I sure can! I was planning on a small operation, no more than a dozen hens. Prefer the heavy heritage breeds. I have a total of 4 acres, but only about half that is (mostly) cleared. There are no restrictions on the use of my property, that I am aware of. However, stray/roaming dogs are an issue, as well as wild predators. There is no current fencing in place and I do have neighbors that are fairly close. I think that covers it?
I have an acre that is entirely fence, although that does not entirely keep my free range hens contained! The Australorps can fly over the fence easily, so there will be some wing-clipping come spring. With the fence in place, I do not have much issue with roaming dogs (although there are some) and the cats seems to leave my fowl alone. I have a dozen hens & 7 ducks.
If you have uncleared parts of your property, that is good cover for the hens. I have several large spruce trees that serve as both predator protection (hawks) and shade, as well as protection from rain/snow. My fowl goes dutifully into the coop in the evening, and they are locked in.
You would have to watch out for dogs mostly, it sounds like. Any chance of talking to the neighbors and seeing if they can keep their animals under control? Here we do have those regs regarding stray dogs. They can be ticketed/fined for allowing them to run free. Not sure what your situation is. I find that predators such as coyotes, raccoons mostly come around at night, so if you have a secure coop that would be best. For your situation, it sounds as if a chicken tractor (although I have never used them) might be a good option, with a coop for night. Hope that helps! Keeping fowl is a joy to me. Good luck!
Mine have a fairly large run and secure coop and I let them free range daily for a few hours...usually in the early afternoons when foxes and other predators are not about. I try and avoid dusk and dawn, as we have coyotes, foxes, and even owls large enough to kill a bird around at those times. I've also trained my hens to come when I call them, which helps when it's time for them to return to the run and coop. I feel like I kind of have the best of all worlds. But if you have dogs that could get onto your property, I'd keep the hens cooped at all times until you have secure perimeter fencing.
If you have heavy breeds, probably not much of an issue with them flying over a four ft fence. We have Bovan Browns, which are a commercial type egg layer. Most of them stay within that fence, but if they fly over, they are usually laying somewhere while they are out there. They are in about half an acre. Here coyotes can be very active in the daytime. We were away, and our dogs were with us. We had 25 hens carried off in one afternoon by coyotes. They dug under the fence from the neighbour's side. We know it was in the daytime because someone saw two coyotes crossing the road with chickens, and the usual amount of eggs were laid that day, but by nightfall, at least 25 hens were missing. If you used tractors, they would have to be heavy enough that dogs or coyotes couldn't get under them or tip them, and the wire strong enough they couldn't rip through it. Raccoons can rip through ordinary chicken wire. Some got through the window of the coop that was covered in chicken wire. Never underestimate your predators.
I was thinking of kind of combining the coop and tractor into a mobile coop and run system. But I would probably have to split the flock into two in order to keep the system small enough for me to move by myself. There is a slight issue with ponding water when we have heavy rains as well. :/
Depends! Can the original commenter chime in with more information about their situation? (Urban, suburban, rural, how many chickens, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI sure can! I was planning on a small operation, no more than a dozen hens. Prefer the heavy heritage breeds. I have a total of 4 acres, but only about half that is (mostly) cleared. There are no restrictions on the use of my property, that I am aware of. However, stray/roaming dogs are an issue, as well as wild predators. There is no current fencing in place and I do have neighbors that are fairly close. I think that covers it?
DeleteI have an acre that is entirely fence, although that does not entirely keep my free range hens contained! The Australorps can fly over the fence easily, so there will be some wing-clipping come spring. With the fence in place, I do not have much issue with roaming dogs (although there are some) and the cats seems to leave my fowl alone. I have a dozen hens & 7 ducks.
ReplyDeleteIf you have uncleared parts of your property, that is good cover for the hens. I have several large spruce trees that serve as both predator protection (hawks) and shade, as well as protection from rain/snow. My fowl goes dutifully into the coop in the evening, and they are locked in.
You would have to watch out for dogs mostly, it sounds like. Any chance of talking to the neighbors and seeing if they can keep their animals under control? Here we do have those regs regarding stray dogs. They can be ticketed/fined for allowing them to run free. Not sure what your situation is. I find that predators such as coyotes, raccoons mostly come around at night, so if you have a secure coop that would be best. For your situation, it sounds as if a chicken tractor (although I have never used them) might be a good option, with a coop for night. Hope that helps! Keeping fowl is a joy to me. Good luck!
Mine have a fairly large run and secure coop and I let them free range daily for a few hours...usually in the early afternoons when foxes and other predators are not about. I try and avoid dusk and dawn, as we have coyotes, foxes, and even owls large enough to kill a bird around at those times. I've also trained my hens to come when I call them, which helps when it's time for them to return to the run and coop. I feel like I kind of have the best of all worlds. But if you have dogs that could get onto your property, I'd keep the hens cooped at all times until you have secure perimeter fencing.
ReplyDeleteIf you have heavy breeds, probably not much of an issue with them flying over a four ft fence. We have Bovan Browns, which are a commercial type egg layer. Most of them stay within that fence, but if they fly over, they are usually laying somewhere while they are out there. They are in about half an acre. Here coyotes can be very active in the daytime. We were away, and our dogs were with us. We had 25 hens carried off in one afternoon by coyotes. They dug under the fence from the neighbour's side. We know it was in the daytime because someone saw two coyotes crossing the road with chickens, and the usual amount of eggs were laid that day, but by nightfall, at least 25 hens were missing. If you used tractors, they would have to be heavy enough that dogs or coyotes couldn't get under them or tip them, and the wire strong enough they couldn't rip through it. Raccoons can rip through ordinary chicken wire. Some got through the window of the coop that was covered in chicken wire. Never underestimate your predators.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of kind of combining the coop and tractor into a mobile coop and run system. But I would probably have to split the flock into two in order to keep the system small enough for me to move by myself. There is a slight issue with ponding water when we have heavy rains as well. :/
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete