chickflick Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 just wondering how that might work -we have no foxes, an average sized garden and am just thinking of getting a couple of chickens.Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I did that for about 6 months and it was really nice and the chickens just lived in their house and put themselves to bed. however, after a while the fox came and started killing all ym chickens so now they live in the run. it would be fine i think as long ans you could garuntee the fox wouldnt be there. although if there is someone in the house the fox doesnt appear so maybe youd be okay if there was always someone in your house? hope that is of some help. xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChicken Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 People have hen houses with no runs in orchards, it could work in your garden if you consider all the problems first. Chickens can destroy your plants and grass so would you want them to have unrestricted access? I think it would be safer to have a run even if you let them free range all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChicken Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 if there is someone in the house the fox doesnt appear so maybe youd be okay if there was always someone in your house? or you could make a scarecrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have a scarecrow. Just a small one. I wouldn't rely on him totally. to keep the fox away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 It could be that you have no foxes because you have no chickens . That may change when you do . I let mine free range all day (once) and got so many warnings about the dangers from Omleteers I haven't dared to do it again (although I do know we have foxes, although I've not actually seen any since we've had the chickens). Don't want to put you off - if you're prepared for the possibility of losing them, they would have a great life for as long as it lasted (which could be years of course!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Chickens free ranging in orchards are usually protected by electric fencing and the like. We have never seen a fox in our garden but they are around, I see them occasionally as road kill victims. I wouldn't recommend what you are proposing especially if you live anywhere urban. The best approach is to presume that if you take your eyes off the chooks for more than 4 seconds they will be killed by a Fox. If you let let them free range with no protection, then nature will take it's course and Mr Fox will love you for it. Sorry, to be negative, but do a search on here on fox attacks and you will see what I mean. Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickybaby Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 My hens have been free ranging all day every day since April last year and so far, touch wood, nothing has happened to them and we are out at work all day. Of course I realise that Mr Fox could attack at any time but I just can't bear the thought of them shut up all day in their run. I rescued them to give therm a better life and seeing as they were cooped up all day in their battery cages I think I owe it to them to give them the best life possible. I weighed up the pros and cons of free ranging and being confined to a run most of the time and I'm afraid free ranging won. I think you just have to go with your gut instinct and hope and pray all is well. I do always worry that I am going to go home and find them gone but I feel it's a risk i'm prepared to take. It's a lovely feeling when I go and tuck them in for the night knowing they've been having great fun scratching around the garden all day munching on worms and other yummy things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 My girls have a walk in run, and come out to play too, but make sure they are locked up at night. My neighbour has 3 chickens after meeting ours and she has a coop but they sleep in the hedge between our gardens, and I think lay there too She doesn't lock them in at night, as she likes the idea of them wandering down to meet her when she gets up. I have talked to her about foxes, but she is happy they have a good life if the worst happens. It's personal choice at the end of the day Karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 My garden is not secure unfortunately.......and it would be too costly to make it so. My girls "free range" in a largish fenced off area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliski Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 My exbats are out all day let out at 7.20 and put themselves to bed they HATE being restricted in the run and pace up and down like demented polar bears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinaDC Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I open the door of the eglu at 7am each morning. The girls are in the run until about 10am - this encourages the egg laying to take place in the nesting box and for the hens to eat their pellets! If I am late letting them out of the run, they pace up and down and give me filthy looks. They are then out in the garden until 4pm when they venture back to the run (the newbies are starting to copy this, but I looked a sight yesterday trying to round them up!). I close the run door and then they settle themselves in for the night and the eglu door is closed by around 5pm. Like I said, the noise they make if I'm late letting them out of the run is deafening so they must really enjoy the free ranging. We do have foxes so if I have to go out of the house, the hens are put back in the run. Having said that, the dogs and cats are good at alerting us all to any unwanted visitors. When I first got my brood, I was only going to let them free range for an hour or so a day - but its not worked out that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 It really is a question of personal feeling I guess. Ours have the Eglu run but are free-range around the whole edge of the garden which is sectioned off for them. The Eglu run merely acts as a place of shelter when the rain hammers down although they do hide under the bench as well. I have worried about foxes but as nothing has happened to us in nearly two years (touch wood) we don't seem to have any trouble, although I always shut the girls up at night, Eglu door and run door. A xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 It's absolutely a matter of personal choice, follow your instinct but do make your decision based on fact and not myth - as Couperman suggested, do a search on here about fox attacks on chickens. I'm afraid being in the house is no deterrent to my local fox - even being in the garden does not keep him away. Six-foot fences will not stop a determined and hungry fox. Chicken-wire is not fox resistant. Having said that, not all foxes are as bold as this and in a rural area they are much more shy and unwilling to come into contact with humans. I'm really envious of those of you on here who can let their girls free-range, sadly after some near-misses, I never ever let mine out unless I am in the garden with them. I won't even go in to use the loo or answer the phone - it would take only seconds for the fox to appear. I'm not brave enough to take the risk, but if you do decide on a free-range approach and the worst happens, don't feel too bad about it, because your chickens will have had a very happy life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy the Whippet Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Mine come out at about 8 and then I put them back in at about 3.45. Obviously they stay out longer in the summer. There is a small risk of foxes getting them but I think, given the choice, they would rather free range the garden all day than stay in a run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tara Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Our chickens spend there days in there run as 1. l dont want the garden to messed up 2. Dont want to walk in poo Even if they have a nice life freeranging to end there life being torn apart is not what l want for my chooks.They dont understand that having a freerange life means danger.I stay with mine and put them away before l go in we have never had fox problem but im taking no chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Mine come out at about 8 and then I put them back in at about 3.45. Exactly there same as me, mine have their daily treats when they go back in the run at 4pm ish. Im lucky not to have seen any foxes, and we are rural - we have fields and woods seconds away from the house. We have a six foot secure fence (although i think a determined hungry fox would scale that) and my german shepherd is in and out the garden all day. It is all about choice, we all know the risk is there of a fox attack. Its what suits you and your situation really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is a school of thought that says if chickens are freeranging in a totally natural habitat then they would be at less risk of foxes. We keep them in fairly enclosed spaces and clip their wings so that when Mr Fox calls they are unable to escape. If their wings are unclipped and they are in an orchard, in theory, most of them should be able to fly to safety. At worst the fox might occasionally take one, but would not be able to indulge in mass slaughter as he does if he gets into an enclosed space full of flapping chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emu Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Would be advisable to do a Risk assessment in your area-perhaps see if anybody in your area keeps chickens and you will be able to obtain sound advice especially regards fox visits. Also depends if you are at work most of the week in which case the relative safety a run provides would give peace of mind. We have ended up free-ranging ours 3-4 days per week on average whilst we are at home(although days are relatively short at present) and keeping them in the run on other days.We seem to think our girls like this arrangement although our Tilda has plotted two long distance expeditions to date and is the mischievous one although Top chook matti almost 'cackles' in disapproval everytime she breaks free,so she soon makes a return to base to quieten Matti down! We had our first egg from Matti on 7th January and had two today and are very pleased .Kept the 1st to paint with Matties Name and date of lay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Kept the 1st to paint with Matties Name and date of lay! That's a nice idea . I came across Molly's first egg the other day (had forgotten about it ). We ate it (when it was laid, not when I found it ) but washed and kept the shell stuck together with tape! It's tiny but very cute . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emu Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Aaawh that's such a sweet thing to do also as a momento- We may be starting an 'Au Naturale' version of keeping first eggs from each chook in an egg gallery on display- far more endearing and appealing to look at than a faberge type! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I hadn't seen a fox in the garden for about 5 years since we "tamed" the jungle which was our garden. However we had our Pepperpot killed by a fox in September. The girls were in the metre high extended area we built not so much as a run, but to stop them destroying the garden. Unfortunately, they were not shut in their eglu run. Presumably the fox just hopped over the fence. I hadn't even seen one sniffing around, so it was a dreadful shock! Since then a fox visits regularly, so my girls are only allowed out to even semi-free-range when I'm there to watch them. We're planning on building a big permanent run as soon as the materials arrive. Got a great deal on 2X2 treated timber on ebay! I would advise anyone who keeps chickens to be vigilant and not get complacent. It's not worth the heartache when you lose one of your girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
