Chipmunk Chicks
Free Ranging
What could possibly go wrong?
We currently have eleven fast-growing chicks! Plus, a charming old ramshackle 5x6 coop waiting for them outside that we need to rehab, with no attached run or anything like that, just a basic coop. DH said he wants to reinforce the coop for night-time and let them free range all day. Which sounds lovely, but we also have predators, (hawks, foxes etc.), and we live on a busy road with a nice big backyard that eventually connects with the neighbors'. Not to mention a big ridiculous dog that I will need to let out a few times a day, and whom with the chickens, I do not trust. I would love to have a nice big attached run with an automatic door, and then let them free range part of the day under supervision, but we are not quite there yet in terms of being on the same page.
We also rent, so whatever work we put into the coop, we will be leaving behind when we move, and we don't necessarily want to set up anything else overly permanent (or ugly) since it's not our property. We've worked our way up to a compromise that he will build me a chicken tractor approx. 7x14 so that it eventually can be loaded onto our trailer and relocated to our new home whenever we move. Great! Except somehow in our chicken management plan, that would entail me personally letting them out of the coop in the morning, and then corralling them all into the tractor for the day, wherever that may be. I would plan to let them free-range in the evening under some level of supervision, before getting them into the coop at night.
My understanding is it's considerably easier to teach chickens to go into the coop to roost at night, than it would be to move them into the tractor / run each day. And also not something I would necessarily expect a chicken-sitter to be able to do for me, should the need / want ever arise, either. So for starters, how would you recommend I go about doing that? I would like to be able to go into the run and basically just call them in. We have Australorps and Welsummers, and going forward I would like other breeds that are easily handled, like to be around their humans etc. I have heard that Speckled Sussex are extremely good like that (and I almost had a flock of them to start out with, but I had to cancel the order), and possibly Marans, Dominiques, Buckeyes, Dorkings? There are other breeds I'm interested in that I'm not as sure would be quite as easy that way, like the Chantecler, Ameraucana etc. And I would imagine a good part of that also comes from how they are raised, but I would still rather start with breeds that will not make that utterly impossible.
Next question would be how much layer-related stuff do I need to put in the tractor? Still put a couple roosts for daytime naps, I'm assuming? And 2-3 nesting boxes in case they decide to lay while they are out there during the day? Dustbath, toys, 2x food, 2x water... I was also planning on having food and water in the coop, we were just not planning on making the tractor like fort knox since it would be primarily for daytime use. It just feels like a lot, like setting up a whole second coop basically, vs. it looks like most cases people are using the tractors for meat birds with just food and water. And then the logistics of moving them into it each day.
Any thoughts or advise how to help this all go as smoothly as possible are appreciated! Thanks!!!
We currently have eleven fast-growing chicks! Plus, a charming old ramshackle 5x6 coop waiting for them outside that we need to rehab, with no attached run or anything like that, just a basic coop. DH said he wants to reinforce the coop for night-time and let them free range all day. Which sounds lovely, but we also have predators, (hawks, foxes etc.), and we live on a busy road with a nice big backyard that eventually connects with the neighbors'. Not to mention a big ridiculous dog that I will need to let out a few times a day, and whom with the chickens, I do not trust. I would love to have a nice big attached run with an automatic door, and then let them free range part of the day under supervision, but we are not quite there yet in terms of being on the same page.
We also rent, so whatever work we put into the coop, we will be leaving behind when we move, and we don't necessarily want to set up anything else overly permanent (or ugly) since it's not our property. We've worked our way up to a compromise that he will build me a chicken tractor approx. 7x14 so that it eventually can be loaded onto our trailer and relocated to our new home whenever we move. Great! Except somehow in our chicken management plan, that would entail me personally letting them out of the coop in the morning, and then corralling them all into the tractor for the day, wherever that may be. I would plan to let them free-range in the evening under some level of supervision, before getting them into the coop at night.
My understanding is it's considerably easier to teach chickens to go into the coop to roost at night, than it would be to move them into the tractor / run each day. And also not something I would necessarily expect a chicken-sitter to be able to do for me, should the need / want ever arise, either. So for starters, how would you recommend I go about doing that? I would like to be able to go into the run and basically just call them in. We have Australorps and Welsummers, and going forward I would like other breeds that are easily handled, like to be around their humans etc. I have heard that Speckled Sussex are extremely good like that (and I almost had a flock of them to start out with, but I had to cancel the order), and possibly Marans, Dominiques, Buckeyes, Dorkings? There are other breeds I'm interested in that I'm not as sure would be quite as easy that way, like the Chantecler, Ameraucana etc. And I would imagine a good part of that also comes from how they are raised, but I would still rather start with breeds that will not make that utterly impossible.
Next question would be how much layer-related stuff do I need to put in the tractor? Still put a couple roosts for daytime naps, I'm assuming? And 2-3 nesting boxes in case they decide to lay while they are out there during the day? Dustbath, toys, 2x food, 2x water... I was also planning on having food and water in the coop, we were just not planning on making the tractor like fort knox since it would be primarily for daytime use. It just feels like a lot, like setting up a whole second coop basically, vs. it looks like most cases people are using the tractors for meat birds with just food and water. And then the logistics of moving them into it each day.
Any thoughts or advise how to help this all go as smoothly as possible are appreciated! Thanks!!!
