The Great Debate: Free-Range vs. Coop-Raised Chickens

[Ponyiqandhens2]

I do true free ranging. My chiclkenspend no time in a coop except as cross over from brooder to free range, but even that has changed over time.

I hear farmore aboutmultiple losses orflocks wiped out have been in enclosed coops and runs. I lost one while everyone was still coop and run,my girls were just being let out, neighbors dog barreled through me the door and killed a girl in the 2 seconds it took me to grabthe collar, i realized in that moment my girls were safer out..i might lose 1 or 2 free ranging but i wouldnt loose all of them.. so the started free ranging. I have a small horse farm,we made sure to put hides around for them. They sleep on my back porch ( have concrete 12 feet under my roof in front 16 in back and 18 on side )we put a dog play area fence always open around a small coop that all entrances and exits/windows secured open, and 2 extralarge dog crates with perches then we have shalves 10 ft up, non working fridge converted to tool storage and another sleep area..the older birds go highest ( but a broody got her 13 day olds on top of a standard fridge, at 16 days watch tjem go up and down)

I lost one 8 week old pullet to a heron during an extreme weather event..my old pony has twice killed coyotes in the field, seen bobcats crossing the yard, have an old possum living under the coop..and see hawks and owls daily.. my roosters are good..my girls smart..the group that feathered in fastest and got it..i put my 27 march order out in coop at 3 days and then at 6 daysreleased..theygo way into the pastures, hide well, feathered in faster, flew highwr faster..

So, i free range.. even my orpingtons have adapted well..

I have all sorts

Andalusion, australorps, jubilee orpingtons, buff orpington, welsummers, easter eggers, leg bar, speckled sussex, a light brahma,salmon favorelle, couple of marans. Plus a mille fluer d'uccle, old english bantam game hen, golden sebright hen/rooster, 5 sebright crosses raised feral, sebright x easter egger, green queen cockerel and pullet, 2 partridge cochin bantams etc

 

[Red Mangrove]

I would never keep a bird in a cage. That feels like a terrible sin against nature. The door to my coop is always open and my flock of 70 sleep outside every single night in trees. I've been "extreme free-ranging" them for almost two years now and they're extremely prosperous

Here's a group of six babies roosting for the night. They're about 12 feet up in a water oak. These are all half Ameraucana so maybe they'll lay blue eggs

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Is this not essentially the same post you've posted already??

 

[Shadrach]

Mental health: give me a break. Chickens are prey animals

I don't know where this idea came from. Many years ago when we stumbled out of our caves we were the prey of many other creatures and huddled in groups to protect ourselves in case something fancied an easy snack. We (humans) are woefully badly equiped in our natural state to defend ourselves. How we elevated ourselves to the predator classes is beyond me given a local Tom cat could win a fight with a naked unarmed human.
Humans are, or were at some point hunter gatherers. We ran around in groups picking stuff from the ground and the trees and if we were really lucky, maybe some meat from a predator kill we managed to drive off due to weight of numbers and throwing rock at the killer.

 

[Trellinius]

Hey fellow chicken enthusiasts!

I've been pondering a question that has sparked quite a debate among backyard chicken keepers: Is it better to raise chickens in a free-range environment or in a coop?

On one hand, free-ranging chickens have the freedom to roam and forage, leading to a more natural lifestyle. They get to experience the joy of scratching the ground for insects, basking in the sunlight, and exploring their surroundings. It's argued that this promotes better physical and mental health, resulting in healthier and happier chickens.

On the other hand, coop-raised chickens are kept within the safety of a confined space, providing protection from predators and other potential dangers. They have a consistent food supply, clean shelter, and regulated access to fresh water. Coops also make it easier to monitor the chickens' health and ensure they receive proper nutrition.

So, which approach do you prefer and why? Are you an advocate for the freedom and autonomy of free-ranging chickens, or do you believe in the controlled environment of coop-raised chickens? Share your experiences, opinions, and insights! Let's have a lively discussion and learn from each other.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this matter. Don't hesitate to leave your comments below and join the conversation. Together, let's delve into the world of backyard chickens and shed light on this ongoing debate!

I believe whether you free range or coop depends a LOT on your purpose for having chickens. If all you are interested in is eggs, then a coop is fine. However, I free range my chickens and here are the reasons why....
First, I live near Lake of the Ozarks in the wooded hills of Missouri. That means ticks ae beyond plentiful. When we first moved here 8 years ago my grand-daughter was out in the yard and it looked like she had on brown socks - but it was really just a massive amount of those little blood sucking creatures looking for a free meal. I used to go blackberry picking and come in with 50-60 ticks! However, chickens love to eat ticks but they can only do so if allowed to go where the ticks are. So we free-range our chickens and they eat the ticks and convert that protein into eggs so instead of the ticks feasting on us, we feast on them! I now go blackberry picking and come in with only one or two ticks.
Second, I built my chicken coop out of four old pallets (plans are somewhere here on Backyard Chickens) and it is sufficient for them to come to in the evening to roost, and provides nesting boxes as well. But If I needed a coop big enough to keep the chickens in all the time it would have to be a lot larger and cost a lot more.
Third, and somewhat related to #1, is the feed. Chickens in a coop need to be fed, and feed is not nearly as cheap as it used to be. But my free range chickens do not get fed from April til October. Between the ticks, other bugs, plants and seeds, and of course the grit from these rocky hills, I do not need to provide them with anything but water - and even that is captured rain water off the shed unless it is particularly dry - all summer long. I do feed them in the winter, but that is only about 6 months of the year. If I fed them all the time, the cost of feed would seriously offset the savings from the free eggs.
Fourth is disease/filth. Chickens poop a LOT. If they are in a coop all the time the coop will need to be cleaned often and even if in a pen attached to a coop they will will peck it bare and their dropping will continually build up in the soil.... But when free ranged, they leave their droppings all over and do not overwhelm any one area with "green" manure so that is actually has time to break down and do some good for the soil rather than overwhelming it with so much nitrogen all at once. The chickens are not living in a pen and strutting around on bare ground infused with so much high nitrogen, but instead are roaming across a much cleaner and healthier landscape, and thus get sick a lot less often (virtually never). In fact I think I've only lost one hen to illness in 8 years.
So, that's my opinion....for what its worth.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I believe the free range ones that survive most are the coward for lack of a better word. The strong, confident courageous ones will stand thier ground and most likely be killed by whatever predator it may be. Fox, dog hawk etc. On the other hand the cowardly ones will run and hide to live another day. Just my opinion but I do believe it

I would say that nature often distinguishes between what males of the species do with one another for mating rights versus what the same males may do when faced with a superior predator.

Take a whitetail deer for instance. Whitetail bucks in effect have a game drive that encourages mature bucks of similar size and ability to fight to the point of inflicting mortal wounds on each other. Younger bucks will run away from a superior buck. That’s by design, ensuring the strongest bucks are the dominant forces in the gene pool. Yet, the strongest buck that will whip all rival bucks will simply run from a pack of wolves, not attempting to fight them unless cornered.

Red jungle fowl cocks have their spurs for the same reason whitetail bucks have their antlers; for the strongest males to fight, vanquish their rivals, and pass their genes on. This is why spurs only come in long and sharp at or around year two and beyond and why stags have little nubs. Nature is favoring the most mature males to win fights. But that doesn’t mean the top red junglefowl cock in the woods is going to flog an attacking tiger. He’s going to run or fly away.

All the game drive amounts to in gamefowl is the natural fight drive of red jungle fowl cocks that has been harnessed by selective breeding in different ways by different cultures to match their preferred methods of cockfighting. The hardest, bravest, gamefowl cock in the world is still going to run from a large predator more often than not. His bravery in the pit has nothing to do with how he handles a predator. Notwithstanding that I believe the game drive ties into a rooster’s willingness to attack a hawk. I think seeing a hawk on a hen invokes a similar instinct to seeing a rival rooster mating a hen.

Consideration is a little different for hens, which do throw themselves at attacking predators to protect their chicks as a matter of course. But it often works.

 

[mowin]

I think the most popular response you will get is a little of both, and it depends on ones situation.

I've got almost 2 of my 8 acres fenced in and 3 large dogs patrol it very well. But at night time, the run is closed, as the dogs are in the house at night. If I didn't have dogs, or a fenced in yard, the chickens would be locked up 24/7.

 

[aking19]

I have a 5 acre property in the country.

Flock 1: Ducks - I had an electric poultry net fence. The battery died while I was at work. Fox had a gourmet meal.

Flock 2: Chickens (smarter than ducks, supposedly) After the 2nd year with them and no further predator attacks, I free ranged this flock. There is nothing more beautiful and soothing, in my opinion, than content hens clucking and scratching along the shrubbery. Then I cam home from work one day to a massacre. 14 dead hens, feather and bodies scattered from one end of my property to the other. 3 missing hens I never did find. 4 survivors who took shelter in my garage.

Flock 3: That was the end of unsupervised free range. I built a 2nd and larger run onto my chicken coop - about 50x100, I surrounded it with 6 foot chain link fence my brother had salvaged from a job. I set my alarm on my phone to go off 30 minutes before sunset so I could make sure they were shut in. I got some new chicks. Things seemed to be fine for about a year or so. Then I noticed missing eggs. Then I came out one evening to find a racoon in the coop. Then I came home to a puff of feathers (raptor of some sort). Then another puff of feathers. Then a half eaten carcass (coon) . So I bought bird netting. It worked for a bit, but those coons are like water. They will find a way. By the end of that next year, I was down to 3 hens again.

Flock 4: I tore down the 50x100 foot run and confined them back to the original run (12x12). I got a few more chicks. I took that chain link fence, and I put it ON TOP of my run. I put down a chain link dig skirt. I sealed up any point of entrance I could find. I went through 10 bags of zip ties, sealing up any gaps where the chain link overlapped. I fine tooth combed that run. It worked for about 3 years. I could finally relax and not go into hyper attack mode any time I heard a chicken squawk. (yes, chicken keeping with predators is a constant state of fight or flight for the chicken keeper ) Then the eggs started disappearing again. I thought I had an egg eating hen, so I put out more oyster shell. The hens were acting skittish. I put out a game camera...nothing. Then I came out one evening to find a coon in the coop again. NO CLUE how it got in to this day. I moved the game camera. no luck. Then I came home to a coon in my coop eating a broody hen while she was on her nest. That was it. I rehomed my last hens, and took a break for about 5 years.

Flock 5: Present Day - I said if I did this again, I was starting from scratch and building fort knox. I have built it. My hens will not wander. I don't want them to even view the door as something they want go through. They have 10 X 20 feet in the run, and I've added several outside perches to increase usable space for them. Plus they have the coop. Also, we have waterfowl in the area, and I'd rather not take chances with HPAI.

Bless your heart, horrible story. So sorry, definitely don’t blame you for building fort knox. We free ranged when we were home but that wasn’t enough to stop predators. I lost one to a hawk, after that if I let mine out, I watch them like a hawk, despite my rooster doing the same (he is still young but getting there). We just built a massive permanent run for our chooks because I felt bad keeping them confined. They seem much happier in the new run and my husband really went over the top to make sure its secure. All chooks sleep in the coop at night and their pop door locks too. Hope you have better luck. Many of us see our chooks as pets, its hard to lose them. For purposes of this post I do both. I love letting them out but when I can’t watch them they are in their GIANT run lol.

 

[aart]

I couldn't help noticing that you've implied certain factors in the two types of keeping arrangement are mutually exclusive.
A sloppy propostion leads to a sloppy debate.

Ditto Dat!

 

[Yardmom]

Most of the time we free range during the day (no fences), with cooping at night. We do provide commercial food at all times as I'm not sure if my "soft egg breeds" would find enough fourage here in any season. We are on a break from unsupervised free range in one flock after 6 birds were taken by a fox including 2 for my daughters breeding project. 1 was taken right in front of her and the dog. We will return to all day free ranging once the correct eggs are collected.