4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Jess100]

My garden is not secure at all and we have a resident fox - would I be stupid to think I could freerange if I was supervising or would I lose my hens?

 

It seems a shame to keep them cooped up if I am about!

[mostin]

The choice must be yours but I always choose freedom for mine. If you know you have a fox watching all the time though don't let them out of your sight for a second. Someone on here only went in the house for 30 secs last week and the fox used that chance to attack.

 

I have been lucky so far so my girls have a lot of freedom.

[Jess100]

I really want to free range but I don't know if I have the guts! I think I would panicand try and keep them in a small area than they are now to protect them! Maybe I'll have to build a walk in run instead!

[mostin]

If you want to try then try the first time in a small netted area where you can see them all at all times.

[blackgold]

Do a bit of digging, my girls wont leave me along and grab any insects etc i turn up. they really get under my feet but who cares, they are having fun..... love sue

[Guest]

try sprinkling male urine round the perimeter of the garden, hang some human hair in old stockings on fences/gates. The smell is supposed to deter foxes. There's no such thing as a secure garden where a fox is concerned.

 

like someone else says, it's up to you. our girls have a walk in run and only free range if one of us is in the garden with them. we've never a seen a fox in our garden but i'm not risking it.

[blackgold]

I am sorry but i cant agree with you there, i love to see my girls mooching free in the garden. They tend to stay close to me when i am out there. i dont think it is love more cupboard love lol There is always some Border Collie minders there if i go in.

[abwsco]

We've never seen a fox but ours free range usually from 8am until bedtime every day of the week. Infact I don't know why we went to the expense of a run in some ways. Having started off with exbatts we wanted them to know the freedom of free ranging. I do know though that if we saw a fox nearby we'd have to have a rethink.

[blackgold]

sorry to be nosey but did you get all your exbatts in April last year? i noticed that some are at the rainbow bridge and just wondered how long the normal lifespan is of a rescued hen? Thanks Sue

[Olly]

Unfortunately lots of people who have never seen a fox in their garden only discover that there's one in the locality when their hens are taken.

 

I know there are foxes around, and so my girls only free-range when I can be in the garden with them. The most I will do is go in to put the kettle on - I can do that while still standing at the back door - or maybe to chuck a log on the stove. I wouldn't even go in for long enough to use the loo, and leave them out there - it can happen so quickly.

 

I'd love to let mine free-range more but they wouldn't stand a chance. However there is loads you can do in the garden, even at this time of year!

[abwsco]

sorry to be nosey but did you get all your exbatts in April last year? i noticed that some are at the rainbow bridge and just wondered how long the normal lifespan is of a rescued hen? Thanks Sue

 

Hi Sue, yes we did. I don't think there's any telling with exbatts as to how long they'll live once they're out of the cages. Would be interesting to find out who has the oldest exbatt amongst us all. Our remaining girls have been out for 8 months now so I think that makes them over two years old.

[Gamebird]

My garden is not secure at all and we have a resident fox - would I be stupid to think I could freerange if I was supervising or would I lose my hens?

 

It seems a shame to keep them cooped up if I am about!

When I first got my chickens last spring I used to let them free range in the garden under supervision.

 

They didn't stay together and went in all directions so it was difficult to keep an eye on them all the time.

 

However, my 'resident' fox attacked right in front of me so I wasn't much of a deterrent.

 

My chickens are now out all day behind 50m of electric fencing and have been fox free ever since.

 

Perhaps you could try netting a part of your garden for a bit more security.

[Guest]

Unfortunately lots of people who have never seen a fox in their garden only discover that there's one in the locality when their hens are taken.

 

....

 

I read so many stories posted on here of exactly that scenario, that's why we decided on a walk-in run before we even got the girls.

[Mollystar]

try sprinkling male urine round the perimeter of the garden

 

 

It's a good job we live in the countryside, my BF wee's around my hens all the time.

 

So far the girls have not mistaken anything for a maggot

[..lay a little egg for me]

Electric netting is the way to go! Our 4 girls have approx 150 sq metres to roam in, secure within an electric net.

[Mazzarina]

I was far too scared to free-range my girls at all for about 2 months after I got them (they have the omlet run plus extension), and walk-in runs or electric fencing are too costly to be an option for me. But I braved it one weekend and we all loved it - they had a happy peck about, and I really enjoyed seeing them scratching around in the soil. My garden isn't secure either, but it hasn't been a problem so far: they've become very tame and always come back into the run when I give them corn. They only get short spells of free-ranging when I'm right by them (I won't go in to answer the phone or anything), at weekends or occasionally when I'm home from work early. I do a bit of gardening while they're there - they love helping with digging - or listen to some music.

 

I think you shouldn't feel guilty about not free-ranging them if you're anxious about it: they'll be perfectly fine in their run. But if you do want to give it a try, with them under strict supervision, you might find it's fun for you as well as them. Only you'll know whether it's right - whether you can round them up if you need to, whether you can keep them under supervision. Let us know how you get on, if you do decide to let them free-range.

[LJ's Chooks]

 

So far the girls have not mistaken anything for a maggot

 

You are generous Mollystar... you could have said dried mealworm!!!

[Jess100]

Hmm all very useful stuff. I think I will give them a while to get used to me and then try it fencing off an area. I've got loads of bits of old rabbit runs I can do something with! I'll let you know!