Ok, we free range our chickens and have a large coop...

[missnu01]

"All the predators are chicken friendly?!?!". Dogs are not the only predators of chickens. After all, EVERYbody likes the taste of chicken (even other chickens, but that's a different story.)

Ever look up into the sky?

We are enclosed in trees, so no attacks from up high, we only have one field where something flying could get to the chickens, but the chickens don't go there...and I know there are other things that take chickens, but the dogs seem to keep all those away...It really all works out. It's pretty amazing, but we literally landed in the perfect spot for keeping chickens...all the trees block the sun, so I might not be able to have a garden that is worth a flip, but chickens I can have...I'm curious too see what types of critters we get in the spring...in late summer and fall we had skunks, and I know there are raccoons, but we haven't seen any yet. Have seen the skunks, but not in a few months...do skunks go away in winter? Nothing can get to the chickens when they are in the coop, and the dogs are out when the chickens are...so I think we'll be alright even when predator season rolls back around.

 

[larry529]

I am torn on a tractor or a huge run.. Can you lend some insight. I want both I think lol.. Maybe a small tractor. I plan to do like 15 dorkings, 5 buckeyes, and 5 delawares. My worry with the run is that it will be bare in no time if i do like a 20ft x 20ft 6 ft tall.. I could throw in grass clippings also. The tractor excites me, but also I realize to move it around, it can not be gigantic, so say the tractor is 12 ft long 6 ft wide that is not a lot of room for some chickens. Coop would be up so the bottom would be open so that gives us 72 sq ft. They say you should have a min of 4 sq ft per bird so we take 4 into 72 and come up with 18 birds in that amount of space??? That does not sound right to me. And with a tractor, of course you would move it daily of that size I would think.

 

[missnu01]

Anytime you have a good number of chickens in a space the ground will be naked..and you never see large tractors. I have only seen them for like 5 and 6 birds. With a permanent run, I think, you just start putting in bedding and what not. I don't think a large run would be practical to move, so you have grass for a little bit, and then dirt...but you can make a few raised frames to allow forage plants to survive being in the run...
You make a frame like for a raised garden bed and then top it with hardware mesh, so the grass grows through and the chickens can only eat the tops, so the grass will keep growing back because the roots aren't being destroyed. That is the only way I can think of to have grass in the run...

 

[missnu01]

I wanted chickens so they could peck all over the yard...so having a run is not conducive to that ideal.

 

[larry529]

I have the property to let them run wild and eat all the grass they can, but I also have enough coons, coyotes, and fox to remind me that they will not eat that much grass unless I box them in LOL

 

[Time-Out]

Your place sounds great, Missnu.

I think ranging depends on the chickens themselves. Some breeds are definitely more inclined to roaming, but there can also be birds within that breed that don't want to. My garden backs on to a field. The only thing between the two is a 4' wall. My chickens don't have clipped wings and can fly pretty well, yet they're not bothered about exploring. My garden is tiny, but they're quite happy to stay in it, despite being bold breeds that love to roam.

I have another group of batchelors on my allotment that one day decided to see what's out of the gate. I saw them before they went too far, but food definitely wasn't the motivator.

I think it's as you say: wait and see. Unless of course you fancy just fencing along the road and leaving the rest open? At least it removes one risk.

 

[debid]

We are enclosed in trees, so no attacks from up high, we only have one field where something flying could get to the chickens, but the chickens don't go there...and I know there are other things that take chickens, but the dogs seem to keep all those away...It really all works out. It's pretty amazing, but we literally landed in the perfect spot for keeping chickens...all the trees block the sun, so I might not be able to have a garden that is worth a flip, but chickens I can have...I'm curious too see what types of critters we get in the spring...in late summer and fall we had skunks, and I know there are raccoons, but we haven't seen any yet. Have seen the skunks, but not in a few months...do skunks go away in winter? Nothing can get to the chickens when they are in the coop, and the dogs are out when the chickens are...so I think we'll be alright even when predator season rolls back around. 

There are raptors that hunt amongst the trees. Ask me how I know... Skunks do hide out during very cold weather but will emerge on winter days when it's warm. I hope that you go a good, long time before you encounter a predator problem but I also hope that you aren't lulled into a false sense of security by your good luck so far.

 

[missnu01]

Well I always know that there are things that want to eat my chickens, but we have been very fortunate, and hopefully it will continue. We also have a series of roosters that all have different functions, so we get warning if anything is up...I'm hoping that I can scare off anything that tries to get my chickens. I had heard that hawks and such can't get to chickens that are under trees, that they were more a risk of open spaces...Mainly because if they did fly down and nab a chicken there would be nowhere for them to fly up to, except into the trees, which I guess makes sense. It seems to me that more chickens are killed by dogs than anything else, simply because one dog will kill 30 chickens at a whack just for fun, whereas a lot of actual wild predators take a few, although some are also sport hunters, some raccoons and weasels and such. I am going to keep hoping for the best. We do have one part of our property that is open in the middle with trees surrounding, and we see a lot of really big crows down there flying from the trees on one side to the trees on the other. But so far no other large type birds have been spotted...it also isn't time. I am hoping that me and the chickens get to keep living the good life on easy street. I am sure we will suffer losses, hopefully none too great. The original chickens I have I have no fear for though...they will hardly leave the coop, and if they do they are always close enough to run back in...

 

[aart]

Lol it's the chicken drawbridge over the moat! That's pretty cool, they have no problem going back and forth over that huh? I guess chicken aren't afraid of heights cause they can fly!

 

[missnu01]

They don't seem to have an issue...sometimes one chicken wants to come in while one wants to go out, and someone gets shuffled off, but then they just flap their way back up the bank, or they'll walk back around and then back up. No injuries have been sustained from our tightrope chicken ramp though. And none of the chickens seem to even think about the drop when they go across...When we first got our puppy he would use it, but now that he is a little heavier he doesn't try to cross it anymore. At night I just pull the ramp in and shut that door back there and then I don't have to worry about too much of anything being able to get to the chickens.