To free range or not to free range

[Newfarmer36]

As was mentioned free range can mean different things to different people. To some people it means no fences of any kind, they are free to go wherever they wish. To some it means they can get some forage but are much more limited. Legally, when you see it on a package of chicken meat or eggs it just means they can go outside to a tiny bare patch if they wish. It doesn’t even have to have any vegetation in it. I think for most people it generally means they can at least forage for some of what they eat.

Different people perceive different benefits to free ranging, depending some on definition. To me if the quality of forage is good it can help reduce your feed costs. It’s a more natural way to keep them and with all that room you hardly ever have behavioral problems. The more room they have, whether total “no fences” or a really large run, the less likely you are to have parasites or diseases since they are not as crowded. I’m using the definition that they may have fences but there is a lot of area in those fences.

The disadvantages are that they are more vulnerable to predators and they can go where you don’t want them to. That might be into a road, in your garden or maybe they scratch in your landscaping beds, or they poop where you don’t want them to.

About the only way to determine whether they wipe out all vegetation or not is to try it. The square feet per bird you need to keep vegetation will depend on your climate, time of year, soils type, kinds of plants, and such. Whether you are on a north facing or south facing slope can have an effect. Age of the chickens can make a difference, chicks don’t need as much forage as adults. We are all unique in these. You will get different results if you are in the Sonoran Desert, Minnesota, or the Gulf Coast.

You can go through three different general conditions depending in all these things. For many of us the run becomes a barren dust bowl. The chickens eat practically everything green and scratch up the roots to eat those too. It may take them weeks or months to get to this stage but it’s where a lot of people on this forum are. I don’t consider this free ranging.

The next step is where you keep some green stuff. The chickens have a preference for what they eat, they much prefer some plants over others. So they selectively eat what they like and ignore what they do not. It’s kind of where I’m at, I have a large area in electric netting but don’t allow them to go wherever they wish. The stuff they don’t like grows up and smothers out the stuff they do like since they keep the good stuff eaten down. So I have to go in there a few times a year to mow it back to allow the good stuff to grow so they have some forage they like. In the spring I lock them out of that area for a week to ten days when the grass starts growing to let it get a head start. There are some bare spots fairly close to the coop where they like to dust bathe, but in season it is usually pretty green. It helps when I get rain.

Then the ultimate is where it’s just a pasture. They have a lot of room. You will still get some bare spots near the coop or where they like to hang out and dust bathe, usually in the shade, but the whole area continues to provide good forage. How much you need to mow, if you do, depends on you. Where you are I think it would turn into a jungle if you don’t mow or bush hog it down occasionally.

Thank you!!

 

[centrarchid]

I do free-range and penning, almost year round. Most years both are done year round. Efficacy of approach can vary greatly.

As we compare penning in larger areas versus free-range with depredation losses associated with it. At some point the investment in pen structure becomes more costly than loss predator management efforts associated with free-range keeping and the losses tolerated. If you already have the barnyard setup with dog(s) then free-ranging is more likely than not the more cost effective approach. If chickens only only or close to it, then penning birds at least most of the time is generally better.

I think we need to acknowledge, it is not just about different approaches. It is also about the resources and local situations realized by those considering those approaches.

 

[Table4Six]

I used to only let my chickens free range when I was able too watch them. But now I let them free range all the time.

When they used to live in their pen I had five chickens attacked by hawks all at different times. I was able to save two, but the others were already dead when I found them. The 3 that died were my favorites. I even had netting up to protect the chickens but the hawks still got in some how.

Now I let them free range all the time and have never lost a single one to a predator. I just lock them up in their coop at night and let them out in the morning. I have a wrap around deck at the back of my house that stands about 4 ft off the ground and the chickens spend much of their day under it. When my chickens are under the deck there's no way hawks can get them.

 

[christwodog]

I let mine free range when we are home on our fenced acre. We are in a neighborhood, but it's a rural/nursery/farm area of town. We haven't had any predator losses while free ranging, only predator losses occurred when a pack of feral dogs broke through the fence and destroyed our youngsters' coop.
They do dig their little dust bath indentations, but they are usually under a tree or shrubs, I assume for cover. I have an herb garden in the front yard, they wander in there sometimes but don't really do any damage. I think it's because I grow mint and they always wipe their beaks on the ground after they take a bite! Mostly it seems they like to eat weeds (yay!) and bugs of all sorts. They don't wander very far from the coop, it's always within sight of them. They never go around back where the pool is, or around the side to where the vegetable garden is. So I guess it depends on the individual chickens as to how far they'll wander and what they'll get into!
We do have quite a few hawks, but they haven't attempted to grab a chicken yet, I think the chickens are too big for them. Hubs says they are too fat. My rooster does keep everyone in a group, and sounds the alarm when a hawk is near. For us, free ranging is a good thing and the benefits outweigh the negatives. But everyone's situation is different.