when will my chickens be able to free range?

[Chicks Galore3]

my chickens will be 14 weeks soon, and i was wondering when i should let them free range. they know the coop as home, so they will come back to it. But my problem is the cat. Major hunter. But i don't know if she will eat the chickens. Will she bother them once they are full grown?

 

[sourland]

The cat may not bother them, but rest assured that some other predator will. I would recommend starting with monitored free ranging.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I already do that. Another problem i was thinking of- hawks.

 

[Johnboy78]

I got my first chickens, mixed 8 females last May and they were loose in my 1/4 acre backyard by July.
They'd been out two weeks when I witnessed my first hawk swoop. We've got a lot of redtails that
circle this area. My yard though is not an open good for gardening yard, it's a landscaped treed yard
with lots of shrubs around the perimeter and framing the deck and no spot that gets sun all day.
They knew it before I did, screeched and scattered to cover and froze for about an hour. Over the next
three weeks I saw three more attempts. There was also one that sat up in a neighbor's tree waiting for
an opportunity. I couldn't tell why they were all under cover, I couldn't see anything but they knew exactly
where it was trying to hide.
They've been out every day since then, they seem to prefer to root around under bushes, inside bushy places.
Sure they wander across the lawn too but they spend most of their time under something.
I've always got hawks circling somewhere close by. With available cover they seem able to protect themselves.
A neighbor several blocks away has lost chickens to hawks but his yard is an open, lots of sun, good for gardening yard.
A talented hawk might change my statistics in a moment but that's been my experience so far.

The only other possible predators in my area are pet cats. One did come up to the fence a while back. I was inside
and I heard chicken noise, cackling, really loud cackling, continuous really loud cackling. I went out to investigate.
A neighborhood cat had crept up to the fence, I guess to check them out and it had been spotted. All eight were massed
in a group ten feet from the cat screaming at it. The sound scared me. The cat soon crept away and they quieted down.

Just a newbie sharing my experiences.

 

[devora]

I already do that.

I'm confused. You're asking about free ranging as if you have not done it, but then you say you do.

What gives?

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Quote:

I'm confused. You're asking about free ranging as if you have not done it, but then you say you do.

What gives?

I meant i let ethem out when I was out there watching them. But they would be MUCH happier to free range the whole day, which i aim to do, but i don't know when the cats won't bother them.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I got my first chickens, mixed 8 females last May and they were loose in my 1/4 acre backyard by July.
They'd been out two weeks when I witnessed my first hawk swoop. We've got a lot of redtails that
circle this area. My yard though is not an open good for gardening yard, it's a landscaped treed yard
with lots of shrubs around the perimeter and framing the deck and no spot that gets sun all day.
They knew it before I did, screeched and scattered to cover and froze for about an hour. Over the next
three weeks I saw three more attempts. There was also one that sat up in a neighbor's tree waiting for
an opportunity. I couldn't tell why they were all under cover, I couldn't see anything but they knew exactly
where it was trying to hide.
They've been out every day since then, they seem to prefer to root around under bushes, inside bushy places.
Sure they wander across the lawn too but they spend most of their time under something.
I've always got hawks circling somewhere close by. With available cover they seem able to protect themselves.
A neighbor several blocks away has lost chickens to hawks but his yard is an open, lots of sun, good for gardening yard.
A talented hawk might change my statistics in a moment but that's been my experience so far.

The only other possible predators in my area are pet cats. One did come up to the fence a while back. I was inside
and I heard chicken noise, cackling, really loud cackling, continuous really loud cackling. I went out to investigate.
A neighborhood cat had crept up to the fence, I guess to check them out and it had been spotted. All eight were massed
in a group ten feet from the cat screaming at it. The sound scared me. The cat soon crept away and they quieted down.

Just a newbie sharing my experiences.

thanks A LOT!!!!!! this helps.