Run Ideas/Free Ranging

[Cheesecurds]

Hi all, hoping some compassionate group think. We have been free ranging in our enclosed 6ft privacy fenced in yard for well over a year with no issues until now. We’re in an urban area with 8 chickens and have bushes covered and lots of chairs etc to hid under. However, our sitter left the run door open and it snowed, so a hawk got into the run, & they were trapped (they hate the snow and refuse to go out into it). Only one of our girls were killed, we were lucky. Now I’m reconsidering our whole set up. I know free ranging is a risk, and I’m not sure I’m willing to take it anymore. But they’re so much happier and healthier with the yard to roam in. They currently have a 6 foot cattle run and it doesn’t feel sufficient long term. Any thoughts? Thank you for your kindness in advance.

 

[linguini]

You have a lovely yard for your chooks to roam around! You can easily use T-posts and deer net to fence in an area, extended beyond your current run, and cover with aviary net to provide for roaming space during the day. You can even design a second lot to alternate between two areas to allow the grass to recover. (we did that with ours for a couple years with 8 chickens, the grassland remained healthy till I decided to turn one of the lot into a vegetable garden)
first photo in 2021 with grassland control, second photo with garden built inside the chicken yard, and third photo showing their roaming land now has no grass - they ate them all!

 

[Lexie27]

Hi all, hoping some compassionate group think. We have been free ranging in our enclosed 6ft privacy fenced in yard for well over a year with no issues until now. We’re in an urban area with 8 chickens and have bushes covered and lots of chairs etc to hid under. However, our sitter left the run door open and it snowed, so a hawk got into the run, & they were trapped (they hate the snow and refuse to go out into it). Only one of our girls were killed, we were lucky. Now I’m reconsidering our whole set up. I know free ranging is a risk, and I’m not sure I’m willing to take it anymore. But they’re so much happier and healthier with the yard to roam in. They currently have a 6 foot cattle run and it doesn’t feel sufficient long term. Any thoughts? Thank you for your kindness in advance.

Don’t listen to me, I don’t even have chickens, but I have seen people use mason string in haphazard patterns to thwart birds of prey.
The predator birds do swoop in at a 45 degree angle in my experience.
So maybe research that? Sorry for your loss.

 

[McChooky]

Hi all, hoping some compassionate group think. We have been free ranging in our enclosed 6ft privacy fenced in yard for well over a year with no issues until now. We’re in an urban area with 8 chickens and have bushes covered and lots of chairs etc to hid under. However, our sitter left the run door open and it snowed, so a hawk got into the run, & they were trapped (they hate the snow and refuse to go out into it). Only one of our girls were killed, we were lucky. Now I’m reconsidering our whole set up. I know free ranging is a risk, and I’m not sure I’m willing to take it anymore. But they’re so much happier and healthier with the yard to roam in. They currently have a 6 foot cattle run and it doesn’t feel sufficient long term. Any thoughts? Thank you for your kindness in advance.

It looks like you have a great set up.Maybe fire the sitter?That hawk will be back!