Need some advice on Free ranging my chickens and preditors

[gartmand]

Thanks, I miss them terribly. They were very tamed and loved to sit in my lap to be preened... by me. When that hawk couldn't get to the chicken, it would catch a dove instead. Pretty much every 4 days there would be a pile of feathers in the yard. Once the chickens were gone the hawk stopped hunting in our yard. It was so fast. I remember standing in the yard and something hit the bushes to my right. Then a pile of feathers floated everywhere. The hawk didn't care that I was a few feat away. I'll never raise chickens again only because it was like losing a pet dog. Now that I live next to a lake. I see bald eagles fly over every so many months. I'm sure it would me more frequent if I had chickens in my yard.

 

[Rayelene]

Oh thats awful .. so sorry you lost your girls in that way. They were gorgeous too !

 

[Karenbear]

So today I was working on my extension of the coop for my guinea and bantams and I decided to let my chickens out for the first time....they loved it!!! Guess they going to do ok free-ranging!!! YAY!!!

 

[dwcrwr]

I don't see any guinea in the pictures, but if we are talking about the same bird (from Africa), they will be very free range; roosting in trees, on your roof, on your neighbors roof...
Down here they used to call them "roof chickens", and you'll find out why.
They are gorgeous and rumored to be flea and tick eating machines, but they sent my dogs into a frenzy and rivaled peafowl in decibels, so I donated them to a distant neighbor.
As far as your bantams, I have only one and she is crafty or lucky! I don't know where you are, but if I had bantams here, I would have a lot of happy hawks. We have Bald Eagle here too, and I'm grateful they haven't chosen chicken dinner, because they could handle my standard breeds.
My birds are semi free range, but they have plenty of cover and a very good roo and dog looking over them. I've only lost birds to a bobcat, which is why I now have a Mossberg and an Anatolian Shepard.

 

[Karenbear]

I don't see any guinea in the pictures, but if we are talking about the same bird (from Africa), they will be very free range; roosting in trees, on your roof, on your neighbors roof...
Down here they used to call them "roof chickens", and you'll find out why.
They are gorgeous and rumored to be flea and tick eating machines, but they sent my dogs into a frenzy and rivaled peafowl in decibels, so I donated them to a distant neighbor.
As far as your bantams, I have only one and she is crafty or lucky! I don't know where you are, but if I had bantams here, I would have a lot of happy hawks. We have Bald Eagle here too, and I'm grateful they haven't chosen chicken dinner, because they could handle my standard breeds.
My birds are semi free range, but they have plenty of cover and a very good roo and dog looking over them. I've only lost birds to a bobcat, which is why I now have a Mossberg and an Anatolian Shepard.

No the only thing pictured is my chickens...I was building a new pen for the new keets(guinea) and the bantams, they are only a few weeks old yet.

 

[Soapfreak]

Well one time I actually had a neighbor's rooster cross the road to come visit me while I was planting flowers in my flowerbed. I promptly picked him up and carried him back over. I went about my business planting and I turned around and there he was again! I did a double take! It brought new meaning to the phrase "Why did the chicken cross the road?" LOL

 

[jenvoris]

I have a variety of egg/meat chickens. My chickens matured around 5 months, depending on the breed. The fastest growing chickens in my flock are my 2 Delawares. They not only grew fast but are larger and heavier breeds. A red comb and full-feathers were visible when the began laying. The chickens plumped up a bit after they started laying but most growth was before that.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I dont know how far away your street is but here i have seen very many chickens go right up to the road as cars are driving on a high way. I would put up something to keep them from going that way, if they got spooked by something they could end up in the street.