Who has NEVER let their chickens Free Rang?

[BantamoftheOpera]

Mine only get to free range when I am outside with them. I think they are fine in the run, but are very happy when they range with me. Personally I don't think yours will get depressed if they "learn what they're missing"

I am building my run and coop for my first adventure with chickens

My coop will be 9'x12' with an attached run of 10'x28' ... I am getting my first batch of chickens this weekend

and I will be having sand in the run ... I also plan on putting perches in it and am interested in other ideas peeps have as well ... so let's hope this thread takes off with some great ideas!

I will have 20 chickens of all different breeds, so I am sure some will act differently than others ... should be fun! I am still planning on trying to free range for an hour or so before dark, but I don't know if it would be counterproductive as they will be "cooped up" for most of their lives. I wonder if it would make it easier on them to just keep them in the coop and run and to not let them taste free ranging ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...of-my-plans-and-rooster-issue/30#post_8510301

 

[mondotomhead]

I only let my chickens free range when I'm right there watching them because of hawks and racoons.

I do have a nice run/yard for them but they have pecked all the grass and its now just dirt. The thing I found that they love, love, love is dead leaves! I get wheelbarrows of last years leaves I've thrown in the woods and just dump them in the run. Don't even bother spreading them out. They have a ball scratching the leaf pile down especially if I've "hidden" goodies in the leaves.

I also added a box of peatmoss and sand for dustbaths. I've hung a cabbage for them to peck at. And there is also wooden saw horses in the run for them to jump up on.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

I don't let my flock free range and here is why: Coyotes, Bobcats, Hawks. It's just not safe for them to. We have an ample run for them, not sure of the measurements. They get lots of greens, etc. I try to imitate what they would get while freeranging as best I can.

When I lived in Indiana in farm country, I let my flock out in the morning and they were free to go where ever until they went back into the coop at night. I did lose 1 silkie to a hawk one time when they were out, but other than when a raccoon mama and her 3 babies got into my coop one night, I didn't have any other issues with predators.

I'm just not ready to let this flock out unless I was right there with them the whole time, and that's not possible.

 

[2DogsFarm]

My small flock (6 hens, 1 rooster) was pretty much on Lockdown all Summer since they decided crossing the road (yes, I know, bad joke...) to visit the neighbors was okay.
It was not.
The neighbors objected to the the hens' "landscaping" efforts and my heart stopped thinking of them crossing the fairly busy road.
I had been letting them stay out while I was at work and finding them back in the coop when I got home or when it started getting dark.
So they were confined to their generous yard - 15X20 - and adapted without any problem once they realized I was not letting them out as usual in the mornings.
I did let them out for a bit when I was home and on weekends.

Make sure you roof your henyard, as predators like hawks can get in if there's nothing blocking them.
I just use deer netting stapled to the uprights and it has worked fine for going on 3 years.
The netting is light enough so snow doesn't pile up on it, although I rarely have to shake a heavy snowfall off.
It is also cheap - I think I paid less than $10 for a 100'X8' roll.

 

[Kara515]

Most of mine do not get to free-range at all. I have 8 Cochins that have a very large fenced in area that is a close second but the rest of my chickens are in smaller fenced in areas that have no grass. They are completely covered with poultry netting so hawks and owls can't get them. What I have been doing for mine is hanging lettuce, cabbage, Romaine, etc in their coops to peck and they also have several branches in different areas and heights to roost. I made a "ladder" out of a cut piece of cattle panel about 4 ft long and I wove small branches through it and anchored it so they had a multi-level roost there also. All of their roosting areas and nesting boxes are in covered areas and the 3 coops are separated by common walls.

I did some research on chickweed because we have an abundance of it growing in our yard, and it is completely FULL of all kinds of good stuff!! In fact, most of the websites say get some for yourself before you give it to your chickens! I pick a bucketful of chickweek and cut it up into very small pieces and toss that down all over the ground for the chickens to scratch around and eat. They go crazy for it!! I have even potted a bunch of it in same size plastic pots and then bent some hardware cloth over the top of 3 or 4 pots and then leave those in the coops for the chickens to eat. I found that if I put a bunch of small limbs along a fence line and toss some of the uncut chickweed in there, the chickens can not get to it and it will root and spread very quickly. Once I get it going, I will put down a small frame with hardware cloth nailed to it over the top so they can eat it but not tear it out by the roots!

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I also do not let my chickens free roam because of major predator issues and the fact that I can't watch them. I have only had them since September so this summer Im going to plant some stuff in and around the run. Make raised beds with chickenwire over them so that they can eat the leaves but not scratch the roots. I am also planning on putting in a large sandbox to bathe and some perches and other stuff to jump/fly on.

I have 14 chickens and my run is 24x30 ft. It is also entirely enclosed in hardware cloth, sides and roof. Half of the roof is ondura panels so that they have shelter if it rains and they don't want to be in the coop.

 

[Aschenfire]

I am glad to see this thread, since my own little flock of 14 birds will likely not be free ranging as I live right in town in Austin. I am planning to build a 12 x 12 run for them (I know, that is on the low end of the *limit* that folks suggest per bird, but I don't want to end up building too close to the fence lines, and annoying the neighbors by proximity) and they have a 6 X 6 enclosed *run* which is going to serve as their coop, though I am not planning to lock them in the small coop at night, giving them free choice to wander out into the larger, fenced pen. I have a 6' chain link fence around my yard, have never seen raccoons or opossums though I know it is possible they roam around here. I may well let the girls out to peck around the yard when I am off work and can sit with them, but I don't really consider that *free ranging* the way I think most folks do.

Having said that, I can tell you that my 5 week old and nearly 5 week old chicks (only ten of them are outside already... four are younger and still inside in a brooder) are content little feathered dinosaurs in that 6 x 6 pen...ATM it is wire with a heavy waterproof/windproof tarp when needed, so they get lots of sun, and since the pen is currently very portable, I move it from spot to spot so they can graze on yummy green grass, dig in the dirt, and dustbathe/sunbathe when they want to. Purring babies laying in a hollow they created by digging and scratching the other day, and lack of picking or aggressiveness gives me the impression that my birds are pretty happy with the idea of living the city life.

 

[ragerkid2]

I do free range, for the ample reason that it makes the birds happy and it's what nature does. I do wish I could have built them a run tho. Because I did lose three birds to a fox this year.like my uncle always used to tell me. You will lose birds but you will lose happy birds. My land is great though being that there is PLENTY of cover for them. And they are getting smart with predator control. They know to keep an eye on the sky. One day all my chickens were on the front porch. And when I went to go outside to see why, sure enough there was a hawk in the sky. Plus I also have a Doberman who is very protective of anything that is mine. Chickens included. She may chase them around but when anything els chases them. She loses her ever loving mind. Lol.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The only time my birds get outside their safe fenced area is when they are going to a show, or going to meet The Hatchet. They certainly appear to be happy enough. If I leave the gate open, they don't rush out to free range; they follow me into the run, chatting about their day and looking hopefully to see if I've brought them anything. So I suspect that they don't spend all day dreaming of how to get outside.

It is not complicated or expensive to provide "enrichment" for confined birds. I've got ducks and geese, so a nice pool of water keeps them entertained for hours. For chickens, a handful of scratch and then cover it up with a couple of handfuls of straw and they will be occupied and happy.

My birds have some small brush shelters that they enjoy. Perhaps a few carefully placed branches for chickens to roost on could act as playground equipment.

There is greenery in my run, and I also take them plants from my garden and kitchen scraps so they get their healthy veggies.

My opinion: exercise is good for them, so I recommend building as large a run as you can afford and have space for.

My birds do well, don't complain about much of anything and they are safe and alive. The coyotes can't get them, the raccoons can't get them, the stray dogs can't get therm, and they are not in any danger from the cars that drive down the street.

 

[swamy]

Our 7 hens have approximately 34 SQ ft. per bird in their fully enclosed run. They have 4 runs of this size. Each run has a section of steel roofing to provide some dry space/shade. Birds go on each run for 10 days, which gives 30 days of rest to each run. A lot of work went into building their "complex", but they seem happy and are always on clean fresh green growth during the growing season.

Best part is during the rest period you can interseed good pasture mix and greens into a run if desired. The diverse greens are good, but the best part is the insect life we draw in.

We have a couple natural log perches that get moved to the current run in use to help keep the interest up.

Using a tiller and ripping up a run or ripping up a section of a run makes for great chicken entertainment. They go bonkers getting the worms, bugs, and old weed seeds that get stirred up.

Our very large fenced in garden is next to the chicken complex, so in the fall after it's done I till it under and the chickens get let out into the garden to roam. This takes some stress off the runs as the growing season is slowed down by then too. Hawks are a concern so we only let them out when an eye can be kept on the situation.