Containing free range chickens

[Jjdesmo11]

Hi! I’m a proud mother of 5 chickens and a rooster. We moved onto 5 acres 2 yrs ago and got 5 grown chickens from a friend. We decided to see how they would do letting them free range but they always end up at my neighbors house. These neighbors used to have chickens and we are friendly with them and they ended up giving us their rooster and said they would stick close to the rooster. Long story short I would like some cheap options for “ loosely” containing the chickens. It would be about an acre just one side of our woods to keep them from going over there. Would barbed wire be too mean? And could I just lay some chicken wire without posts? I feel like they would hit the barrier and come back. Or at least going on into the future when we get baby chicks to prevent them from going over there. The biggest problem I have is that half of the chickens lay over there. They actually feed them chicken scratch and enjoy having our chickens over there so there’s not a real problem with it but I’d prefer them to stay on our property haha

 

[andreanar]

I use either netting or that orange snow fence stuff, or chicken wire. I pound wooden poles into the ground and use zip ties to attach the "fencing" to the poles. Its not meant to keep out predators, just to keep the girls from ruining the neighbors garden. We have about 1.5 acres fenced in like this. Its cheap.

 

[Jjdesmo11]

Great thanks so much! I never thought of that. I’m sure it’s way cheaper. I wish it wasn’t so bright and orange but I’ll look for color options haha.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Things like snow fencing (that orange stuff), deer fencing/netting (which can come in colors like black, green), chicken wire, are all options.

 

[Chickassan]

Bright orange is tacky but preferable believe it or not. Predators can see bright orange very well and tend to avoid it. If you don't mind the eyesore, its pretty nice.

Great thanks so much! I never thought of that. I’m sure it’s way cheaper. I wish it wasn’t so bright and orange but I’ll look for color options haha.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I bought this...
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-40-in-x-25-ft-Green-Plastic-Garden-Fence-889250EB12/206478200
I swear it’s taller then 40” but I could be wrong. I used U poles to put it up and I move it around as needed. I secure it to the ground with landscape staples. The green is more pleasing to the eye but also thicker. It’s been out there 2 Ohio winters and is still good.

 

[purslanegarden]

it sounds like the chickens lived close by before.

In my experience, once you rehome them to a new spot, they would usually consider that home. But I don't have any details on doing it...just that I kept them penned up for a few days before letting them roam. Pretty much after that, they take care of going in at night to the right place, no problems!

 

[Gramma Chick]

they ended up giving us their rooster
that and the fact that they feed them scratch is part of the problem .
They want them over there - they love the chickens but they dont have to take care of them . You could ask them to stop feeding them ..also would the fence offend them ?

 

[centrarchid]

Look at your land, then look at the land of your neighbor. Something is different and it impacts where the chickens want to go. What I like to do is make certain the birds have a good mixture of cover, ideally in patches, and areas to forage with a range of vegetation types that are varied in terms of height and density. The forage patches can also have lot of fallen leaves and tussocks where insects and the like with concentrate. Fencing can still be used but I try to keep birds from even approaching the perimeter.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Look at your land, then look at the land of your neighbor. Something is different and it impacts where the chickens want to go .

Ya problem is the neighbors are feeding them and the rooster used to live at the neighbors.