New to chook keeping and in need of general advice please

[Nashelle]

Hi all,
my chickens live a few streets away from my house. The guy who manges the land checks them in the morning and lets them out when he working there. I go up at lunch times, let them run free, supliment their food and hang up treats for them to peck. They can't be totally free range because of preditors.
There was one roo and five hens but one went broody and now there are four more hens and two extra roos, which are all doing well.
There is an enclosed coop, an enclosed run with a dust bath, and an open air run. The open space was just muddy land but there are now perches and a playhouse and generally the place is more intereting for the birds. It's still muddy but from what I've learned, chickens strip everything bare wherever they are.

What I'd like to ask is, if your chickens don't live on your property how often do you visit them? Is it okay to take a day off and is there anything else I could be doing regarding chicken wellbeing? Also is it normal to be this concerned about this or am I overthinking things?

I've attached some pics. The new birds are hybrid emerald/barred rock. One is completely black with a green tinge - I think she part crow lol

Thanks for reading.

 

[NatJ]

What I'd like to ask is, if your chickens don't live on your property how often do you visit them? Is it okay to take a day off

As long as they have what they need, the chickens will not care if you skip a day.

So make sure the feed and water will not run out.

And think about whether they will be shut into their coop (may be too crowded for all day), or allowed into their closed run or open run (which may not be safe for the night, so you might need to come back and lock them up at bedtime.)

Of course there is always a chance of something going wrong, and if you are there more frequently you will see the problem sooner. Things that can go wrong include feed/water issues (waterer springs a leak or tips over, rain blows into the feeder and it clogs up), chicken issues (sickness, death, fighting/bullying), coop issues (fallen tree, heavy wind, big predator), and so forth.

Some people set up cameras that show the coop & chickens, and can be checked from a distance. That might be a way to check for problems without having to actually go there each time.

 

[Nashelle]

Thanks for replying. The chooks always have access to the big outdoor run because it's covered with net and has sides. They have three water stations and dust bath areas and shelter from the rain. The there are two of us looking after them but my friend sometimes works away. I go every day to check them - I like spending time with them.
I guess I worry about them being bored, because they aren't absolutely free.

 

[Penpal]

We had chickens years ago. They free ranged, but the coop was in the pasture surrounded by electric fencing and two guard donkeys. In the summer I only gave them a little whole grain, they mostly foraged, so being away was not a problem. When the snow fell and we left them alone I fed them much more and not in the pasture where the sheep and donkeys could get at it. Cardinals did like the free meal.

They are more attached to each other than they are to you.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks for replying. The chooks always have access to the big outdoor run because it's covered with net and has sides. They have three water stations and dust bath areas and shelter from the rain. The there are two of us looking after them but my friend sometimes works away. I go every day to check them - I like spending time with them.
I guess I worry about them being bored, because they aren't absolutely free.

Based on what you describe, I think they will probably be fine.

If you are worried about them being bored, you could put something else in the run for them to do-- maybe a pile of dead leaves to scratch through, or a cabbage to pick apart, or a bale of hay or straw to shred, or something of the sort. But they will probably be fine even without any extra things to do.