Do your chickens free range?

[ihugtrees]

We are moving to Washington in a few weeks and will be renting while we look for a place to live with land. From what I have read, Washington state has bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, birds of prey...eek! All we really have in Florida are alligators (well, I guess there are mountain lions and such, but I've never seen one? Maybe its the same way in Washington)

Any way, I was hoping to have free range chickens, but now that I'm looking into predators there, I'm wondering if that will be possible. If your chickens free range, do you ever have issues with predators? How do you keep them safe? Or does 'free range' usually mean they live in one of the little chicken houses on wheels that I've seen?

[weliveintheforest]

Mine usually don't free range, they have a fenced run. We rent 8 acres, and dogs can get onto our property. Sometimes I let my chickens out of their run to go get some more excercise and entertainment but I did lose one that way It's hard because I really want them to be loose but it's just not whats best for them right now.

[Sihaya]

Our chickens "free range" in a chicken tractor which we move every couple of days (except in winter, when they just stay in one place). Our property is not fenced, all of our neighbors have dogs, and there are also other predators around here (though not cougars or bears!). In the summer during the day, we might let them out for a while and keep an eye on them, but for the most part they stay inside the tractor.

[karne]

Yes, mine free range. And, we have had, at various times, great success with free ranging, as well as chicken tragedy with predators. In the end, my chickens are happier free ranging.

ETA: They do get locked in their coop at night.

[Tizzy]

We have a lovely pen for them, but I used to let them out on occasion. I hate to see them getting bored.
They never went further than 150ft from our door but we lost two in one afternoon to coyotes. So we've kept them completely locked up until we can take care of the coyote issue. The coyotes must have thought they tasted good because they keep coming right to our back door, and it's not like we live in a secluded area either - we live right on a major highway. But it is the country and there are lots of predators.

I also lost a special hen to a hawk this fall as well, right out of their pen.
Now if we want to let them out, we'll have to beef up the outdoor pens. Upgrade the chicken wire to corn crib wire and put roofs on.

[Tizzy]

Sorry double post.

[MamaMonica]

Ours free range. We lost one to an eagle last year and lock them in at night (they go in to roost, we just close the door). We have coyotes- I hear them at night, but haven't seen any during the day.

You could look into a livestock guardian as well as giving them cover from eagles/hawks if you free range them. If your property is very open you'll likely have losses from eagles.

[freestylemama]

Ours range out of their tractor into the yard every day. We live in the city and a couple of times they've ranged in our alley, in our front yard and on the street! Good thing we share our eggs with our neighbors.

[PreggieUBA2C]

We live on a farm (it's not ours) and the chickens free range but seem to prefer to stay within about 100 ft of their barn. There are bears, coyotes, eagles, falcons, hawks, wolverines, wolves, mountain lions, foxes, etc... here. Every now and then a chicken is eaten, but most of the chicken losses occur across the highway and right out of the chicken house that a bear likes to break into. I guess the bears are mostly full by the time they eat those ones.

We do have lots of predators that come onto the property though, and the dog makes enough noise that all but the bears leave. The farmers chase bears off with their pick-up truck.

There is a very large area with an overhead bird net for them if they spot an eagle, hawk or falcon; they will all run in and be safe. I think the chickens get wise about some predators and act accordingly.

You may just have to try out your first coop and see what happens. Do you have a dog?

[WaitingForKiddos]

My girls stay in their large (8x75 foot) enclosed run. I only have 5 so I can't chance loosing any of them to a hawk. The run is covered with deer netting and their coop is a converted dog house which I don't shut up a night. There's a pannel of wood that blocks all but a 8 inch wide opening to the coop but this is mostly for weather protection vs. preditors.

When the girls first came out of the brooder there were two times a hawk went into the run for a snack. Thankfully the hawk went hungry but we put up the deer net that weekend

Unless you're willing to part with a bird or two...or
more... I think an enclosed run or a tractor is the way to go.

[lakeruby]

I live in Florida and we have a fenced yard and let our chickens out of their coop to run around the yard for most of the day. We haven't had any problems with predators during the day (knock wood) but we do have to make sure to lock them up at sunset, and our coop has to be very secure on all 6 sides because we have crafty, resourceful racoons in our area!

Here is a link to a post I saw recently on the Small Measure blog about how to keep your hens safe from ariel predators if they are in an open (but fenced) run or yard:
http://small-measure.blogspot.com/20...-security.html

[ihugtrees]

I don't have a dog. We have been wanting to get one, but I doubt I will want one in the house that has been running with the animals all day...for this reason, I've held off. Do your guardian dogs come in your house, or sleep outside? I'd be willing to provide adequate shelter, of course...I just am not a fan of dirty doggies in the house, that's all. Also, do you have to raise them from a puppy? I prefer to go through rescues and shelters...Maybe this is a different thread entirely, haha!

[grahamsmom98]

We are moving to Washington in a few weeks and will be renting while we look for a place to live with land. From what I have read, Washington state has bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, birds of prey...eek! All we really have in Florida are alligators (well, I guess there are mountain lions and such, but I've never seen one? Maybe its the same way in Washington)

Any way, I was hoping to have free range chickens, but now that I'm looking into predators there, I'm wondering if that will be possible. If your chickens free range, do you ever have issues with predators? How do you keep them safe? Or does 'free range' usually mean they live in one of the little chicken houses on wheels that I've seen?

I'm confused. Under your username, it says you live on Whidbey Island, WA.

If you are relocating to the mainland, where are you moving within the state?

There aren't wolves everywhere in Washington!!! Only a few, rare, places are fortunate enough to have these wonderful predators.

One of my dearest friends has chickens. They have a coop, but she lets them run free, during the day, in her veggie garden and yard. She provides them with adequate cover and has lost a couple to hawks (the raptors were faster and smarter than the chickens). She has seen bears and cougars on her property, as well as coyotes. None of them have bothered her chickens.

The only real predator, to which she has suffered losses: SKUNKS! So, quit worrying about the biggies, and think about the smaller predators.

...we've kept them completely locked up until we can take care of the coyote issue.

Um, what do you mean by that?

[ihugtrees]

Originally Posted by grahamsmom98

I'm confused. Under your username, it says you live on Whidbey Island, WA.

If you are relocating to the mainland, where are you moving within the state?

I am relocating from Florida to Whidbey Island in 1 week. I just changed my location a few days ago, in hopes that I could find some other Whidbey Island folks/Whidbey folks might see me and contact me.

Thanks for your info

[forestrymom]

I don't live in Washington, but we have lots of nuisance predators--wolves, bears, lions, coyotes, hawks, etc. The only way we can see having them free roam is to have a tractor. WE will have a permanent coup for wintertime. We do have a dog (not an LGD, but a standard poodle) who chases coyotes away, or we shoot a lot of them, and its now okay where I live to shoot wolves if they come onto our property, but I have yet to see a wolf close by (I do hear them regularly). Some friends of ours just shot one in their sheep a week or two ago, and the Fish and Game is eliminating the pack. The numbers are way too high to co-exist with the lack of natural prey (they've already killed off most of the native prey, completely destroying our hunting). Anyway, that's for another thread, I suppose. My point is that unfortunately, where we live, predations is a part of our life, and we do what we can to protect our stock. That for me means keeping them somewhat confined.

[amandapearl]

urban chickens on the range

Our girls "free range" around our fully enclosed urban property. We have hawks that like to check out the babies, but they've never gotten one. We also get cats and possums, but we've never lost a chicken to a predator yet. We're pretty well protected however, even have the neighbor's cat hanging out with our hens sometimes, but she's as big as they are!

[samsmomma]

I live not too far from Whidbey Island. We're in Snohomish County, closer to the mountains. You will probably never see a cougar, bear or wolf. The only predators I worry about are Coyotes, Raccoons, and Bald Eagles. But honestly in the last 5 months that we've lived at this house our chickens have free ranged most of that and we haven't seen one wild animal on our property. Although we do have two dogs that bark at everything that moves which might help. But they're not out all the time. My Mom has a way bigger problem with raccoons and coyotes getting her chickens in the city. I just figure I'll lock them up if we start to have a problem with predators, but they're much happier and healthier free ranging for now. Good luck with your move! Whidbey Island is beautiful!

[talia rose]

we are in northern california and let our chickens free range during the day. we try to always get home before dusk to lock them up in the coop, which we built like ft knox. we buried the chicken wire a ft deep and made a very solid wood coop. the pen ceiling is covered as well with chicken wire. during the short days of winter we sometimes have to keep them locked in the pen during the day. we know we have skunks, raccoons, eagles & hawks, bears (though mostly across the river) and haven't had a problem yet but i sense when word gets out in the neighborhood to the animals that may change. we lost 2 chickens so far just cause it was storming and we could not find them in the dark (pen door blew closed, they usually put themselves away) and we assume you are bound to lose one here and there so we increased our flock size.

on another note - where did you get the awesome chicken & chicks for your signature? I don't see it on the list of smileys....