Topic of the week - Free Ranging

[Eggscoozme]

Something I've noted with my flock that includes a rooster vs a friend's flock of hens is that his range much further whereas my rooster seems to keep mine tethered to within a few hundred yards of the coop. Has anyone else noticed this?

Most definitely! I have one or more roosters at any given time now, but before that, my hens would range further and that is also when I lost 1/2 my flock. I've not lost any since I got a rooster.

I do have an even more recent addition, and that is 2 guinea fowl that are now grown. I believe they are a respectable alarm for the flock as well.

Yes, the guinea are noisy, but it doesn't bother me. They can be aggressive towards the chickens, but so far it has been necessary to find them a home. I think I may have 2 boys, too. Only say that because I've not see them "do it" or lay an egg. LOL

 

[peastix]

I live smack bang in the middle of suburbia on a standard residential block with 5 x pampered pet bantams. I work from home.

Free range was supervised only starting at 4PM in the afternoon when I had finished work and the majority of the day on the weekends. The girls used to start asking to be let out around 3PM.

This was fine until Crystal hatched, grew up and discovered that she could make noises that would put a Peacock X Duck to shame!

Because of the noise she could and was making, I started having to let them out at 3PM so that I could concentrate on work and the neighbours did not get annoyed. Of course, because free range was now 3PM, she started demanding at 2PM .. you can see where this is going? They now get let out at 5AM in summer and free range the back yard all day

What pros and cons have you experienced when deciding to free range your flock?
Pros .. quieter, happier chickens.
Cons .. Increased risk of loss from predators.

How do you keep your flock safe when out roaming?
Living in suburbia and working from home is definitely a bonus in that I can race out if the alarm is raised due to an overweight, pampered puddy cat encroaching on their territory.
Lots of places for them to hide from aerial predators [which we do not see often; 2 x Hawks in 6 years and way off in the distance].

How do you ensure hens lay their eggs in the coop, instead of the garden/anywhere else they deem suitable?
Probably because they are 2-4 years in age range and have always laid in the nest box it is more of a case of try and stop them; they kick up a huge stink if they can not get into the coop to lay.

Ha Ha and they say chickens can't tell time!

 

[Teila]

Ha Ha and they say chickens can't tell time!

LOL! Not only can they tell time, they also know what day of the week it is! I swear they know when it is Sunday and they get to share a small piece of cheese, which we have to spell out, you can't say Cheese without having 5 bantams begging at your feet.

Before their full time free range they would start asking earlier than usual to be let out on the weekend. In all seriousness, I believe they know by our activities and surrounding environment [less traffic noise, more people in their houses noise] that it was the weekend and they should be out

Even on full time free range, 4PM on the dot pretty much, they start appealing because they know I am knocking off work and that they get meal worms

[Sorry, I couldn't help myself, had to respond .. back to the subject at hand

]

 

[lazy gardener]

- What pros and cons have you experienced when deciding to free range your flock?
Pro: Birds are healthier, and more active, have better nutrition, shell and egg quality is better.
con: Birds may wander across the street to visit Bob. Luckily, he doesn't mind having them visit, but I don't want them playing in the dead end road. Predator loss. My biggest preds are hawks. I have shot coons and other land preds. I have a large covered run available when hawks show up.

- How do you keep your flock safe when out roaming?
Keep gun handy when the birds are out. Put them in covered run when hawks show up. Often, the birds are simply not able to go out due to hawks. We have weasels, coons, possums, foxes, coyotes, wandering dogs, as well as other preds that I have not yet seen. Lots of hawks of many species, as well as turkey vultures. Roo is a good warning, but I don't expect him to fend off predators. I give the flock plenty of obstacles to break up open air space in the yard, as well as providing some things for them to duck under. I hang CD's so their light reflection can help to deter wild life during the day. They also have plenty of trees around the periphery of the yard, and a border of tall grass/weeds.

- How do you ensure hens lay their eggs in the coop, instead of the garden/anywhere else they deem suitable?
Usually, this is not a problem. If I have a hen who lays in the yard... thus enticing other flock members to join her in her hidden nest, I will shut the birds in coop and run until they are re-trained to the nest.

- How do you train new rangers to return to the coop at night?
This has never been an issue. Birds are always in the coop at dusk, with pop door shut soon after.

 

[kie4]

Is one defence against aerial predators to keep only Jersey Giants/Orpingtons/Brahmas?

 

[I Love Layers]

Is one defence against aerial predators to keep only Jersey Giants/Orpingtons/Brahmas?

Why? If you're saying that because they're bigger I wouldn't necessarily say that that will prevent predators. Honestly my LF Cochins are the dumbest when it comes to predators

 

[centrarchid]

Is one defence against aerial predators to keep only Jersey Giants/Orpingtons/Brahmas?

Many aerial predators are very size selective. Generally speaking, raptors take smaller victims first. In my setting standard size adult operate with impunity when Coopers Hawks visit multiple times per day yet juvenile chickens especially those younger than 10 weeks are very vulnerable. Exception to that pattern is with chicks still protected by mother as she will go after hawk. When chicks without parent then they are taken before juveniles.

 

[mkeawsh]

The only thing I can think of that would be a new addition to pre mentioned comments is this:

Get rid of the chickens that don't lay in the coop/nesting box. I love chickens, but not looking for more work than I have to. Found about 2 dozen eggs in an old dog house, once, after I thought they stopped laying for the winter. Because I didn't know how long they've been out there, we didn't eat them, but cooked them up real good and gave back to the chickens.

Also, I don't free range in April unless out with the chickens. Red fox in broad daylight, right outside patio door, creeping up on our flock at 9:15am just feet from our house. We figured she had pups she was trying to feed. She didn't get our chickens and we didn't get her hide, but.....

Raccoons haven't gotten any of our chickens, but have tried. Our biggest problem which has since been rectified, was opossum. Lost 1/3 flock of silkies in just over a week from what we came to find out was opossum. Killed 3 juvie opossums that season.

We have too many trees for aerial predators to be a problem plus our chickens are probably too big for them to carry off with! Ha Ha!

As far as my garden goes, I have a small garden that has a portable clothe mesh-like fence that keeps the chickens out. At end of garden season, I roll up an end for them to get into it and stir it all up including the new compost (their feces/straw) that is added for the next growing season. They live in it most of the day it seems!

I have over 70 chickens, but only 10 laying. They all lay in their box. It was my Cream Legbars that wouldn't lay in the box most of the time. I found them a home.

We have opossums sleep with our chickens. They are after the chicken food. We thought it was the opossums for a long time when we were losing but found out that it was raccoons. Since the opossums are so slow in moving they were the only ones left to be seen around the melee so we thought is was them and come to find out when we came up suddenly, there was a raccoon and the opossum was just out with the chickens. Opossums are more for grain and bugs than even eggs. Usually get blamed because they are the only ones left to see, with the other predators being much faster disappearing. We have 10 chickens that sleep in the barn with the guinea fowl and since it is not air tight, opossums will get in and eat the chicken feed and wild game feed and sleep in there. Slooooowly walk out in the morning to find somewhere else to hide for the day. We have a resident opossum that lives under one of our sheds that comes out at night to eat wild bird seed, and any dog food that our GP has not eaten. It used to live under the shed with an armadillo.
We are more concerned with the copperheads we find that are very willing to grab a chick, frog, toads, lizards, salamanders etc. Especially since it is illegal to kill them here.

Have not lost a chicken in years at night since positioning at raccoon height Nite Guards around the chicken house and three tractors. We still see our opossum friend. The red and gray fox families love to appear during the day along with the loner, raggedy old coyote. The dogs chase them away real quick.

https://www.opossum.org/facts.htm

Omnivorous: eats insects, snails, rodents, berries, over-ripe fruit, grasses, leaves, and carrion; occasionally will eat snakes, ground eggs, corn or other vegetables.

 

[The Cobb Farm]

-- What pros and cons have you experienced when deciding to free range your flock?
Pros for my chicks, our coop area tends to become confined and repetitive for them (in my own opinion) so its nice to let them roam, stretch their legs, get away from each other and explore new grounds. You can tell when they want out, they get all antsy and start to pace at the door. Cons, my whole yard looks like its been destroyed by chickens! there is dust baths everywhere and chicken poop on everything! I dont appreciate it, my dogs do!


-- How do you keep your flock safe when out roaming?
I will usually let all the chickens out during the day, they are fenced into my backyard, so its pretty secure.. they have the whole yard to themselves (no dogs or any other animals to bug them) they know to go home to the coop when it starts to get dark, then I close the gate behind them.


-- How do you ensure hens lay their eggs in the coop, instead of the garden/anywhere else they deem suitable?
Surprisingly my hens have never laid eggs anywhere but the coop. The ladies tend to have a pretty strict routine. I have occasionally found one or two on the ground inside the coop ( maybe the coop boxes were occupied )


-- How do you train new rangers to return to the coop at night?
We kept out baby chicks in their coop for the first few months. then slowly let them out for a few hours each day. but they new that the coop was their home.. we have never had an issue that way.

 

[kie4]

Why? If you're saying that because they're bigger I wouldn't necessarily say that that will prevent predators. Honestly my LF Cochins are the dumbest when it comes to predators

Hi @I Love Layers , yes I was thinking they might be less vulnerable because of their size. I lost an Ameraucana this year who was among the smaller birds and I wondered if that was a factor.