Lulabellx1 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Hi all I have a dialema. I have got three lovely Light Sussex hens which came home with us last Saturday and they are settling in nicely to their new surroundings. I am planning on letting them do some free-ranging in the garden. We have a secure gaden with a 6 foot fence surrounding it and there are no holes as I have performed a thorough inspection. The veg beds are being protected as we speak as well! My problem is this. I work in the afternoons and if I only let them free-range when I am at home then they will only be able to be out for a small portion of the day (and I'll have to figure out a way of persuading them to go back into their house). Is it best to not let them free range at all (then at least they dont know what they are missing) or should I let them out for just a couple of hours a day when I am around? OR should I let them have free range of the garden when I am not there as well? This is really what I would like to do but I know some people advise against this. I'd like to hear form people who just let their hens have the coop (the coop is not small or anything) and from people who do part-time free ranging and from people who let the chickens have the lye of the land! As it were Lu xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 an hour will be anough free range time. i have the same coop i think and its lovely! sorry i cant type the essay i have in my head.. i hope someone comes along soon and anwsers it. its not 100% fox proof.. so dont leave them home alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutti Frutti Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Hello! I had a similar coop and found that my girls soon outgrew it! One of mine is a Light Sussex hybrid and she's grown into quite a big girlie So I built a walk in run at the end of the garden and have lots of shelves and perches on it so they can go up and down as well potter around on the floor. It also gives them space to get away from each other and they can even fly (or dive bomb in the big girls' case!). I read somewhere that the recommendation is for 1 square meter per chook. Personally, I wouldn't let my girls out to free range unsupervised. Even when they FR, I'm in the garden with them. We have 6ft fences and know a fox can scale them piece of cake But each to their own, some would rather they had a free FR life and run the risk of a fox attack than have them shut in a run. I'd rather not run the risk, but that's just me. I'd rather they were moaning at me for being shut in (which they only do when they can see me so it's all for show ) than taken and killed by a fox My girls are let out for about 10 minutes a day in the winter, for hours during summer weekdays and mostly all day at weekends. They can't hate the run that much as they nip in and out all the time and are no trouble to get in if I go shopping (a shake of the mealworm tub always does the trick!). There's a thread about fox attacks here, it might help you see what us chook mums are up against. HTH! And good for you for asking, better to be prepared and make an informed decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lulabellx1 Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 That was my main dialema really, how to get them back in the run if I need to pop out!! Funnliy enough I discovered dried mealworms in my local pet shop today so I'll be giving that a go I think. Hmmm, thats really interesting. I could defintely manage more than an hour. I could let them out for 2 hours in the morning and then again for 2 hours when I get back (in the summer). I know it will break my heart when they start pestering me to come out when they are not aloud though but at least they'll get some time in the garden. I'd love to build them a big play run, but space is short in our garden unfortunately. I have been avoiding that fox thread to be honest as I dont want to live in fear for my girls. But you are right, I should read it and be armed with mistakes from other people rather than make my own!! Lu x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutti Frutti Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Lu, another way of looking at it is that it's nature's way and a fox will take a bird if they're hungry or feeding cubs - all part of the cycle of life. The flip side of that for me is that, as a chicken mum, I feel I'm responsible for my girls' welfare and should provide food and water, look after their health and provide a safe, comfortable and entertaining shelter for them so they can live happily in comfort and without fear... I also think how I would react if I came home to a pile of feathers and blood and I just know I'd be in pieces But that's the pet keeper in me, not the livestock manager (my grandad would be tutting at me! He was a butcher with chooks at the end of his garden. Oh and I'm a veggie, biggest sin of all to him ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 our girls FR only in the afternoons (it makes me a little happier i can make sure they are eating their mash and not filling up on slugs + snails!) I lost a girl to a Fox while i was in the kitchen overlooking the back garden so i only FR while i am around! it is devastating to lose one even though i know its just nature, and the fox looking out gor itself. my girls go in for a slice of corn on the cob no problems! infact they lead the way to the rin sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 My tip (that Jules gave me over 2yrs ago when I was first starting out ), was everytime I shook the corn bowl or mealworms when trying to get them in was to say 'chook chook' and they soon associate it with treats. So when I want to get mine in, I just shake the bowl, shout 'chook chook' and they all come running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*mummy_hen* Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 My girls always stay in their WIR when i am not around, lots of people have different opinions and although i live in the country we are not in any way isolated or particularly likely to be subject to a fox attack but i could just not take the chance myself! I guess that is a decision you will have to make yourself. As for the free ranging time, i work full-time so they only get to come out for an hour or so a day (depending on the time of year) and most of the day at weekends and they have always been fine! They love to come out and play but are just as happy to stay in their WIR. A winner to get them back in the run everytime is always....FOOD!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lulabellx1 Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 Thanks all for your very informative replies!! I have had a chat with my partner and we have decided to only let them free-range when we are at home. We live in a close with a lot of children so when the kids are about I hope Mr Fox will not be (I know they can be very amiable to noise though). I dont usually go out till about 10am at the latest as I only work in the afternoons so the chooks can stretch their legs in the morning (mind you, I will have an egg hunt wont I?) and my partner will be home from 4.30pm so he can let them out for a run around in the afternoon. A good 2-4 hours every day of roaming, that should make them happy. Oh by the way, I picked up some dried mealworms from the local pet store.... THEY LOVE 'EM!!! They ate out of my hand for the first time... Lu xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
