Freerange chicken video

[Chic Rustler]

He acts like there just isn't any way to free range full time....like there is no alternative to them being eaten by preds but locking them up all day~I go away from home for a week at a time and never lock up the chickens...don't even have a run attached to the coop.

What in the world is he using that big white dog for? A good Great Pyr wouldn't have let a stray kill the chickens, so it's time to get a better dog if he wants to free range. Two dogs on hand and they can't stop a stray from getting chickens? I wouldn't exactly call his setup free range...it's more a combination of penned and ranged, which is different than full on free ranging.

It can be done and done well with minimal losses, even in high pred areas, with the right dog and system on hand.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/bees-key-points-to-successful-and-safe-free-ranging.65895/

Lol my dogs aint good for much. Technically its not freerange.

 

[Beekissed]

Oops....didn't know that was you! Yep, you need new dogs if you want to free range full time. I'll edit that post a little so it makes more sense.

I'd call that a combination penned and ranged flock.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Full time sure would be nice. Id save a lot on feed! But just doing it afterwork makes the yolks nice and dark in the summer.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I can't let my full time FR. The neighborhood dogs and hawks get them every time. The 11 I have left know it too, so they refuse to FR if I can't be out there too.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Everybody's situation and facilities are different. What works for one may never work for someone else...

 

[NH Homesteader]

My chickens don't free range , they have a run. I can't justify the expense of another dog just to protect chickens... and frankly, I don't like stepping in chicken poop lol. They're very happy chickens regardless!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

But the fact remains, what the egg people at the grocery store call "free range" is NOT free range.

True statement.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Like I said...there are other alternatives, like having chicken dogs on guard, plenty of hides in the range area, wary stock, electronetting fencing, etc. The right dog can keep the flock safe from most predators for most of the time. Black snakes still can snatch new chicks but that's usually the only predator that can get past a really good dog.

My current dog will not let any aerial preds get the flock...even battled it out with a great horned owl, got cut on his nose in the process. He's very dog aggressive, so no strays are even allowed on the land.

Just takes the right system...free range doesn't always mean constant death of the flock. It's not so narrow that one cannot have free range AND a safe flock. I've seen more stories of dogs and other predators getting into pens and runs than I have of birds being caught on free range. In a pen and run it's like shooting fish in a barrel..the birds have no escape whatsoever.

For me, the benefits of free range far exceed the risks and keeping a proper system in place insures minimal loss over many years. More chickens die an untimely death from the unhealthy environment of stagnant pen and run situations than are ever taken prematurely on range...just read BYC and see how many illnesses and deaths are taking place in static setups. It's overwhelming to read it all.

I wish i could get my dogs more dog agressive. They see a new dog and want to play with it. That pitbull (mut) in the video wouldnt bite a hot biscuit.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Like I said...there are other alternatives, like having chicken dogs on guard, plenty of hides in the range area, wary stock, electronetting fencing, etc. The right dog can keep the flock safe from most predators for most of the time. Black snakes still can snatch new chicks but that's usually the only predator that can get past a really good dog.

My current dog will not let any aerial preds get the flock...even battled it out with a great horned owl, got cut on his nose in the process. He's very dog aggressive, so no strays are even allowed on the land.

Just takes the right system...free range doesn't always mean constant death of the flock. It's not so narrow that one cannot have free range AND a safe flock. I've seen more stories of dogs and other predators getting into pens and runs than I have of birds being caught on free range. In a pen and run it's like shooting fish in a barrel..the birds have no escape whatsoever.

For me, the benefits of free range far exceed the risks and keeping a proper system in place insures minimal loss over many years. More chickens die an untimely death from the unhealthy environment of stagnant pen and run situations than are ever taken prematurely on range...just read BYC and see how many illnesses and deaths are taking place in static setups. It's overwhelming to read it all.

I wish i could get my dogs more dog agressive. They see a new dog and want to play with it. That pitbull (mut) in the video wouldnt bite a hot biscuit.

 

[NH Homesteader]

We have a moveable (with a tractor) coop and we move fencing along with it. They aren't free ranging but they don't stay in the same place for long!

One of my dogs is dog aggressive, unfortunately he's also too small to take on much, he'd just end up starting trouble for himself. He tries though , lol