet and a a 12 week old White Silkie cockerel. We looked for them for three days, looking also for evidence, predators, feathers, remains, anything, even at the creeks. Everyone gave up after the second day except me. I searched and called every day and on the third morning I heard thought I heard my little Silkie pullet singing in a very scratchy voice behind the greenhouse in the thick blackberry bushes. I called Babies? and she answered louder. When I snatched them up they just snuggled me. All three had survived predators, rain, cold and shock and had returned home relatively unharmed except a few scratches and the cockerel has a slight limp. The dogs were barking loudly all morning and I think it was a beacon for them. The three of them have always been close and are so loyal to each other. They stuck together and survived somehow and made it home. They are traumatized so they slept in the house the first night because and are going to be porch chickens for awhile until they're back to full health and the trauma has subsided. I've been giving them vitamins, electrolytes and probiotics and keeping them warm and they seem to be recovering quickly though very nervous around bedtime. I have to stay with them until they settle down and leave a night light on but they'll be okay in time.

I forget who asked about the old ways, not sure about 100 years but I grew up on a farm where we always had free range chickens, as far back as I can remember so over 40 years. The eggs are healthier with free ranging, and it's more cost effective since foraging chickens eat less grain. Chickens are also happier when allowed to roam free and forage. And yes the poop gets on your porch if they're tame. They never got on the hay or went to the barn since it was farther out, but some bantams liked to roost in trees. The smart chickens stay close to the buildings and to people and survive and they teach others and pass on those genes, so you end up with fairly predator-savvy chickens. We had some Bantam-SexLink cross hens who fought off hawks to protect their chicks. That was a very cool sight. Though restricting free range isn't a sure way to deter predators. I recall a large great horned owl ripping a screen window off to get a chicken out of the coop in the summer. Mom had to put on barred windows. Weasels were the worst since they could squeeze through small cracks and kill a chicken and eat it right there, through an open window screen, or ventilation, or if the hatch or door wasn't securely tight when latched. So even non-free range chickens can be victims. A couple of dogs who bark at any predators helps a lot even when they're indoor at night. A doggy door is even better, combined with two large dogs who are afraid of predators, and that's the best protection you can get. I also go out and check every time the dogs hear something. The security light motion detector helps also.

I want to add that I believe in respecting nature and wildlife and hopefully they will compromise with us to make a symbiotic relationship. They have to hunt to survive, but most of them can learn to respect our boundaries while we take precautions to keep our chickens safely out of harms way so there's no temptation. So far the harmony we try to have with nature has worked out great here. I'm thinking this miracle of my chicks surviving might be my one gimme from nature. I'm accepting it gratefully and definitely going to be more diligent. :)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom