True free ranging, how to make it work?

[Clkendrick13]

We have 69 acres in Texas so most of the year is nice weather. I am hoping to truly free range my birds only putting them in a coop at night to protect them from predators. Does anyone fully free range, no fencing at all? Will they lay in the coop when they are put up for the night or am I going to end up searching 69 acres for eggs? We have a bunch of different kinds of breeds. About how much food would I feed per bird? Also on free range would they still need the grits and oyster shells? Any advice on how to successfully free range would be great.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A lot of questions, none with clearcut yes-no answers. A lot of maybe's or it depends.

Does anyone fully free range, no fencing at all?

What you are talking about is a model that has been used on farms for thousands of years. The chickens basically take are of themselves. They are livestock, not pets. To me the biggest issues are predators. Locking them in a secure coop at night can help tremendously, but practically any predator will hunt during the day as well as at night. Typically human activity causes them to be more cautious during the day but several people in this forum have had chickens taken by a hawk or fox within a few feet from where they are standing.

I grew up on one of those farms. Over the years we had two serious predator attacks, a fox and a dog. Both were shot. We had plenty of hawks around, they weren't a problem. Some people lose a lot of chickens to hawks or eagles. A snake might occasionally take a really young chicken a broody hen was raising but even that was really rare. Did not happen most years. Others that try free ranging are wiped out immediately.

How successful from a predator standpoint will you be? I don't have a clue. I'd think your biggest threats during the day would be coyotes, fox, dogs, hawks, eagles, and maybe a bobcat. A trained Livestock Guard Dog that stays with them can help a lot with some of them, but only if they stay with them.

Will they lay in the coop when they are put up for the night or am I going to end up searching 69 acres for eggs?

Most of our hens laid in the hen house. Most does not mean all. We'd have a few that hid a nest somewhere else. Typically two or three out of about 25 hens. Most of those were in a hay barn but they could be anywhere. As the oldest boy my job was to find those nests. I did most of them but certainly not all. Occasionally a hen would show up with a bunch of chicks, I often could still not find where they had kept their nests.

We have a bunch of different kinds of breeds. About how much food would I feed per bird?

How good is your forage? In Tennessee our chickens pretty much fed themselves year around. In winter we'd supplement that some with corn we grew ourselves, but not a lot. More when snow was on the ground. We also had horses and cows. Some chickens would scratch through where we fed hay, looking for grains. They also scratched through the cow or horse poop, looking for partially digested bits. Not all even did that. In our climate they found a lot to eat, even in winter. I anticipate your area to be pretty dry, your forge may bit be that good. I don't know how much you will need to supplement them. Probably not much in summer, more in winter.

Also on free range would they still need the grits and oyster shells?

What is your native rock? If it is limestone they will probably get all the calcium they need for egg shells from eating that. Your egg shells will tell you if they are getting enough calcium or not. If they are firm and hard they are getting enough calcium from somewhere. It never hurts to offer oyster shells. if they need it they should eat it. If they don't need it that oyster shell you offer may last a long long time.

If your soil has rocks in it, they will find their own grit.

Many people on here try free ranging. Some find out quickly it is not for them, others do OK. I wish you luck.

 

[Clkendrick13]

As far as predators we have coyotes, hawks and bobcats that I know are here. My flock has been in a large yard and haven't had an issue with the Hawks at this point. Our neighbor has two livestock guard dogs but the one is always laying here at our house so we can hear the coyotes and have found bobcat tracks but they never come up near the house because of the dog.

Our land has green grass just about year round we only lost it for a couple months. About half the property is mesquite and oak trees and a large creek runs through the middle. We have everything from real nice dirt, to sand, to really rocky on different parts.

Thank you for your stand point it helped a lot! I'm hoping it will go well for us because I would love for them to get to be out of a pen other than at night.

 

[SueT]

I have free ranged my small flock of chickens daily for long periods, no fences. We have 60 acres, but they tend to stay close, within an acre range. To offset occasional losses, I raise replacements each year. I feel the quality of the eggs is worth the risk of loss. When there is a loss, I lock everyone in the run for a period of weeks or months. I am in one of those periods now after a hawk attack. I have a pair I want to breed, and after we have a batch of their offspring, we'll see about letting everyone out again. However right now, that hawk is checking them out daily. So, as I said, we'll see.
I have found that free rangers almost always go back to the coop to lay, if you make sure they lay their first eggs there. This involves keeping pullets confined until they get attached to the nests. Sometimes a pullet or hen that is low in the pecking order will feel forced to find a more private location. It is something to watch out for. At times I have locked everyone in the run until late every day just because of a renegade nest.
As for feed, I leave the feeders by the coop and they have free choice. You will see how much they need. I leave oyster shell available free choice too. Grit, I assume, they find on their own.
It is really enjoyable having free range chickens, observing them, interacting with them, photographing them. I look forward to letting mine out again.

 

[Clkendrick13]

That's really great to hear about your success raising them completely free range also. There are two very large ravens that have moved onto the ranch and there were hawks here before but I have not seen any hawks sense shortly after the ravens showed up last summer I don't know if the ravens chased the hawks off. We can hear coyotes howling at night but one of the neighbors great pyrenees spends most of his days and nights here and chases them off they are never very close either. We also have seen bobcat tracks down at our creek but that's also a long ways from where the birds coop will be.
I plan to lock them in the coop that will have a small run for a couple weeks before allowing them to free range so that they learn that's where they go to lay and everything. I didn't even think about the baby chicks I would have sometimes. I will make sure to add a section that I can lock chicks and other new additions to train them the same way.
I will continue to leave the oyster shells available to them so if they need it they can have it.
I am super excited to get them out where they can explore and enjoy themselves. I also know I will love watching them! I have always put animals in much larger areas than technically required for them I want them to have as natural of a life as I can give them.

 

[centrarchid]

I fully free-range chicken flock based around house. They roost either in trees, in garage, or under porch. Prior to dogs I had frequent Red Fox and Great-horned Owl problems. With dogs predators only an issue when chicken range well beyond were they dogs are laying about. When flock size about 20 birds they easily forage an area of about 6 acres. That area expands when feed reduced and / or weather nice. Area contracts when feeders provide what forage is short on. Birds also concentrate foraging along edges (fence rows and edges between short and tall vegetation). Foraging areas can be shifted based on where feeders and waterers are located as well as where cover patches (brambles in particular) are promoted.

Flock between house and barn as well as flock based in barn have fencing although the fencing as currently configured does not impact ranging habits of the chickens.

I am usually only interested in collecting eggs from barn flock where they make use of nest sites I provide fairly well.

 

[Mrs. K]

In my experience you will have success in spells, and the spells of very hard hits with the predators. For me it works best to have the option, of letting them out or keeping them confined and safe until things out in the wild settle down.

We have cattle, and in the past, when the cattle were home, a lot of predators moved out. However lately, that theory is no working, so aggravating.

My vote, is free range often, but have a back up plan. I have a run/coop that every one can fit in and be in 24/7 if needed.

As for food, I am considerably farther north, and really only find it helpful on the feed in June and part of July. My birds free range in pasture land with wild plum bushes and current thickets.

Mrs K