Which Breeds should I consider?

[Kaitie09]

I think this could work if thought out properly. A 55 gallon rain water collection barrel with the nipple water system could provide enough water for them, and I personally have made an automatic feeder tht lasts my girls over a week. I would recommend an automatic door for the chicken coop too, just to offer more protection. There are some that run off of solar panels, so that cuts down on electricity costs. You may want to consider electic strands around the bottom of the fencing, just for more protection. You have 6 months to figure this out, so you have plenty of time to find the right setup for you.

 

[Pastornater]

Hey now,

Im sorry if this is upsetting anyone, I think the reason this post is here is so we can share ideas, positive or negative.

Understand that as one person already mentioned, if I just wanted meat of my land I can shoot a deer in the fall... I do. The chickens are an after thought of my orchard. If I can get bug control AND meat out of a small investment I would say that it is a good day.

I also enjoy a challenge. Maybe this is a terrible idea. Humans flying was a terrible idea. If this can succeed I think it is worth a try.... If it doesnt succeed Im out half a dozen chickens. Most of you have probably lost half a dozen chicks in brooding since you have started.

I also dont think we are being disrespectful of their lives because many who have posted care to see this project work. There are many good people that are intelligent giving their own best ideas and comments on the project. I value your concerns and if It seemed very likely to fail I would not do it.

Thanks

 

[wsmoak]

I don't see a problem with it. You can expect some losses, but so do I when I free range the laying hens around my yard and woods -- and I'm here all day.

They have deer feeders that have a timer so I went looking and found... http://www.randallBurkey.com/Free-Range-Feeder-with-Timer/productinfo/10042/

That's neat. It has a spin plate to scatter the food so they have to scratch around for it. (And an optional solar panel.)

A coop with an automatic dusk-to-dawn door will help to protect them during the time they are most likely to be attacked. I'd make that a portable structure so you can move it to fresh ground occasionally. (Word of warning, don't move it very far each time... I moved my tractor too far once and found all the meat birds sitting under a tree in the dark instead of inside.)

-Wendy

 

[wyoDreamer]

Check with the WI-DNR before setting out one of the automatic feeders.
Stress to them that it is for "Fenced in Chickens" and not for feeding game animals. Deer are fenced out of the orchard. Those are against the rules for feeding deer and can result in a big fine.

Overall, I think it could work. However, you will need to worry about foxes, coyotes and black bear looking for a free lunch. Bear will destroy your fence in no time if motivated enough. I have seen what a black bear did to an electric fence protecting bee hives when the power failed for 24 hours.

Are the trees in the orchard big enough for the birds to roost in?

I have heard that Guinnie Hens are pretty self relient and killer on ticks, but they may fly over the fence.

 

[Pastornater]

The trees are not yet big enough for them to roost in, however I am setting them up for a tatura style fruit tree trellis. This type of trellis will have a series of cables setup to train the trees to... If they wanted they could roost on the wires, but the diameter is probably way too small. I do have a good sized wild cherry tree pruned to a decent size they could roost in, and there is also I nice maple on the north side of the fence that I just didnt have the heart to cut down. The maple is definately roost worthy, but the branches start about 9ft up.

 

[bobbi-j]

If it were me, I'd start them out in a coop with an enclosed run, so they could be in and out, and know that the coop is home. I would install an automatic coop door for them so they could roost safely in the coop at night. After a couple of weeks, I would just open the run door so they could free range and go into the coop at night. My concern with them roosting in the trees would be owls and raccoons. I'm afraid that your flock would be wiped out in short order. Adult chickens at least stand a chance of escaping a predator during the day, but not at night. I'm interested in how this works out for you, so I hope if you do it, you will post some updates.

 

[Pastornater]

The automatic door is a good idea. I have no power up there... I intend to go solar eventually... maybe if there is one that could run on batttery? One thing I'm concerned about is the small weasels we got up here... ermines... the auto door would pretty much take care of that problem but I can't think of anyway to keep them out of the fenced area.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yeah, those are tough little buggers to keep out. They don't need much of a space to get in. And they will kill your chickens. About the only way I can think of is to put 1/2" or evern 1/4" hardware cloth around the run. That could be pretty spendy, though. But if your chickens are locked up at night it might not be as much of a threat. I'm not sure how much threat a weasel would be for an adult chicken during the day.

 

[fastbird]

My neighbor here had 12 turkeys that he tried to raise. 5 made it to adult, the rest were killed by hawks and owls. The only way he could protect them was to fence in the top of there entire enclosure. We also live in Northern Wisconsin and in heavy woods. His turkeys were kept 75 feet from his house, he was there all the time and still had problems.
I have my doubts a chicken can survive free ranging in the Northwoods without constant human protection. Even fenced in an orchard.
Good luck with your project but please take birds of prey into your consideration for protecting your flock.

 

[trifecta]

For feeder options, you may want to look at a trigger... I can't remember the website but its something like "triggerhappychickens.com". Basically, its a little feeder button that you can drill into any size bin, like a large rubbermaid tub. The chickens do have to be trained to release the food, but I would think you could leave a large amount for them that would last a week.

I think predators are going to be a HUGE problem. Especially when they figure out there is minimal human or dog activity on the other side of the fence... there is really nothing to deter them. And I understand that those who free range suffer losses every year from predation, but that's different than shooting fish in a barrel, which is what comes to mind with fencing a bunch of chickens in an 8 foot fence.

I think checking the fence every other day would be a minimum for care and safety for the chickens. I think food and water is probably the least of the issues as there are lots of options for long term feeding/watering. Is there anyone that would be willing to visit more frequently? What happens if your scheduled helpers can't/won't/don't show up to check the chickens?