Need some advice on Free ranging my chickens and preditors

[dwcrwr]

Got Bald Eagles around and many many hawks. Never lost a grown standard breed hen from an aerial assault. One factor is that I have a very good rooster; ever watchful. The hens have plenty of cover too. In addition, since acquiring my Anatolian Shepard, I haven't fed a bobcat, coon or opossum. This dog has cornered a coyote on my property and treed a 3 year old (est.) Black Bear by my driveway. Panthers and wolves don't roam these parts, but most everyone else does. A good too and a good dog have kept me in chickens

 

[LesGus5]

My 10 gals have been free-ranging all day for about a year and a half. They all put themselves to bed at night, no problem. They also all know their names and will come back from quite a distance if I call them. I also started with a covered dog kennel/playpen and brought them out in the morning and in at night to get them used to the grass etc for quite some time before moving them to a coop/run (also due to the fact that the coop took a while for the hubs to finish). As I carried them in/out I would talk to them and call them by their name. Maybe that helped them learn. I only let them out alone when they were at least 4 months old.
We had one Cooper's hawk issue last fall, but luckily he went after a saavy gal that got mostly hidden under a lean-to. She got pecked pretty bad in the head and I was worried about her eye, but she made a full recovery. The hawk has not been back, but I kept the gals all cooped up for a week or two afterwards. We have three dogs that help patrol the yard, and they had been on vacation with us when the hawk began lurking....but my gals are crazy foragers and are often in the woods behind our yard and all the way up the street visiting our neighbors; so they are on their own a lot. After our hawk incident I got a couple of fake owls (probably useless) and some metallic pinwheels from the dollar store. I put the pinwheels on the edges of the coop and at different angles pointed toward the sky where they catch the sunlight in different parts of the yard. I have heard that the flashing metallic disrupts the hawk's vision and/or reminds them of fire. Don't know if that's true, but it was cheap and easy to try (and the kids love it). FYI Sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks are fairly small (bird hunters/accipiters) and will swoop down from a low perch or even over a fence and kill a full-sized hen right there on the ground. We live on acerage and have many other hawks around but haven't had any trouble at all with the many red-tail hawks or the breeding pair of red-shouldered hawks that nest in our tree and patrol our yard (both buteos and more naturally prone to eating rodents and even snakes). Naturally. now that I have jinxed myself I am sure that one of my residents will get hungry enough to try the free chicken buffet in our yard. Late in the fall you get migrant hawks and 1st years that are hungry and looking for territory...and free lunch.

We absolutely love having the hens running all over the yard and "helping" us with our chores. 10 is quite a lot to have underfoot, but I would not trade it. As a bonus all 10 (3 different ages) went straight to the nest box to lay their first eggs. I was afraid we'd end up with a daily egg hunt, but that has not been the case. We don't have a roo (had to get rid of ours that turned out to be quite aggressive), but they can help keep free-rangers safe as well. Good luck and have fun!

 

[ostmark]

I would start by letting them out when you have time to keep an eye on them, and it is always good to have a way of calling them to you should you need to. You can easily condition them to come by making the same particular sound when you feed them or give them special treats, they will quickly learn that the sound means food and will come running when they hear it. Then keep an eye on them when you let them out, and do so mid to late afternoon. You will find they will return to their roost at nightfall. They will naturally avoid he road, they want to be where the scratching and foraging is good. Bushes they can run under for cover in the event of a hawk attack and where they can relax during part of the day and feel protected are necessary, and they will need to have access to water, feed and a nestbox where they can lay eggs. Best of luck!

 

[pattywac3]

I was free ranging mine for a few months after they were full grown and they always come back to nest box to lay eggs and come back in to barn about half an hour before dark and then I lock them up. They never roam off our property. But a month ago during the day a hen came up missing and no sign of any foul play. Two days later another layer missing. Two days later another hen missing. I had a huge rooster out with them. After I lost 5 huge hens I had to lock them up all the time now. They hate it! They try to get out each time I open the door! They are separated into small flocks and each flock has a 12x 24 safe coop. Retired horse barn. They are safe now, but unhappy. I really loved seeing them playing in my yard but got tired of losing them!

 

[collettescolor]

I have been doing chickens for many years. I think that some chickens are just smarter about predators and have more street smarts than others. I have had great luck with brown leghorns. They are very wild and alert and the rooster watches over the hens and alerts them to predators and other dangers. My chickens all run for cover when they hear the rooster call. All my smaller bantams have just been hawk bait. I love those bantams but just can't have them. Since I live near a state park, if an animal eats chickens, it lives near me.
www.collettescolor.com

 

[Karenbear]

I would just like to thank everyone for the advice. I am learning so much. I have not yet let them out but they will be 4 months old soon and I will try letting them out in the evenings about 1hour before dusk and see how it goes. I plan to be around watching them while they r out.

 

[luvmybaybayhens]

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[Rayelene]

I'm very new to raising chickens .. but mine have been free ranging since they were 3 months old. Initially I just set up a little area of netting around a couple of trees so they could scratch for a couple of hours late afternoon, and then I let them out toward dusk and just walked behind them. They went back by themselves and put themselves to bed as normal. By 4 months I could see that every time a hawk was in sight the rooster went nuts and everyone scattered and headed together under the trees (or back to the coop if they were closer). Rooster is pretty vigilant and it helps that I have a family of 5 magpies who have decided they are my chickens keepers. They see the hawks off quite nicely. Guard magpies! Now at 6 months old I just let them out and only check on them if I hear a commotion or if I see the hawk or hear the magpies squawking. I worry mostly about the bantums, especially the wee Pekin as she is really small. I suggest just go really slow but if they already put themselves to bed then they will likely just go back by themselves.

 

[gartmand]

I lost both of my chickens. One to a hawk that would stalk them and the other to a coyote. Now I just raise button quails and they stay inside my house. Tanith was the tan one and Sallow was the blackish silkie. The picture below has a hawk sitting on their coop (2nd picture). I heard my chicken screaming. I came outside and saw it just sitting there. Then it flew off to the fence. The coop door is open but it's block off....kind of like a screened widow but made with chicken wire. When I was afraid to let them roam and kept them locked up .....they would cry to come out. I was 20 ft away when the coyote came into the ran and snatched up Tanith and ran away with her.

 

[LesGus5]

I lost both of my chickens. One to a hawk that would stalk them and the other to a coyote. Now I just raise button quails and they stay inside my house. Tanith was the tan one and Sallow was the blackish silkie. The picture below has a hawk sitting on their coop (2nd picture). I heard my chicken screaming. I came outside and saw it just sitting there. Then it flew off to the fence. The coop door is open but it's block off....kind of like a screened widow but made with chicken wire. When I was afraid to let them roam and kept them locked up .....they would cry to come out. I was 20 ft away when the coyote came into the ran and snatched up Tanith and ran away with her.