Opinions on supervised free range?

[azygous]

So glad the integration is going so splendidly. I know how enjoyable it is to watch these little guys at this age as I'm sure enjoying mine. Day by day, both groups are becoming more of a cohesive unit. This bond lasts their entire lives.

Your RIR may just be in the process of adopting the chicks. I have an elderly hen that adopted four chicks at six weeks of age several years ago and became partially broody to do it. She guarded the chicks, taught them all the ropes, and kept it up until they were four months old.

She is now nine years old and while she hasn't exactly adopted these chicks, she allows them to climb all over her and "clean" the food off her beak. It's so charming to see.

I'm feeling much better than yesterday, only hurts when I laugh or cough. I'll accept any progress. I do have a good friend who's helping me keep up with all the poop.

 

[archeryrob]

I used to think hawks were afraid of people... until last summer. A hawk swooped down and grabbed one of my hens with me standing not 8 feet away!

Yea, they don't get hunted by us, so they have no fear. Side note, a Redtail went after our black cat one evening, missed and hit the ground. The dog, labrador and waterfowl trained broke and went after the hawk. She narrowly missed it while taking off. She's in my avatar. She doesn't know about the claws on them yet and has killed ground hogs on her own.

I've had coyotes come though the hedge row while i am out and just proceed off watching me not to catch up to them. No real fear as they know they are faster than me. Short of having a pistol, they could steel a chicken with me standing there also.

 

[Willowspirit]

I've had coyotes come though the hedge row while i am out and just proceed off watching me not to catch up to them. No real fear as they know they are faster than me. Short of having a pistol, they could steel a chicken with me standing there also.

Coyotes can be amazingly bold. A friend of mine had one grab her small dog right off the leash next to her. Sadly the dog was killed.

 

[The Lazy L]

I'd get home from work soon after 5 PM. Go collect eggs and open the run door to let the chickens free range until dark. I'd do a head count before closing the door for the night. One evening after we had finished supply the wife yelled, "A dog is killing the chickens!" I got one shot off as the stray dog ran for his life. None of the hens were hurt. Took me a half hour to find the Rooster, other then his pride his only injury was all of his tail feathers were gone. And I had thought I was giving the chickens "supervised" free range time.

 

[ellend]

We are smack in Cleveland, Ohio. I have a coop my girls stay in whenever we are not home, and when I am home and plan to be in & out of the house, they have the run of our 6' privacy fenced yard. Still, cats can climb the wood, and will if the dogs aren't out. Raccoons and opossums check the run out at night (it's secure.) During the day it's hawks. I lose a banty every spring and every fall--I KNOW the hawks are most active in my yard then, but there's always that "one more day...they're going to be locked up all winter..." and then I regret it. Hawks will take a chicken right next to you, under the noses of your dogs. They're fast (and we're slow) and they know it. I still let them out, because I feel the joy of "free ranging" in my lawn and flower beds and the sun is so much better a life than being enclosed in a dirt coop. Our girls are pets, and it's awful to lose them, but we all do die; better to have a shorter but wonderful life than to live a long, captive life, IMO. Plus, I keep them as pets and want to enjoy their company and antics. Love having them at my feet talking while I sit by my fishpond after a long hard crazy 12 hr. night shift! Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[archeryrob]

... better to have a shorter but wonderful life than to live a long, captive life, IMO.

This is exactly what we tell people complaining about us killing deer. That deer had a better life than that cow you are eating. I got a cattle fattening barn up the hill from my house on a near by farm. They can't move much and covered in crap. Not what I would call a good life.

 

[cfbrod]

Ok, so here's my situation-

Right now I have two 2-1/2 week pullets and two 1/2 week old pullets. They're housed separately right now, and we're planning to introduce them to each other pretty soon, and hopefully have them all outside in the coop by very late April/early May. While we still have a good ways to go before they're out, my family is starting to bring up a large decision... run or free range?

Well, ok, "free range". Our town ordinance forbids "true" free-range hens, so really i'm just talking about the highly supervised type- assuming our neighbors let us get away with it .

While we're leaning towards supervised free ranging our hens rather than using a run, there's still a large concern for us with the predators in our area. We have...

• Hawks- biggest concern. There's so many of them around us... too many.
• Possums- they pop into our yard maybe once every 3 months or so, but it's usually at night and they run at even the smallest movement from inside our house.
• Owls and other larger birds- I haven't seen them around here, but they definitely exist in my area.
• Raccoons- Again, haven't seen one, but they're bound to exist- or start existing once we get the chicks outside.
• Coyotes, foxes, etc.- We live about a block away from an entrance to a scenic trail, and while these animals don't usually stray too far from it I'm very open to the worst case scenario

Our plan would be to have the hens outside the coop as much as possible, probably for an hour+ before sundown. Would that be a safe option for us? Are the hawks usually scared of humans, or does that not matter if when it's hungry? How close do we need to be to them? Is this just a bad idea in general?

Thanks.

(also, is there a recommended age to start supervised free ranging?? So many questions...)

 

[cfbrod]

Ok, so here's my situation-

Right now I have two 2-1/2 week pullets and two 1/2 week old pullets. They're housed separately right now, and we're planning to introduce them to each other pretty soon, and hopefully have them all outside in the coop by very late April/early May. While we still have a good ways to go before they're out, my family is starting to bring up a large decision... run or free range?

Well, ok, "free range". Our town ordinance forbids "true" free-range hens, so really i'm just talking about the highly supervised type- assuming our neighbors let us get away with it .

While we're leaning towards supervised free ranging our hens rather than using a run, there's still a large concern for us with the predators in our area. We have...

• Hawks- biggest concern. There's so many of them around us... too many.
• Possums- they pop into our yard maybe once every 3 months or so, but it's usually at night and they run at even the smallest movement from inside our house.
• Owls and other larger birds- I haven't seen them around here, but they definitely exist in my area.
• Raccoons- Again, haven't seen one, but they're bound to exist- or start existing once we get the chicks outside.
• Coyotes, foxes, etc.- We live about a block away from an entrance to a scenic trail, and while these animals don't usually stray too far from it I'm very open to the worst case scenario

Our plan would be to have the hens outside the coop as much as possible, probably for an hour+ before sundown. Would that be a safe option for us? Are the hawks usually scared of humans, or does that not matter if when it's hungry? How close do we need to be to them? Is this just a bad idea in general?

Thanks.

(also, is there a recommended age to start supervised free ranging?? So many questions...)

 

[cfbrod]

Letting your girls out towards the end of the day is a good option if you have to "supervise" them. It's pretty relaxing to sit and watch them and they won't go far because as soon as it gets dusky they'll want to get on their roosts for the night. We're in a more rural area and have never lost one to hawks etc because they have plenty of cover while they're out. Most predators are going to be out at night when they're in bed so shouldn't be a problem for your hens as long as their coop is secure.

 

[Robert Corti]

Ok, so here's my situation-

Right now I have two 2-1/2 week pullets and two 1/2 week old pullets. They're housed separately right now, and we're planning to introduce them to each other pretty soon, and hopefully have them all outside in the coop by very late April/early May. While we still have a good ways to go before they're out, my family is starting to bring up a large decision... run or free range?

Well, ok, "free range". Our town ordinance forbids "true" free-range hens, so really i'm just talking about the highly supervised type- assuming our neighbors let us get away with it .

While we're leaning towards supervised free ranging our hens rather than using a run, there's still a large concern for us with the predators in our area. We have...

• Hawks- biggest concern. There's so many of them around us... too many.
• Possums- they pop into our yard maybe once every 3 months or so, but it's usually at night and they run at even the smallest movement from inside our house.
• Owls and other larger birds- I haven't seen them around here, but they definitely exist in my area.
• Raccoons- Again, haven't seen one, but they're bound to exist- or start existing once we get the chicks outside.
• Coyotes, foxes, etc.- We live about a block away from an entrance to a scenic trail, and while these animals don't usually stray too far from it I'm very open to the worst case scenario

Our plan would be to have the hens outside the coop as much as possible, probably for an hour+ before sundown. Would that be a safe option for us? Are the hawks usually scared of humans, or does that not matter if when it's hungry? How close do we need to be to them? Is this just a bad idea in general?

Thanks.

(also, is there a recommended age to start supervised free ranging?? So many questions...)