We were hoping to let the chickens free range but we were unsure of how that would work. They already have their coop and yard to play in but we wanted them to get out and eat more grass, bugs, etc. Give them a little room to roam. However, we were concerned about these guys. We certainly did not want a farm tragedy.
Huckleberry, a face only a mother could love!
We were also worried about all the cats. As you can see Ranger has been dreaming about getting his paws on the girls for a while now.
One afternoon while
EJ was outside and could keep a close eye on everyone he let the chickens out. They LOVE the freedom and the other animals seem to leave them alone. Check them out...
Look, Coal has a new
BFF
Trigger has an identity crisis
and this chicken just had a heart attack!
Farm life. It's growing on all of us.
We were also worried about all the cats. As you can see Ranger has been dreaming about getting his paws on the girls for a while now.
It's kinda funny how big a transition we go through as chicken owners. The first time I let my girls free range, I thought *I'd* have a heart attack! What if something hurt them? What if they wandered too far? What if they got into something that could hurt them? What if... Seriously - I was a wreck.
ReplyDeleteFast forward a year.... My girls free range daily. We live on 1/2 an acre in town - with no fences (oh, for fences!) - and I don't even give it a second thought any more.
There's just something so right seeing the girls out in the yard!
We have free ranged several sets of chickens and it never worked out. There were times we lost all of them at once. First off, it is probably not your dogs you need to worry about. The last time I lost ten chickens at once, it was two of my neighbor's dogs that got them. Once the dogs get on your property and start killing them, there is nothing you will be able to do because you won't be able to catch the chickens or the dogs. We have in the past shot our neighbor's dogs without a second thought. There are dogs on Purity Springs that hang out close to our house now, so we could never let our chickens out.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, since your chickens have barely started laying eggs, they won't lay in the nest boxes if you let them out daily right now. Once they start laying eggs around the yard, you won't be able to use the eggs unless you are positive what day they laid, and they will never lay in the nest boxes again. If you want to free range the birds on a regular basis, you need to wait six months or so until they are all laying in the coop.
Lastly, and this was the biggest problem for us, the sun sets at nine-thirty in the summer. Do you want to go out every night and secure the coop this late? We are in bed by then, so we can't mess with it!
You're going to have really happy chickens and really yummy eggs. I've been reading a book called "Chicken Tractor" by Andy Lee. I'm hoping to have a few chickens here on our acre and the "tractor" will hopefully serve as a day range, and the chickens will also be building the garden soil.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had chickens yet but from what I've read I thought it was possible to let them out to range after they lay? Maybe?