My first post!.....and I need some advice

[greyhorsewoman]

If you see them 'alongside the road' I'd bet they cross the road on occasion. We have 50 acres and our chickens CROSS THE ROAD. We've lost two so far this year. Doubt anybody driving by 'saw' them as whoever hit them was nice enough to stop and throw them up off the road. (Oh, we live on a small rural road, but folks always drive too fast.)

 

[dun chick]

from pa!
I tried the free range thing last year and lost half the flock, some ran away, some predators got to, so never again will I free range..I thought the chickens would stay around the coop vicinity but they went all over. I have a very nice size pen for them about 200x50 feet with several pens broken up for breeders. The babies are kinda of small but so far working out pretty well. Now when it's dinner they come running back to the coop. Maybe i just have smarter chickens this year.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I think this really depends on a lot of different factors. You said you live on the edge of town. Is your acre wooded at all, or is it a bare flat acre, so to speak.

My birds are not particularly adventurous, and i'm almost always here with them. They explore around the yard (1 1/2 acres, largely wooded) a couple of times a day, but most of the time they like to stay near the woods and in the shade. So i don't really worry about Hawks since by birds spend a lot of time in the brush.

I also only have three. I think that makes a difference too.

There are just so many factors that i really think you have to make a judgment call based on your particular situation.

If i were not at home for 8-10 hours a day, i would definitely not feel comfortable free ranging my birds without having at least a fenced in portion for them to be limited to.

I hope that made sense.

 

[Cats Critters]

 

[GoldenSilverLaced]

I let my chickens out into an unfenced yard; I live on a relatively major intersection in my part of town. They spend most of the day either in their coop/run area or in their travel cage. When I get home from work I usually let them out to scratch more thoroughly, hunt for bugs, run around, etc. I or someone else (finacee, neighbors) is almost always with them when they are loose to ensure that nothing happens to them. They stay out anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours. I haven't had any problems and have been able to educate the people around me about chickens as cars stop by the house and people walking on the sidewalk will ask me about them.

The girls are well behaved too -- no running into neighbors' yards for the most part (also unfenced), no walking on the sidewalk, no running into the street. They do laps around the car parked in the driveway and tour the entire circumference around the house. They will go back to their coop when it gets dark so I can put them up for the night.

 

[CityChook]

from MN!

If the weather is good and I'm going to be home for awhile, I let my 4 girls out to free range. I'm in suburban Minneapolis and have an unfenced yard. They've only left the back yard once, last summer, and I totally panicked. They had gone two doors down, into the parking lot of a church. I'm sure people were wondering "what the??? Are those..... chickens????" Well, when my pulse returned to normal, I chased them home with the wicked evil broom and they've never left the yard since. My neighbors all laugh and can't believe that I have yard trained hens. I only wish I could take credit for it.

After a long Saturday of working in the yard/garden, one of my favorite things to do is sit in the shade with a cold one and watch my girls roam the yard and lay in the sunshine. Bliss.

 

[tasymo]

My six Girls "free range" in our large, mostly unfenced yard, with supervision... But they are sneaky and have managed to find a hole in the fence that surrounds our neighbors yard. Open spaces seem to deter them more than a fence does. We live right on a busy highway with constant traffic. There is no cover near the road, so they have never approached it. They definitely prefer to be close to something they can duck under. It cracks me up to watch them run from the cover of my flower garden to a trailer we have parked in the yard. They remind me of Ninjas the way they zig zag and leap over things as a group. I keep expecting one of them to do a somersault or something! They have become accustomed to the sound of traffic, but any unusual sound, like a loud high pitched motorcycle or especially noisy semi sends them high-tailing for their run, since I always leave the door open while they are out.

 

[ljh]

I am new too - I love reading what everyone is doing and how they manage. I have a problem

. The store wouldn't sell me less than 6 hens - they are now 9 weeks old and I am literally overrun with chickens. I have to get rid of at least 3 - I live in a neighborhood and have a good size fenced yard - yes, the coop and run are built but 6 is just too many - flies everywhere - I can't keep up. What am I going to do with these hens??? I have asked everyone I know. ????

 

[laurenlulu]

To the last poster- I've had great luck with Craigslist.org, there is a farm and garden section, or a FREE section, if you dont care about getting paid for them.

I have an acre and a half, and live on a busy road. Luckily though, I have neighbors behind me and beside me with woods, where my chickens spend the most time. My neighbor on the same street will let his chickens out right on the edge of the road and he says that they never even try to go in the road.

 

[scarter]

We live on 10 acres and my chickens insist on a daily run up to the road. I've never seen them in the road or I'd have to build a run for the safety of the drivers but so far so good and it's been a year now. I try to give them nice treats near their coop to keep them in back of the house. I would be scared too of neighbor dogs that close as another poster said.