What are your opinions on free ranging?

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I don't free range because I like my garden.

I don't free range because we share the property with my sister-in-law who would be FURIOUS if my chickens ate her beloved flowers and dug the mulch out of her carefully-tended beds.



I would be very upset to have someone else's chickens wandering into my yard to damage my garden and my SIL's flowerbeds even "only" once a month.

Not to mention the possibility that they might bring disease to my flock or that a neighbor's rooster might fight my roosters or try to lure my hens into his flock.

yeah, I worry about that I try to keep them on the property as much as possible, I am for the most part always home so I can catch them before they get to far for too long.
It's mostly on calm (calm as in not dust devil making wind) sunny cooler days that they go exploring.
I am planning on moving the coop to the back of the house so they will not go into the road and other areas as often I wanted to move it to the backyard last year but we didn't for some reason.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I would prefer to free range all the time, but it's just not going to work here. I do free range them occasionally during the winter, early spring, and late fall when I can keep an eye on them. I think it helps that our yard is divided with fencing into sections/pens (one for the dogs, two for the sheep, and the rest is lawn) to deter predators. But in order to decrease the risk of losses to predators and damage to my gardens during the warmer months, I keep them confined in a large run most of the time.

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

I imagine I'll let the girls out for supervised field trips to the garden once the harvest is done, but at any given time, I have at least 6 Cooper's hawks over my coop. They nest in the trees behind our property. We also have coyotes, neighborhood dogs, cats, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, skunks, rat snakes, water moccasins aka cottonmouth, and armadillos (not necessarily a threat, just opportunists).

In fact, on a single night last week, we had a raccoon, an armadillo, and an opossum all come looking for the chicken buffet. We happened to be up late binge-watching Moon Knight and caught the motion on the cameras. We keep a loaded BB gun over the back door for these things. I don't want to kill them; just let them know it's not an easy meal.

So, while I'd love to have my girls free-range (and I'm sure they'd love it, too), I can't keep them safe. Thankfully, we have a smaller flock (10, about to be 9 because we got a surprise roo), so it's not hard to keep them comfortable in a run. I also selected breeds that were less likely to go bonkers without being able to free-range.

 

[RebelEgger]

We free-range about 50% of the time. When we are at work, they are in their run until one of us gets home to let them out for a few hours. When I'm home (2 days/week + weekends) they are out all day. Ours wander all over our property, through the woods, wherever they want to go. They have yet to go to the neighbors hopefully they continue respecting the tree line. We have tried to keep ours cooped up, they are much happier when out and there is much fewer flock politics when they are free.

 

[igorsMistress]

I used to let my flock have access to my entire backyard, but currently they’re sequestered in a smaller side yard. It’s probably 300 square feet give or take. Eventually they’ll be allowed into the whole yard, but I currently have small trees and shrubs that need a chance to grow first.

Our summer temps aren’t particularly conducive to AI, but I plan to have a run added to the coop by fall when wild birds migrate south and the temps are cooler. There have times when I wished for a run, so once built I intend to keep it.

 

[RubelliteRose]

We free range when ever someone is home- husband works from home, so they free range most days. The first and last hours of the day are spent in the net covered fenced garden. We have raised beds surrounded by chicken wire to keep the chickens out of the plants.

 

[Sally PB]

My chickens do not go outside their run. We have hawks, eagles, raccoons, opossums, and feral cats in the area. I'm not willing to take the risk. No way could I keep watch over them if they were out. Rolling hills, trees, fields. If they got lost, they'd never find their way home.

I have considered fencing in part of our yard with electric fence. But there are lots of aerial threats.

 

[Byrd gal]

I let mine out in my yard I keep an eye on them as best as I can. I don't have any close neighbors to really worry about. I keep them in if a storm is coming but I try to let them be a chicken. I feel its quality not quantity. I do love them as pets and it hurts to loose them. Freedom has a cost but they want to be out.

 

[Folara]

Free ranging is amazing and the idyllic image of a happy bird to a lot of people, but it does come with a lot of responsibility and risk that many can't or don't want to deal with. I agree that a short life spent free ranging is life well spent according to the bird, but that may not be an enjoyable life for the bird owner. Confinement can also be made very enjoyable when done right, for the flock and human alike!

I do like the idea of "they don't know what they're missing" when keeping them in a run. I've been thinking about introducing partial free ranging so my birds can explore and access new grounds but I won't be able to do it every day and only for short time periods. While they would get some fun free ranging hours on some days, the other days they would be confined in the run all while knowing there is a better world out there! For now, I just try to mimic a free range style in their run as best I can - plenty of extra room for each bird, scattering food to forage, and adding new leaves/wood chips/grass clumps often to introduce new exciting material and bugs to search for. Then I tell myself if I do spend the time and money to fence in an area for free ranging, I may as well spend a little more to just extend the run so they can enjoy the space all the time!

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

I let 13 chickens out in my 1 1/2 acre fenced in area, not sure if this is considered free-ranging. I used to let them free-range where ever they pleased, but then they found the driveway and always pooped on there!