Naively I thought chickens could be out alone all day, confused

[New2Chicks97]

I can't get a photo since I am not at home, but it's just a barn that was used for a small horse. With a top shelf used for hay. It has 2 windows and that's it. We are going to add roosts and stuff this weekend. We don't have a run since I thought they would be outside most of the time. I guess we can build one, but I have a feeling my husband won't go for that.

For our bantam coop we have used what was meant to be a dog kennel/pen panels for the run. Check your local yard sales, Craigslist and Facebook marketplaces for a dog run. I see them for sale all of the time where I live usually for not too much money. These can be modified with some additional materials to make them predator proof.

 

[Acre4Me]

You can do a lot with free/repurposed items. Check around for free chain link panels or rolls of old fencing. Our chickens hang out in a dog run previous owners left. The brooder is made from the hideous shelving the previous owners lined the upper part of an entire bedroom with (and we removed). The meat chickens we raised last year were shaded by a broken shade umbrella left behind too (and anchored so it wouldn’t fly away). Many on BYC indicate they’ve had luck sourcing free materials (or low cost) from fb, cl or asking a handyman/construction company for scraps.

If you meet their needs:food, water, shade, secure shelter, and flock mates, they will be happy! Chickens don’t compare notes at school, like human children, then come home asking for x, y, or z nor do they care if you don’t buy them the latest and greatest thing!

Raising chickens is a learning curve! Enjoy your flock and eggs!

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Ok ok, I'm not reading each response, I just scanned the first page...

I am of the opinion that, for me and my family, providing the best possible life for my chickens requires minimal caging. My goats have a pasture but my chickens and ducks free range. When I acquire rabbits, they will have large tractors to allow them daily grass and exercise. Otherwise, all my animals are secured in a large shed turned "Zoo" (and ducks in run) every evening, sounds similar to what you have although we have made interior modifications.
I truly believe, even though I have lost animals to predators, that I am giving my animals the best quality of life. Some may disagree, and that's ok. Some may adjust what I do to be a bit or a lot more restrictive. You CAN have happy confined chickens, it's just not my personal belief to confine.

I can say from experience that predators, including random pet dogs, will take animals EVEN IF YOU ARE RIGHT THERE. Animal predation does not simply happen under the cover of darkness, unfortunately. We must accept this fact and take reasonable measures for our individual situations.

I would aim to make your night barn as secure as possible. Be diligent about checking on animals and locking up in the evening, which can mean checking the barn for stowaways.
Humans have had domesticated animals for thousands of years. We have not had fancy materials like electric fences, chain link, or motion sensors until recently.

You've got this

 

[IamRainey]

My chickens have a large covered run adjacent to their coop that they have access to all the time. Then when we are home they get out for free range time. They are happy as can be. Sometimes they tire of free ranging after an hour or so and just hang out scratching & dirt bathing right outside their run. Plus I have found they need the locked in time so they will lay in their nesting boxes. If left to their own devices they lay all over the place outside and I can’t find the eggs.

So it doesn’t mean your chickens will have a bad life just because they can’t free range all day. Build them an outside run they can access that is predator proof and let them out to free range when you get home.

AMEN! I'm totally with New2Chicks! ...except my flock doesn't free range at all anymore and I don't see them complaining.

I envisioned my chickens outside roaming my garden and lawn and foraging all my weeds and insects too, JenJen. I even let them out for supervised free ranging to start out with. Then I noticed the hawks starting to take up a position on a fence close to my enclosed run. Happily, I noticed them before they got any of my hens.

Bite the bullet! Get some heavy gauge hardware cloth and build them a covered run. And, for your own sake, make it tall enough to stand up in. Make what you feel you can afford.

Be sure to dig your hardware cloth well into the ground. !2" for sure. 18" if you can. If you can dig down, so can those predatory coyotes and raccoons. And guess what? Once your chickens discover the joys of a dust bath, they will too! So dig that barrier in!

In time, when the budget allows, you can extend your run if your flock size increases.

Your chickens will be perfectly happy in there. And they'll be SAFE as well. You know that old saying, "better SAFE than sorry!"

 

[AquaDuck]

All you need to keep your animals happy is imagination and creativity!

Furnish your coop with roosts, plateaus and little houses built from scraps. You can put in toys like balls, shiny objects and strings. Spruce branches, leaves, moss, grass (make sure it's short so they don't choke), stones... They love to investigate new things.

Spending time with them is also a good way to make both you and them happy. Bring a lawn chair and their favorite treat and just sit with them. Free entertainment for them and you!

 

[IamRainey]

Spending time with them is also a good way to make both you and them happy. Bring a lawn chair and their favorite treat and just sit with them.

Amen to this one too! It's fun fo all of you.

But if you use that lawn chair, make sure to take it out of the run with you. ...so you want to sit down on it next time, if you get my drift.

I made that time an opportunity to hold out a handful of mealworms while I gave the storage container an occasional shake. That way they got conditioned to the shaking sound and when one manages to get out of the run I can lure her back by shaking the mealworm jar.

 

[Cyprus]

@Jenjens where in the Midwest are you located?
Anywhere close to SE WI? If so, there's a chance I could help.

 

[MROO]

While hardware cloth underground is a great option, it's labor intensive and will eventually fall apart (years from now, but it will.) While digging in the HC, I came across a wonderful "cheat," several bags of concrete mix left in the garage by the previous owners. Eureka! I dug a narrow trench about 8 inches deep along one side of my run. I dumped in the concrete mix, added water with the hose and mixed it with a broken hoe. Once that piece set (the next day,) I did the next section. I ended up buying three more bags of mix. So, for about $10.00 and a few hours work, I now have a barrier that resists my chickens, local predators ... and my goofy dog!

 

[MROO]

shiny objects and strings.

Old CD and DVD disks make wonderful hanging toys - and discourage predators at the same time.

 

[centrarchid]

There are numerous approaches to making so the chickens are safer without a lot of expense. You can train them to go from safe night time roosting location to safe daytime run. Additionally, you can have free-range time for a couple hours at least as they transition back from run to night roost. I also employ a combination of fencing and dogs although you can do one or the other to give at least some protection. Chicken tractor could also be used as a movable run.

I would also look into doing a little trapping to get persistent challengers to the "safe" roosting and run locations. Even consider investing in a game camera that can give insight into ID and timing of visits of would chicken thieves.