My flock keeps roaming further away

[bobbi-j]

Sounds like it’s time to build a run. As Mrs. K said, add clutter so they have something to climb on, go under or behind, etc.

 

[NatJ]

Will they be ok in Run? My chickens get bored.

I would add things for them to scratch through. Compost pile, dead leaves, bedding you clean out of the coop, fruit and vegetable peels from the kitchen, weeds from the garden... They can keep themselves busy for hours scratching through stuff and looking for little tidbits to eat.

Some kinds of treats will tend to make them fat, but plants and bugs that they have to hunt and dig for seem to be OK--they have to work to get it, and they only find small amounts at a time.

Fall is a great time to add lots of dry leaves to the run. Pile them several feet deep if you can!

One year my Mom helped rake leaves from a local church lawn, then offered to take all the bagged leaves. The people raking were happy that someone else was disposing of the leaves so they did not have to, and her chickens were happy to have the leaves!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Will they be ok in Run? My chickens get bored.

This forum is Backyard Chickens. A lot of people on here keep a few hens in a small coop/run in suburbia. Their chickens live well in close confinement.

Each flock is different. I've had some stay within 300 feet or so of the coop even when they totally free ranged. I've had some roam a quarter mile or more. I've had the majority of the flock stick close to home while a small clique of hens roamed a long way. Some just like to roam more than others. Mine seem to roam further when the hayfields are cut or in winter when pasture fields are short.

It is your responsibility to keep then on your property unless your neighbors let you know they are OK with them roaming. One of my neighbors loved to have them visit, brought back memories of childhood. Not everyone feels that way, especially of they get chicken poop where their kids play. Or some just don't like them.

So what are your options? Fences of some kind. If you have a certain place you want to stop them from going, maybe a barrier fence. It doesn't have to be fully enclosed, just a barrier to keep them from going that way. In the right circumstances that may be enough.

I don't remember how many you have or how big of a run you have, but as large a run as is feasible. Since you are OK with yours free ranging as far as predators go, you don't have to build a Fort Knox, just something to keep your chickens in. One downside to this is that your feed bills will likely go up. They are probably getting a lot of forage.

My preference is to build a predator-resistant run. It doesn't have to be a Fort Knox covered with hardware cloth, but still something that will stop a lot of predators. Make it big enough that can leave them all locked in there for days on end. That might come in really handy. But get electric netting and enclose an area with that. A standard length is 164 feet. That will enclose a pretty large area, especially if your coop/run forms one side. That way they can safely sleep in a coop at night and be confined to a large area during the day safe from ground-based predators. This netting does require maintenance, you need to keep the vegetation from growing in it and shorting it out. But you wind up with a lot of area for them. I added a 50' extension. That really increased the area mine could forage in. This was my solution when I started losing a lot of chickens when people abandoned dogs in the country. I really did not enjoy shooting those dogs.

 

[Folly's place]

We have a predator proof coop and small roofed run, big enough for times when they need to be locked in. Our coop is close to the property line and the neighbors on the west side, about sixty feet, and the birds would be happy to visit their yard, and aren't welcome. We installed a five foot tall fence along that side of the property, steel posts, 4"diameter 'goat fencing', and hot tape on top. It keeps our birds at home, and their dog out, and here it's an extension of our much larger fenced pasture areas.
Also, we don't get chickens who are of very wide ranging breeds, and our flock has a lot of room and varied areas to free range, without trying to get west.
We are all responsible for keeping our animals at home!
Mary

 

[Navahogirl]

If run is big enough for the number of birds you have, 10-20 sqft per birds, they will get used to it.
Best not to use treats to break boredom, IMO.
Here's some ideas for run 'enrichment'.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

Thank you

 

[Navahogirl]

Sounds like it’s time to build a run. As Mrs. K said, add clutter so they have something to climb on, go under or behind, etc.

I have a run

 

[DMOTS]

Not sure what to do, my flock keeps roaming further and further away from property. Yesterday I had to come home from work to get them from neighbors yard . I have almost 7 acres of land and they like to Go down into woods off property. I'm thinking of keeping them in run until I get home from work? Putting up fence to deter them is a HUGE job. Will they be ok in Run? My chickens get bored.

You might try this method, depending on the terrain of your property, you can make a chicken sled and just move it around to give them a new area to scratch up and now you control where and how for they go. For some reason they think the grass is greener on the other side. Unless you clip their wings, they can fly over a 6' fence if they really want out. I have a 5' fence and so far they stay home. If they start flying out then it will be clipping time.