Newbie Free Range Questions

[bman12]

After going back and forth on chickens my wife and I are going to give raising freedom rangers a try. I plan to do a 10x10 chicken tractor for 30 birds. I live on 18 acres and my nearest neighbor is about 100yards away though some pretty thick forest. I have not seen people talk about opening up their chicken tractor door to allow birds to free range without a fence. I plan to move the chicken tractor so it isn't practical for me to put a fence around it without fencing in a very large area which I don't want to do. So I understand without a fence I risk predators, risk of not coming back, or do people not do it because their adult lifespan is so short. My neighbor has egg layers that free range and hasn't had problems, but they are with goats that are fenced in. The fence doesn't keep the chickens in but does give them a place to go for safety. Where I live on the east coast the biggest risk of predators if probably racoons, foxes, and hawks. From weeks 8-14 is opening the coop during the day something I can do or is there a reason I don't see people talking about it? A second question is at night will they have a natural tendency to return to the chicken tractor or will they scatter like my kids when it's time to do chores?

Thanks.

 

[Debbie292d]

I fear that since predators have a hard time getting to your neighbor's chickens and yours are out there with no protection, the predators may eventually discover this and move on in.

Yes, chickens will come back to their "coop" at dusk, but if it's new to them, some training may be involved. We find putting a light inside the door for a few days helps.

To give them "cover" from hawks, I'd try putting a picnic table out there and several wind spinners.

To help with the nighttime predators, solar motion lights work great, plus, once they realize there's action around your place night and day, they'll not feel so safe to come around.

Our silkies free-range, and we border a forest on one side and farmer's fields on the others. We had issues with predators our first year, but in the past 7 haven't lost one to predation.

In addition to the above, our border collie, corgi, and two cats keep the predators away.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I plan to move the chicken tractor so it isn't practical for me to put a fence around it without fencing in a very large area which I don't want to do.

One way to do this is to get electric netting. I think Joel Salatin does that. You will need to come up with a way to provide electricity but electric netting will protect against ground predators.

A second question is at night will they have a natural tendency to return to the chicken tractor or will they scatter like my kids when it's time to do chores?

Rangers should return to the coop at night once they are trained.

 

[Love Donkeys]

After going back and forth on chickens my wife and I are going to give raising freedom rangers a try. I plan to do a 10x10 chicken tractor for 30 birds. I live on 18 acres and my nearest neighbor is about 100yards away though some pretty thick forest. I have not seen people talk about opening up their chicken tractor door to allow birds to free range without a fence. I plan to move the chicken tractor so it isn't practical for me to put a fence around it without fencing in a very large area which I don't want to do. So I understand without a fence I risk predators, risk of not coming back, or do people not do it because their adult lifespan is so short. My neighbor has egg layers that free range and hasn't had problems, but they are with goats that are fenced in. The fence doesn't keep the chickens in but does give them a place to go for safety. Where I live on the east coast the biggest risk of predators if probably racoons, foxes, and hawks. From weeks 8-14 is opening the coop during the day something I can do or is there a reason I don't see people talking about it? A second question is at night will they have a natural tendency to return to the chicken tractor or will they scatter like my kids when it's time to do chores?

Thanks.

It's strange how children can disappear at chore time.

When we had Meat Goats, they were protect by livestock guardians, the Coyotes would always try to get to the Goats at night. We did loose Goats, but many Coyotes died trying to get past the guardians.

The Chickens will return to their coop, especially if that is the only place they can get their grain. At night their coop must be closed during the night to protect the Chickens. You could also move your coop closer to your house during the night if possible. If you're really worried about nocturnal attacks, human male urine, dirty socks, sweaty t-shirts or human hair can be put around the coop at night.