Roaming distance

[RVFarm]

hello. I’m new to the group and have been searching for the answer to my questions about the distance chickens roam.

I would like to have my chickens roam up to and around my house but my coop is about 500-600 yards away? Do you think the chickens would make it up to my house or do I need to move the coop closer?

Thanks for your help

 

[DellaMyDarling]

We have 2.5 acres of property before the woods line or neighbor flock territory. My coop is behind the barn a solid acre away from house. The hens certainly have favorite locations to roam, but we do see them enjoying all 2.5 acres plus half our neighbor's field despite another flock living there.
I would ensure you place attractants. A treat feeder by house, or alluring compost pile, or a big beautiful bush perhaps. (I say bush, as my hens loooove the rhodedendron by the shed. They hang out underneath it, dug themselves a nice circle under the branches. Some say rhodedendron is toxic to chickens, mine have shown zero interest in consumption, but you can choose other shrubbery.)

 

[centrarchid]

500 yards / 0.28 miles they can go, but when mine have done so. they were not provided feed and they had a fence row providing cover that split to very barren fields. They can also go a long way on unproductive stripper pit ground with patches of eats dispersed throughout. Another option is where they had a dense woods bordered by an overgrazed pasture. Larger groups tend to range farther than small groups.

Tell us about the ground surrounding the coop. Without more information I suggest moving coop to within 100 yards of house. My flock centered on barn does not visit house about 110 yards away because they can get plenty of eats by just foraging before making distance. I could cheat by using feeding stations that moved incrementally each day towards house.

 

[Mrs. K]

Mine have a ranch they could cover if they wanted, but they really don't. Different roosters cover the ground, and hence their girls do too, differently. However, if I let mine out every day they gradually travel farther and farther away.

Often times the days are so short, predators are a bit more desperate in the winter, that mine are in their run most days... when I do let them out, I notice they stay closer to the set up. It takes time for them to forage farther away. Chickens hate change.

 

[SueT]

Mine can go a long way in any direction, since we are surrounded by fields and woods, but they keep within about a 1-2 acre area. For whatever reason, they avoid the road, which is a dirt road without a lot of traffic but is fairly close and there's an open meadow just across.. They also avoid the neighbor's fairly close cattle pasture. They don't cross the creek. The coop is about 300' from the house. I've circled their range on a satellite view:

 

[adstowe]

I don't think I've ever seen mine more than 75 yards from their coop. It's pretty sparse high mountain desert land though. There may just not be anything worth traveling for.

 

[feathermaid]

That's 5 or 6 football fields! Why would you want your coop that far away? Granted, I live in a suburban neighborhood, and my chickens only visit the unfenced front yard occasionally. But they never really make it as far as the neighbors' yards... about 50 feet either direction. There's been a few times I "forgot" they were out and when I went to check (thinking they'd be long gone) they had actually just wandered back to their own yard near the coop. I always assumed it was because they didn't want to get too far from their food or their nest boxes. True free ranging chickens probably behave totally different though.

 

[centrarchid]

The greater distance with free-ranging chickens makes your ability to detect predator problems and respond quickly problematic. Even at only a little over 300 feet here, I am near the limit of what I can hear directly from inside the house. When chickens were based in yard proper we could hear disturbances easily and react accordingly. The move farther afield makes use of dogs far more practical for purpose of protecting the chickens and keeping you in loop when something is up.