[ryaldinhio]

Hi all,
looking to pick up our first chickens soon. We have the coop, feeders drinkers etc. read lots of books and magazines but never really found the answer to this one;
I didnt want a pen or enclosure. We have around half an acre and I wanted to let the hens have free run and go where they wish. My question is with new hens would they come back or would they just dissapear? Most books/websites etc seem to contradict each other with sugestions.
My back up plan was to make a small pen for the first week or so then just removeit once they knew the coop was home but id rather not if there is another way. Any advice apprecciated.

[Bionic]

I don't have a great deal of experience but have found if one knows where they are going at night the others seem to follow. So if these are all new girls to you I would keep them in a pen temporarily until they get to recognise home and then they should be fine.

[HesterF]

I guess it depends how big the house is. I think you can keep them in the house for 24 hours, they work out their homing instinct. Most are quite cautious so they don't go very far from the house to begin with and then get braver and braver as they get more experienced. Personally I would have thought a pen would be a good thing to get anyway because it's hard to always be there to shut them up at night given the huge variation in dusk times. Ours come out when we're around but we know we have foxes here day and night so they're not allowed to free range if we're not here.

[chrismahon]

I've never done that, but I would certainly expect them to wander off. Usually they find their bearings after 24 hours in the coop, or if the coop is too small, in the attached run. To be on the safe side I'd leave them in longer.


I also think a permanent run attached to the coop is important. It helps you if you need to catch and inspect them on a morning. You will also need to confine them for 7 days for worming with Flubenvet. We keep ours in for a few hours to make them eat pellets, otherwise we found they fill up with rubbish and egg laying suffers.


Foxes are a big problem in daytime now so free-ranging without boundaries is a welfare balance between giving them total freedom and getting them killed. Ours range in security with 15m2 each -plenty and they are all very happy indeed. They know they are safe behind the wire and I think they feel better for having it.

[Kimbo]

I think you will need to keep them confined ( large hen-house or run) for at least 2/3 days so that you are sure they know where home is. After that I think you can let them free range but of course you have the issues of the inevitable predators and I agree with Chris that a run is so useful when you need to worm them. Also, how will you de-lice them, check their overall condition and generally make sure they are healthy if you are letting them have such a big area to roam in? Our hens free range when we are at home but they know that they are only fed in their run so they are easy to round up when we want to inspect them. And we ALWAYS lock them up at night. I bet once you have met your ladies you wont want to risk Foxy getting them.
So think about a run!

[Fleecewife]

So different opinions already 

Free ranging is always a risk, and twice over our 20 years of keeping hens we have had a group of hens killed during the day - both times by foxes released into the country from the city    Our decision has been that the benefits of total free range (locked in at night) far outweigh the risks.  That's our decision.

When we first got hens many many moons ago, we spent ages making a lovely huge pen for them.  Within about 6 hours they had all flown out  - our mistake.

Now when we get new hens we shut them in one of the houses on their own (our henhouses are 6' x 8' garden sheds, so plenty of space, and well ventilated.  Then we open the pophole for a short while in the evening.  The first time one or two will step out then scuttle back in, but each day they get braver until they're all out and about all day.

Our hens range over about 3 acres - there is plenty more ground, but they choose this area.  For some reason they don't go beyond the march fence, and only one went on the road (and was rapidly an ex hen  )  So from this I feel yours may want to wander further than your acreage.

In that case, I would vote for a very large enclosure, with mesh sides, the wire dug down below the surface so foxes can't dig under, and netting over the top, to keep hens in and birds of prey out.  This type of enclosure is helpful, but not foolproof, as badgers can dig or rip through your defences, and foxes can jump, stoats squeeze through anything.  Ideally, you should be able to move the pen whenever it gets muddy, to rest the ground and prevent worm build up.

Once you really get to know your birds, you can decide whether to let them free range further.

[ladyK]

Our hens free range too, and are shut in at night. They definitely have a blast ranging over 2 acres! Like FW I think the benefits of free ranging far outweigh the risks - but this is a very personal decision everyone has to make for themselves (and this obviously also depends on the environment, number predators present etc)
Still, one our coops has a small run attached which I find very useful - it's useful as a broody coop, and when bringing home new birds - they stay in there for a couple of days to get used to their surroundings and to the resident chickens.
I find new hens know their 'home' once they spent a night in a new coop. And they will only gradually venture further away from the safety of that home when in new surroundings. We never had any problems with letting birds decide how far they want to go after that first day/night shut in.

[lintmill]

For us it's total free range and shut up at night,  happier birds and better eggs.  Our hens make natural dust baths and I have only used louse powder once in six years.

[shygirl]

we use to free range completely during daytime til a fox took the lot. now mine have about quarter acre, however they roost in the trees and invariably jump down the wrong side of the fence in the morn, and are waiting patiently to be let into their enclosure. routine and food keeps them happy. we have had birds that wanted to roam our woods but they often never returned. therefore the homebirds are still alive and the explorers long gone.

[doganjo]

Keep them in their hutch fro 24 hours, then in their restricted pen for 5 days, let them out an hour before bedtime (dusk) on the day you let them free range.   Only give them a third of their ration spread over the ground next morning.  Always feed them their evening meal in the pen.  They won't stray after that.

[Carey boy]

Hi,

I think the best friend you can have when free-ranging is a cockerel. I always shut new stock in for 24 hours and then let them out late in the afternoon and keep my eye on them. A pen/run will be need at some time when ever you have stock, as sure as eggs is eggs you will need to round them up at some time.

Dave

[devonlady]

What a sweet world it would be if foxes only ate rabbits!! I, too let mine free range as long as the dogs are there but, if I have to leave the land even if only for an hour or so I put them in their runs. A few grains of wheat and they know exactly where to go. I have only just re-stocked after the last fox attack and am taking no chances now!!

[sam gledhill46]

   hi i have four barnys and a chocolate brown orpington. When i got my hensi left them shut in the shed for 2 nights and then after that i just left them to free range around the farm and at dusk they made their own way in to the shed 

[Kimbo]

What a sweet world it would be if foxes only ate rabbits!! I, too let mine free range as long as the dogs are there but, if I have to leave the land even if only for an hour or so I put them in their runs. A few grains of wheat and they know exactly where to go. I have only just re-stocked after the last fox attack and am taking no chances now!!

Couldn't agree more devonlady. Sometimes I feel like a wuss over it but our neighbours flock of 30 was wiped out in one attack. I just don't want to chance it.
I know we will fall foul of Foxy at some point but I will be able to sleep better knowing it wasn't down to something more I could have done

[devonlad]

I'm with kimbo.  Tho we love the idea of free ranging several factors resulted on us building as big a run as possible instead. Our near neighbour has been through 3 entire flocks in the years that we have only lost one cockerel to a fox. During winter and early spring we have them out in the veg patch and orchard as long as we're about but if I want veg and a half decent garden the chooks need to not be in it. We hope we've got a reasonable balance but our choice is free range, predated and no garden or large run, alive and a garden. Each to his own