What are your opinions on free ranging?

[McChooky]

That's great!!!!

They'll still have plenty of room if I add more, right? lol

 

[Aunt Angus]

They'll still have plenty of room if I add more, right? lol

I see your master plan unfolding. You'll start there, but soon spread your flock to other neighbors' properties.

First your neighborhood.

Then the WORLD.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

 

[PioneerChicks]

I'm in support of free ranging and the risk of foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and hawks. But a year and a half ago we got a dog and she eats chickens so we have to be careful and only free range the second half of the day when we are home.
The point is I'm fine with wild critters, but a dog who kills them for sport is the real problem.
We're working it out though. She doesn't bother the chickens though I wouldn't trust her around them alone.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She doesn't bother the chickens though I wouldn't trust her around them alone.

That's how my dog is too. She wants to sniff them when she sees them. And occasionally tries to paw at them if they're being held, but I don't trust her loose with them or unsupervised

 

[Chicken Heel]

In my area along the central border of VA/NC the birds of prey are as plentiful as sparrows so am unable to free range. I will note that the happiest chickens I ever saw were my Grandpa Shook's bantams and game mixes back in the 1970's roaming throughout his property and around his barn on the top of Beech Mountain, NC.

 

[samanthaoverton]

I agree with a previous comment, there are different levels of free range. My chickens have a very large fenced area to roam. I consider them free range. I have too many predators to allow my feather pigs to roam; fox, coyote,raccoon,possum, ass hole neighbors (over the hill and around the corner) dogs, bear have been spotted in my area too. I had free range chickens as a kid but that was in Georgia many years ago.

 

[DParker75089]

I have 8 hens and 1 roo that free-range our entire fenced back yard, which is an area just shy of 10K sq. ft. when I subtract the area occupied by structures. I'd love to also let them roam the adjacent 1.5 acres of pasture as well, but it's not fenced for that and there's not enough cover for them to hide from aerial predators like there is in the yard. They'd also wreak havoc in my vegetable garden.

 

[McChooky]

I see your master plan unfolding. You'll start there, but soon spread your flock to other neighbors' properties.

First your neighborhood.

Then the WORLD.

Next one will be on the governors then maybe the presidents lol...

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Let me make a point and maybe stir the pot a bit:

I would assert any argument that starts as “I can’t free range because I have too many predators” is an invalid argument unless you qualify it with “… because I have too many predators AND I raise breeds that are not predator resistant. I acknowledge that there are many breeds of chickens in the world that are highly predator resistant and would thrive in my predator-rich environment, but I choose not to raise those.”

If you don’t believe there are chickens out there that can out-thrive and reproduce faster than coyotes, hawks, and whatever predator gauntlet they’re thrown down can harvest them, then that just tells me there’s a bunch of chickens out there you need to learn about.

There’s no such thing as your location having more predators than the right chickens can handle.