Free Ranging Your Chickens (by Joshua Duvy)
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Editor's Note: Free ranging is a popular method of housing chickens and housing poultry in general. Why? Not only are the birds healthier from being able to exercise freely, but the costs of feed is reduced since the flock is allowed to forage for a portion of its nutritional needs. This article is a brief overview of what it requires to free range your birds......
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If your ducks, geese, chickens, etc. could talk, what would they say? It's
likely they'd squawk something like this: "You get a nice big house from which you're allowed to come and go as you please. We like to roam and walk too, you know. It's no fun
sitting here in this stuffy coop or cage with absolutely nothing to do." But they're just
birds! you say. Sure, but your flock would be happier (to say nothing of far
healthier) if they were allowed to flap their wings a bit.
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So why not let them free-range? There's nothing more picturesque than a pasture filled with birds of all kinds. However, for most people this system would not be economical or easy to install. Not only would you need a large amount of sturdy wire to ensure that your chickens don't escape, but you would also have to make sure that predators wouldn't be able to get in. Finally, if you're raising layers, I promise you won't have fun scurrying through the grass looking for eggs.
That is why I suggest that you try the "confined free range" system. It works for me, and I'm sure you'll love it. Confined free ranging gives your poultry all the perks of the open fields, with the protection of a coop. While time and effort on your part are kept at a minimum, the rewards from your chickens are plentiful. So how do you go about doing this "confined free ranging"? Simple. Build a bird yard!
A fenced in bird yard provides sunshine, grass, fresh air, space, and most of all....SAFETY. But I'm not talking about your ordinary chicken run that's permanent and located in one spot. The confined-free-range method uses a large, floorless wire coop that is moved around in a pasture on a periodic basis. This allows the birds to be "free" yet still kept safe under your control.
Where can you get such a cage? The easiest thing to do is purchase a big, wire dog kennel. Most of these cages are large enough to hold nearly 10-15 chickens (less for ducks or geese, who need more space), more than adequate for most small-scale poultry farmers.
However, to make this plan work you need to use something called "range rotation". Basically, its the same thing as rotating your garden. Even if the cage is cleaned often, parasites and bacteria become concentrated in the ground, increasing the chance that your flock could become sick. Of course, sick chickens aren't any fun to raise. To prevent such a problem, you rotate the cage in your pasture, ensuring that the soil your birds are living on is given time to rest and recover from the heavy pecking/scratching it endured under your poultry.
Another thing you need to remember about confined-free-range is that you must build, or buy, range shelters. They can be as simple as a lean-to constructed from scrap lumber on posts or as fancy as a giant "permanent" coop attached to a tractor and dragged around by chains. However, the purpose is nearly the same: to provide protection from the elements. Because you are not free ranging but are instead placing the range shelters in a confined area, you do not need to build an enclosed area since the birds are already protected from predators. At what age can you begin placing your birds in a confined free range system? The general rule is to allow the birds freedom once they are fully feathered. Tiny, fluffy chicks may look cute out in the sunshine, but you risk a lot when the get lost in the grass or caught in a storm. However, if you are raising these chicks using a broody hen, you can allow the chicks out earlier since their mother can protect them from the wind and rain.
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The final question most people ask is how long you can use the confined free range method? In areas where the winters get cold, free ranged birds should be moved into an enclosed coop to prevent frost-bite and other low-temperature related problems. In warm, tropical climates, you can keep your flock out in the open year-round.
