- Jul 5, 2012
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We are trying to solve an issue with our free-range chickens....they have been ranging over on to the neighbour's property (and they WILL go in the only direction that would cause a problem!). Fencing our whole property isn't an option so we are looking at only free ranging them when we are out for a while with them, and at other times enclosing them in a large fenced area, previously used for a short time for goats. The coop is not in this enclosure. I am home all day so can choose to put them in this enclosure at whatever time....unfortunately our girls don't all lay in the morning, so even if I keep them in for a bit somebody might want to lay in the afternoon. I know the enclosure would need shelter, food and water, and I'm wondering if I put nest boxes in there, do you think they would use them? I'm guessing it would be confusing to them if they sometimes had the option (or had to!) lay an egg in the coop, and then sometimes were out in the field and had to use a different box? I'm not exactly talking about building a chicken tractor, but same idea, hence the title, and I'm wondering if anybody has experience where chickens had to lay their eggs in a different spot? Like if you sometimes use a tractor and sometimes don't? Our coop has a small outdoor run attached so they can go in and out any time even when they are shut up - so if we went away for a weekend we would probably instruct our chicken-sitter to just leave them in (so they didn't have to try and get the chickens in the enclosed area) but would this cause more difficulty with the laying?
Hmmm....maybe keeping them in for the morning would start to encourage them all to lay then? Not sure if it works that way.
During the winter with the cold and snow, we didn't have any issue with them wandering, so we would probably just use the coop and free access in and out, so this other situation is just for the warmer months. Obviously, moving the coop to this enclosure would be best, but there are other reasons I don't want to do that - it's in a very good spot both for weather, and visibility.
Please let me know if you have any ideas on this one. Thoughts of how we could make it work? Finding a way to make this work would be the next best thing to free-range, I think, since the fenced area is so big. (if we built a run we would never be able to afford something so large) I do love seeing them roam!
thanks!
Hmmm....maybe keeping them in for the morning would start to encourage them all to lay then? Not sure if it works that way.
During the winter with the cold and snow, we didn't have any issue with them wandering, so we would probably just use the coop and free access in and out, so this other situation is just for the warmer months. Obviously, moving the coop to this enclosure would be best, but there are other reasons I don't want to do that - it's in a very good spot both for weather, and visibility.
Please let me know if you have any ideas on this one. Thoughts of how we could make it work? Finding a way to make this work would be the next best thing to free-range, I think, since the fenced area is so big. (if we built a run we would never be able to afford something so large) I do love seeing them roam!
thanks!