[The Shire] Our growing flock!

[thistlewick]

Chickens don't range farther than 300 feet from their 'home'

You can absolutely draw a radius from our hen house to where my chickens will go and it's at ~300 feet lol the old books don't lie!


If you did free range, what would happen is that they will create for themselves a daily routine -- and they will stick to it without much change. It seems cyclical, they probably are following the bugs.

My girls do the same things, in the same places, in the same times, every single day. Throughout the month, it cycles around the property for forage time in certain places, but that is cyclical too.

We have a massive overgrown hedge that my driveway makes a U around, I cut into it to reach farther back in the property to build my house. That hedge is their daily sanctuary and they 'hang out' in there for the better part of the day and range out from there. The hedge is nowhere near the hen house. So every morning, they make their way to it (via their routine of stopping by the meadow we leave for them between the hen house and our house) or the lean-to of our barn, which stays 100% dry 100% of the time, and so it's their 'chicken spa' for dust baths - but that's typically in the sunny afternoons.

Because they are not enclosed, they can decide what they want to do, when they want to do it, and it's been *awesome* to watch them create their daily routine. At any given time of day I will know where they are. And yeah, it's never further than 300 feet from their hen house lol go figure!

 

[newchickychick]

Chickens don't range farther than 300 feet from their 'home'

You can absolutely draw a radius from our hen house to where my chickens will go and it's at ~300 feet lol the old books don't lie!


If you did free range, what would happen is that they will create for themselves a daily routine -- and they will stick to it without much change. It seems cyclical, they probably are following the bugs.

My girls do the same things, in the same places, in the same times, every single day. Throughout the month, it cycles around the property for forage time in certain places, but that is cyclical too.

We have a massive overgrown hedge that my driveway makes a U around, I cut into it to reach farther back in the property to build my house. That hedge is their daily sanctuary and they 'hang out' in there for the better part of the day and range out from there. The hedge is nowhere near the hen house. So every morning, they make their way to it (via their routine of stopping by the meadow we leave for them between the hen house and our house) or the lean-to of our barn, which stays 100% dry 100% of the time, and so it's their 'chicken spa' for dust baths - but that's typically in the sunny afternoons.

Because they are not enclosed, they can decide what they want to do, when they want to do it, and it's been *awesome* to watch them create their daily routine. At any given time of day I will know where they are. And yeah, it's never further than 300 feet from their hen house lol go figure!

Wow, through ALL of my research I somehow missed that. I'm really glad to know! That helps a LOT. I certainly would probably only free-range them while we're outside or able to hear from inside, at least for a good while, but that helps me be at ease TREMENDOUSLY. Would it be dumb to have the run as an 'in case' (say a dog somehow gets loose nearby - even though neither of our two remotely close neighbors have dogs, or roaming bear/fox/etc)? Or in case the weather gets awful and that way they won't be stuck out in bad weather (some of our storms can be really fierce! Heavy dropping trees/branches, etc) with a safe/dry place to be? But also have them free-ranging during the day? That would REALLY open up the available space for them, insanely so, and I know it's super good for them too both emotional and physical well-being.

I'm probably over-thinking it, but I definitely LIKE the idea of an enclosed run for 'extra safety', and would probably prefer to be outside if they're free-ranging, but honestly have always LOVED the idea of them free-ranging too for extra space. Especially with how many we'll have! Sure, we won't ever have grass, but hey. We were planning on planting bushes/flowers they would want to eat in the run and this way they can pick what they like.

Knowing they probably won't go crazy far is a HUGE relief. We do have a TON of woods surrounding us, but I can start with the naming and taking photos so I can do a nightly role call.

My biggest fear of letting our current outside chickies OUT out was that they'd never want to go back in, or would RUN for the hills and never look back. But maybe opening the run door with scrambled eggs waiting them on the other side might encourage them to stay close by.

I love to learn I'm wrong because that means I can fix things to give them higher quality of life and better enrichment. It probably seems crazy to have ~100-150 pet chickens, especially on our first go around, but we've certainly got the financial means, and I'd like to think I'm decently there on the know-how (at least, as far as reading can teach - experiencing is a whole other!), but I'm a stay at home parent too with all the time in the world to enrich and watch and admire them, so I'm hoping I can make this a 'you're crazy - but you did it' experience over the next few years.

 

[thistlewick]

So babies won't run for the hills. Remember, chickens have been around on earth for millions of years longer than us - they're dinosaurs, after all. They have seriously amazing baked in instincts.


I let 3 week old chicks out with the flock. I did this on the advice of people here on the forum who have been keeping chickens decades longer than me. It has gone *perfectly*. I should add, I brood them IN the hen house. Check out my thread you can see my set up.

Babies do NOT range far from their home. When they got the 'open door' at 3 weeks, they didn't even leave the shed for a full week. Now, they are 7 weeks old and they ONLY JUST began ranging out about 10 feet around the shed/run. They would go into the run/extension, because it's fully enclosed in hardware cloth and they *know* it's safer than big big BIG outside the front door of the shed.

The 12 week olds I have will NOT fully follow the adults out to the hedge yet. They have only JUST begun to follow to the lean-to of the barn. They really really know how to keep themselves safe.

We have an adult Rooster and the ENTIRE flock will follow his calls for protection -- he can call from 150-200 feet away, and those younger chickens will run into the shed.

We have several young cockerels and the oldest, who is 12 weeks (Oscar, a french black copper maran) has begun making his own warning calls, it's goddamn adorable. He saw a bunny a couple nights ago and thought it warranted a warning lol The adults love the bunnies, and forage together in the late afternoons <3

They really won't be a full flock together until they grow up and are all adults. And even then, likely not as we are introducing more free ranging Cockerels, but they do all get along and sleep together in the hen house at night and there isn't much fussing over who-gets-what-spot. We observe this every single night and enjoy hanging out with them immensely. Since you're at home, you will get to do this all the time and learn and watch and observe them and all their personalities. It really is the best thing.

For me, personally - despite the risk of hawks (it's your only real daytime risk) I'd never put my chickens in a run.

Now, if some random dog came along and took out a ton of them, that would suck -- but that's *random*. I would rather they had an enriched, healthy, happy life doing what they're meant to do as freely as they're meant to do it.

Oh and you will have grass. They don't eat down grass to nubs when they free range. Not at all. Not even close!

 

[newchickychick]

So babies won't run for the hills. Remember, chickens have been around on earth for millions of years longer than us - they're dinosaurs, after all. They have seriously amazing baked in instincts.


I let 3 week old chicks out with the flock. I did this on the advice of people here on the forum who have been keeping chickens decades longer than me. It has gone *perfectly*. I should add, I brood them IN the hen house. Check out my thread you can see my set up.

Babies do NOT range far from their home. When they got the 'open door' at 3 weeks, they didn't even leave the shed for a full week. Now, they are 7 weeks old and they ONLY JUST began ranging out about 10 feet around the shed/run. They would go into the run/extension, because it's fully enclosed in hardware cloth and they *know* it's safer than big big BIG outside the front door of the shed.

The 12 week olds I have will NOT fully follow the adults out to the hedge yet. They have only JUST begun to follow to the lean-to of the barn. They really really know how to keep themselves safe.

We have an adult Rooster and the ENTIRE flock will follow his calls for protection -- he can call from 150-200 feet away, and those younger chickens will run into the shed.

We have several young cockerels and the oldest, who is 12 weeks (Oscar, a french black copper maran) has begun making his own warning calls, it's goddamn adorable. He saw a bunny a couple nights ago and thought it warranted a warning lol The adults love the bunnies, and forage together in the late afternoons <3

They really won't be a full flock together until they grow up and are all adults. And even then, likely not as we are introducing more free ranging Cockerels, but they do all get along and sleep together in the hen house at night and there isn't much fussing over who-gets-what-spot. We observe this every single night and enjoy hanging out with them immensely. Since you're at home, you will get to do this all the time and learn and watch and observe them and all their personalities. It really is the best thing.

For me, personally - despite the risk of hawks (it's your only real daytime risk) I'd never put my chickens in a run.

Now, if some random dog came along and took out a ton of them, that would suck -- but that's *random*. I would rather they had an enriched, healthy, happy life doing what they're meant to do as freely as they're meant to do it.

Oh and you will have grass. They don't eat down grass to nubs when they free range. Not at all. Not even close!

Oh that's really wonderful! What about in harsh winters though? We had one storm that took our power last year (thankfully now we have a generator) and covered the ground in a solid 5-6 inches. I had been thinking a covered run would be really helpful for helping prevent frostbite/letting them out and enjoy some sun and fresh air IF they desired to go out.

With our current oldest, they're about 9 weeks now I think. They've got a coop with a run. So it'd be safe to just open the door and hang out with them and let them wander? I definitely might just get dressed to give it a go today! (Lazy PJ day - kiddo's first day off school for the summer today )

Since it's an open field where we were planning the run, we may just add a ton of clutter there instead of having the walls. (Branches, logs, bushes, palettes even for them to be able to play around/hide under). If there is danger, do they just hide? Or is the coop open for them to tuck tail and run into during the day in case of a strange situation?

Most of my research admittedly has been about proper SIZE for these things, height of roosts, how many nesting boxes, hens per roo, etc. I just knew I'd be heartbroken if we lost our whole flock to a fox or hawk or so and immediately opted towards thinking of a huge run. But we really don't have nearby dogs, and most predators DO seem to be nocturnal when they'd be in bed anyhow. If they'd be happiest totally free-ranging, I am more than open to going that route.

 

[thistlewick]

Yes, they hide! It looks like you have woods on either side of that big lawn - they'd hang out there big time! They evolved from jungle fowl - they absolutely love cover.

The first loss I had to a hawk was because I didn't have ANY adults yet and were letting them free range all day not close to any protection (told you I made lots of mistakes) and when the original tractors I had were in a spot that gave them ZERO cover and they were small, so not free ranging very far from their tractors, a hawk got one. They were only 6 weeks old.

So here is the story of what happened that day;

My husband and I got in our truck to leave, we're driving out and I look to the pasture to the left and there is a scuffle with a hawk and a chicken. I slammed the brake on the truck and put it in park and ran out SCREAMING at the hawk - when I got to the fence line it flew off -- Pepper was stunned -- I was still running, but as soon as she saw me, she RAN to my feet. (oh my GOD it absolutely bursts my heart with warmth at how much they look to us for love and safety!) I scooped her up, checked for injuries, I was *shaking* oh my god. We brought her back to the tractor and put her in the coop - she was wholly unhurt. She gave that Cooper's Hawk a whats for!! They fight back!! But we did a count and Rose, my other Silver Laced Wyandotte, was gone. We rounded up all the other babies (we had 2 different aged flocks at this point, and the 'olders' were MUCH older, 13/14 weeks old and were no where near the smalls)and put them locked up in the tractor. We never saw Rose again.

We left the bigs out. We went on our errand which was a couple hours...

We come back and as I'm just out and about on the farm I hear this THUMPING sound coming from the bigger chicken tractor. I go peek in the side window and the #$*#$* Cooper's Hawk was INSIDE THE COOP of the bigger chickens tractor. It could not get out. The chickens were up on my porch and backyard area, acting kinda normal... lol

So I figure that hawk came back and chased the bigger chickens up into the run (the way the tractor is, that hawk had to get on the ground, and walk up that ramp to get into the coop like that) but the chickens, they knew how to get back out -- and the hawk did NOT. (it was an opening on the floor of the coop)

Ever since that day, my girls have been *extremely* hawk savvy.

We lost one more to a hawk a couple months ago but Penelope had a bad leg and was slow. It's just the nature of things. Penelope was a favorite but I am rather darwinian in my feelings on this. Some people can judge me and I am perfectly okay with this. Their emotions about it really don't affect me one way or another.

Having the big woods to run to is what your chickens would do. Yes, Cooper's Hawks can fly well in the woods, but thickets and low hedges and bushes are what chickens would use to dive under for safety.

One evening, while sitting on our front stoop and giving the girls some scratch, then watching them forage after the treats -- this all happened so fast but it was amazing to witness -- Chuck suddenly gives a warning, ALL the girls RUN to the hedge a few feet away RIGHT as a Cooper's Hawk swoops in. Chuck, however, stood his ground stared at where the hawk went -- me and my husband maybe also yelled and threw rocks... lololol and praised the ever-lovin shit outta Chuck. Told him how awesome he was. I swear they know what we're saying lol


That was a long story lol sorry and some other people's story might be completely different, that one is just mine. It can happen. But the rewards outweigh the risks for me. Looking outside and seeing my girls foraging and chillin and dust bathing and just being chickens - exploring the barn when we open it (they love it in there) or coming up to the front door or the garage just to say hi, it's great!

The chicken poop isn't all in one place. It's way less stinky. They get to eat what they're supposed to eat (while being supplemented with feed) and the more s p a c e they're allowed to have, the *less* problems you have.

 

[thistlewick]

I realize just now I forgot to mention the snow.

Chickens and snow are fine for free ranging - they might be bored a little because no obvious places to scratch. But lots of people do it.

And storms ? Sorry I forgot to mention it again because it's just not a big deal. They shelter themselves when it storms here. Big fat huge massive thunderstorms -- you know, you're in VA, you get them too! lol

They just shelter themselves in the hedge or when it's really wet, under the lean-to of the barn - our tractor and lawn mower are parked there with a section of dirt between them and they love hanging out on them/around them/under them.

 

[newchickychick]

I realize just now I forgot to mention the snow.

Chickens and snow are fine for free ranging - they might be bored a little because no obvious places to scratch. But lots of people do it.

And storms ? Sorry I forgot to mention it again because it's just not a big deal. They shelter themselves when it storms here. Big fat huge massive thunderstorms -- you know, you're in VA, you get them too! lol

They just shelter themselves in the hedge or when it's really wet, under the lean-to of the barn - our tractor and lawn mower are parked there with a section of dirt between them and they love hanging out on them/around them/under them.

What a wild story! That hawk really set itself up for failure.

I do think for my own peace of mind, as there's SO many potential places for them to get themselves into a mess at, we will only free-range at day while we're home. Which, to the credit of it, I'm USUALLY home during the day for hours and hours. The only brief period I wouldn't be at home would be when I get my son from school, but hopefully by then they'd have a good know how on how to keep themselves safe for the 30 minutes I was gone. It's something I'll need to learn how to do properly, and probably from a young age sounds like its wisest, to be sure we can free-range that many during the day while we're around and available so we can prevent bad accidents.

I absolutely understand your point of view on it and respect the heck out of it! I personally am emotional, honestly probably negatively so, and grow attachments to animals. Now, certainly if there was a rooster or hen I'd grown very fond of that was utterly terrorizing the others/there wasn't a fix outside of culling, I would opt to cull hands down in a heartbeat. I saw someone's great phrasing of "Solve for the peace of the flock" here and I love that and plan to abide by it.
But as far as predation goes, I think I'd need to have my own peace of mind and comfort in hand and only let them free-range supervised. Is it bad I'm probably a hover-chicken-parent? Maybe. But I'd sleep much better knowing that they're happy in their run most times and get to free-range on occasions when we're home for hours and hours, and knowing they'll happily go back in.

But honestly I was terrified of even the idea of free-ranging at all until our discussion! So it's at least a step towards what HOPEFULLY will help enrich their lives while I don't lose any sanity (I have some left, promise! ) worrying. The plus side is we've got lots of gorgeous scenery, so setting up a nice bench right near the back of the house to where we can see them in the woods, coop, run, wherever they would roam while free-ranging would be more than feasible. I would definitely like to try that compromise as a start!

We will definitely plan to be sure in the 'non-run' areas back there, that there's plenty of cover. Since the back field is largely exposed, there'll still be some area left where they could get... got or be seen easily. Just an excuse to learn some landscaping and plan for some more bushes and some logs to lay around to give them good escapes for while they're free-ranging.

 

[thistlewick]

Just so you know, you won't be able to get 100+ chickens back in the run on your own, you will have to wait til nightfall when they go back to the coop on their own to go to bed.

But if you leave them in the coop/run for a while -- days or weeks before you let them out (I moved my flock into the shed and left it closed for 3 days before letting them free range, that was enough time. They were all about 11 to 16 weeks old -- they were in separate tractors before that) they will know where 'home' is and will go back on their own. At sunset.

 

[newchickychick]

Just so you know, you won't be able to get 100+ chickens back in the run on your own, you will have to wait til nightfall when they go back to the coop on their own to go to bed.

But if you leave them in the coop/run for a while -- days or weeks before you let them out (I moved my flock into the shed and left it closed for 3 days before letting them free range, that was enough time. They were all about 11 to 16 weeks old -- they were in separate tractors before that) they will know where 'home' is and will go back on their own. At sunset.

Awesome! Yeah, honestly that's when we're ALL home too so I think it'd be easiest for us to do more of a 'from after school to bed time' free range. Our bigger chickies do put themselves up. It's precious! We had to put them all in individually at first and man. For the big coop, we're starting with them IN the coop. Lesson learned!

 

[newchickychick]

Peanut is still struggling (the runt that wasn’t doing well at all from shipping today). I’ve done poultry cell this morning and tried nutridrench just now. I was able to get it to eat just a little greek yogurt but it’s really not wanting to eat. Gonna try some egg yolk in a bit to see if it wants that more. Poor little guy.
Super thankful EVERYONE else is doing great, but it breaks my heart for this little guy. It’s so, so tiny and I just wanna help. Argh. Not going to give up on it though.