Why did the chicken go in the road?

[pinkpickledeggs]

Sorry for the lame title!!

I am about to be a first-time chicken owner (I am SO excited!) and plan to eventually allow them to free range during the day. We live on sixty (!) gorgeous acres of field, woods, and river. It's the eventual plan to let them free range - not immediate - we are constructing a coop (it's really a palace) with a very large (covered) run for maximum worry-free foraging.

All that being said, the coop/run is located about 150 feet (give or take) away from the road. It's not excessively busy, but we don't walk on it much because people ALWAYS speed (and we have sixty acres to explore!). The house is between the coop/run and the road.

My spouse is worried the chickens will become roadkill very soon after we start letting them out, and I get it, but also they'll be situated right next to the huge hay field and yard that is FULL of tasty bugs - I know chickens aren't known for their high intellect, but it seems that everything else would be more interesting.

I suppose I'm asking if anyone has any experience with this, or any advice? I'm not married to the idea of letting them roam or in any hurry to start, but I'd really like to. I also know I'll be crushed if anyone gets hit by a car or (heaven forbid) causes an accident.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Sorry for the lame title!!

I am about to be a first-time chicken owner (I am SO excited!) and plan to eventually allow them to free range during the day. We live on sixty (!) gorgeous acres of field, woods, and river. It's the eventual plan on not immediate - we are constructing a coop (it's really a palace) with a very large (covered) run for maximum worry-free foraging.

All that being said, the coop/run is located about 150 feet (give or take) away from the road. It's not excessively busy, but we don't walk on it much because people ALWAYS speed (and we have sixty acres to explore!). The house is between the coop/run and the road.

My spouse is worried the chickens will become roadkill very soon after we start letting them out, and I get it, but also they'll be situated right next to the huge hay field and yard that is FULL of tasty bugs - I know chickens aren't known for their high intellect, but it seems that everything else would be more interesting.

I suppose I'm asking if anyone has any experience with this, or any advice? I'm not married to the idea of letting them roam or in any hurry to start, but I'd really like to. I also know I'll be crushed if anyone gets hit by a car or (heaven forbid) causes an accident.

My chickens and ducks like to go out to the road but they usually get out of the way of cars (if any go down the road) like you our road isn't a busy one.
Puddles will form in the middle of our dirt road after a heavy rain and my ducks like to go in them (I do my best to prevent them from doing that).
I don't really have advice all I can say is maybe just see where the chickens go make sure to feed them as far from the road as possible to make sure they won't be near it as much? Maybe get them to go to the places you feel they will be safer at when you let them out?
I know that if we feed our chickens behind the house that they tend to stay back there for a longer period of time if water and other things they need are back there to.
Good luck with your chickens I hope everything goes well for you and your chickens.

 

[citymeetscountry]

Our neighbor across the street has his coops close to the road. His chickens were frequently in the road or crossing the road to our yard. They’d hang out in our front yard but then my chickens started flying over the fence and mingling. We got a puppy and the neighbor hasn’t been letting his out as much. Not sure if it’s bc of our puppy or bc he downsized his flock or what. Our neighbors down the street let theirs out and I have yet to see any of theirs in the road. I guess it just depends on the chicken

 

[pinkpickledeggs]

My chickens and ducks like to go out to the road but they usually get out of the way of cars (if any go down the road) like you our road isn't a busy one.
Puddles will form in the middle of our dirt road after a heavy rain and my ducks like to go in them (I do my best to prevent them from doing that).
I don't really have advice all I can say is maybe just see where the chickens go make sure to feed them as far from the road as possible to make sure they won't be near it as much? Maybe get them to go to the places you feel they will be safer at when you let them out?
I know that if we feed our chickens behind the house that they tend to stay back there for a longer period of time if water and other things they need are back there to.
Good luck with your chickens I hope everything goes well for you and your chickens.

Thank you so much! Every anecdote and suggestion is helpful and appreciated!!

 

[pinkpickledeggs]

Our neighbor across the street has his coops close to the road. His chickens were frequently in the road or crossing the road to our yard. They’d hang out in our front yard but then my chickens started flying over the fence and mingling. We got a puppy and the neighbor hasn’t been letting his out as much. Not sure if it’s bc of our puppy or bc he downsized his flock or what. Our neighbors down the street let theirs out and I have yet to see any of theirs in the road. I guess it just depends on the chicken

Thank you so much!! Every anecdote and tidbit of advice is helpful and appreciated!

 

[DarJones]

Open fields are highly attractive to turkeys, chickens not so much. Chickens in my experience prefer an "edge" area with brushy trees, mowed lawn, and a water source. If you can give them this type area, they will tend to stay inside it. A kiddie pool can be used as a water source in a pinch. I clean mine every other day as they tend to walk in it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Right now the US, especially the eastern states, is suffering from an Avian Flu epidemic that has caused many of us to close our birds into covered facilities to keep them from contacting wild birds or wild bird poop.

This thread is LONG but informative: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/avian-influenza-found-in-south-carolina.1507893/

I have no knowledge about ranging habits. I keep my chickens fenced because I garden and the deer are hard enough on my plants without letting the chickens take a turn.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Our neighbor across the street has his coops close to the road. His chickens were frequently in the road or crossing the road to our yard. They’d hang out in our front yard but then my chickens started flying over the fence and mingling. We got a puppy and the neighbor hasn’t been letting his out as much. Not sure if it’s bc of our puppy or bc he downsized his flock or what. Our neighbors down the street let theirs out and I have yet to see any of theirs in the road. I guess it just depends on the chicken

We have a neighbor who let their chickens free range but they stay in their yard fairly well. My chickens and ducks will sometimes go into their yard or two of our other neighbors yards, but they don't do it very often (I do my best to make sure they stay on our property). I also think it depends on how and what they are being fed and just the land in general (environment).
I personally haven't had much issue with free ranging other then the occasional dog getting out. There also isn't many trees near me or any largish bodies of water. And there is prairie dogs everywhere around here and bunnys and jack rabbits.

 

[pinkpickledeggs]

Our neighbor across the street has his coops close to the road. His chickens were frequently in the road or crossing the road to our yard. They’d hang out in our front yard but then my chickens started flying over the fence and mingling. We got a puppy and the neighbor hasn’t been letting his out as much. Not sure if it’s bc of our puppy or bc he downsized his flock or what. Our neighbors down the street let theirs out and I have yet to see any of theirs in the road. I guess it just depends on the chicken

Interesting... There may be no definite answer! Thanks for your input.

 

[pinkpickledeggs]

Right now the US, especially the eastern states, is suffering from an Avian Flu epidemic that has caused many of us to close our birds into covered facilities to keep them from contacting wild birds or wild bird poop.

This thread is LONG but informative: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/avian-influenza-found-in-south-carolina.1507893/

I have no knowledge about ranging habits. I keep my chickens fenced because I garden and the deer are hard enough on my plants without letting the chickens take a turn.

Thank you for the info! I need to learn more about this. I've added it to me reading list!