Question about free-rangeing

[Red Mangrove]

Curious how your hens raise broody chicks on the ground with so many predators that eat them

Wild Red Junglefowl in Asia only have a clutch survival rate of 32%, so in other words only 1/3 nests survive the three weeks of brooding necessary to hatch a clutch of eggs. That's roughly what it is here when the birds decide to brood more than 50 feet from my house

However the smart birds (that reproduce the most) tend to make nests close to my home where my LGD is always hanging out, which is of course a strong deterrence to predators

Heavy trees + LGD + perimeter fence eliminates virtually all predation. Only a few ballsy racoons and possums still try at night and they go for the birds in the trees, not the stealthy moms on the ground. Then when they do touch a bird in a tree it simply flies away and leaves a confused looking predator behind

Also, most of my chickens are intelligent and semi-feral breeds that avoid predators very easily. One American Gamefowl X Red Junglefowl mother here went broody in the forest beyond my land, and for 3 weeks she sat on eggs hidden in some bushes. I was keeping an eye on her as time went on and the very same night her chicks started to hatch she was hit by a predator, a weasel I believe. At 2 AM she came flying down to my house screaming her head off. I went outside and found every single egg broken and not a chick to be found. I gave them all up for dead, due to her foolishness in making a nest so far from home

The next morning she was pecking around the feed bowl with 9 babies next to her. Evidently despite the predator, she went back into the forest at night and found her babies. Absolutely fantastic mother. I've watched broody game hens here attack foxes before

 

[Lovelee]

I keep our chickens in the run until about 9 most days and free range until the roosters call them to roost. Cloudy days we see more predators in the morning so they stay up longer.

 

[AnniM]

Ours are allowed out into the yard around 7:00am until they go back to the barn at sundown. They seem very content and entertaining. Our yard (BarTina Park) is enclosed by Aviary Netting. After 14 years of chickens with NO problems the hawks became overly aggressive and killed 2 pullets. That was 7 years ago and the net has worked well for the hawks but we still have seasonal issues with rats and squirrels. Bait traps placed in areas outside the park work well.The wild birds love our yard as well but are a pain sometimes stealing their food and all. Make sure they have plenty of shade and some wet soil to roll around and cool off especially this time of the year.

 

[McChooky]

Wild Red Junglefowl in Asia only have a clutch survival rate of 32%, so in other words only 1/3 nests survive the three weeks of brooding necessary to hatch a clutch of eggs. That's roughly what it is here when the birds decide to brood more than 50 feet from my house

However the smart birds (that reproduce the most) tend to make nests close to my home where my LGD is always hanging out, which is of course a strong deterrence to predators

Heavy trees + LGD + perimeter fence eliminates virtually all predation. Only a few ballsy racoons and possums still try at night and they go for the birds in the trees, not the stealthy moms on the ground. Then when they do touch a bird in a tree it simply flies away and leaves a confused looking predator behind

Also, most of my chickens are intelligent and semi-feral breeds that avoid predators very easily. One American Gamefowl X Red Junglefowl mother here went broody in the forest beyond my land, and for 3 weeks she sat on eggs hidden in some bushes. I was keeping an eye on her as time went on and the very same night her chicks started to hatch she was hit by a predator, a weasel I believe. At 2 AM she came flying down to my house screaming her head off. I went outside and found every single egg broken and not a chick to be found. I gave them all up for dead, due to her foolishness in making a nest so far from home

The next morning she was pecking around the feed bowl with 9 babies next to her. Evidently despite the predator, she went back into the forest at night and found her babies. Absolutely fantastic mother. I've watched broody game hens here attack foxes before

Wow ! Thanks for sharing!

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

What time of day does everyone let their hens out. I have 5 adult hens and 9 4 month old pullts that I have been letting out a little bit at a time and they're doing well. I don't typically let anybody out until 4/5. Is that too late in the day? Should I just let them out and leave the door open? I'm literally home all day.

mine go out for supervised free range time about 5pm for about an hour

 

[Jules089]

Wild Red Junglefowl in Asia only have a clutch survival rate of 32%, so in other words only 1/3 nests survive the three weeks of brooding necessary to hatch a clutch of eggs. That's roughly what it is here when the birds decide to brood more than 50 feet from my house

However the smart birds (that reproduce the most) tend to make nests close to my home where my LGD is always hanging out, which is of course a strong deterrence to predators

Heavy trees + LGD + perimeter fence eliminates virtually all predation. Only a few ballsy racoons and possums still try at night and they go for the birds in the trees, not the stealthy moms on the ground. Then when they do touch a bird in a tree it simply flies away and leaves a confused looking predator behind

Also, most of my chickens are intelligent and semi-feral breeds that avoid predators very easily. One American Gamefowl X Red Junglefowl mother here went broody in the forest beyond my land, and for 3 weeks she sat on eggs hidden in some bushes. I was keeping an eye on her as time went on and the very same night her chicks started to hatch she was hit by a predator, a weasel I believe. At 2 AM she came flying down to my house screaming her head off. I went outside and found every single egg broken and not a chick to be found. I gave them all up for dead, due to her foolishness in making a nest so far from home

The next morning she was pecking around the feed bowl with 9 babies next to her. Evidently despite the predator, she went back into the forest at night and found her babies. Absolutely fantastic mother. I've watched broody game hens here attack foxes before

Love this story, well done that Mother hen!

 

[georgiashens]

We let our chickens out at 7am into their enclosed run. They free range in the garden from 5-8pm when they go to bed. They are new to free ranging and our garden doesn't have a lot of cover so we have to watch them when they are out