I hate free range chickens. There. I said it. Let the stoning begin.
But first, perhaps I should clarify.
Let's just say that I lived out in the middle of a seventy three acre pasture. In said pasture, there was nothing but native grasses, and perhaps one bovine. I lived in a hut with no surrounding neighbors, cars, roads, gardens, animals, or landscaping.
In that scenario, I probably wouldn't hate free range chickens. But, as these things go, that is not the scenario we're in.
And thus, I do.
Free ranging sounds pretty, doesn't it? Do you picture chickens grazing amongst the clover, in the sunshine – green meadow, blue sky- with rainbows shooting out of their wing tips? Ya. I know. I did too.
… but that ain't reality, my friend. Especially on a working farm. Thus, the chicken run.
See how she's turning away from me? The snob.
Reasons I Hate Free Range Chickens
1. They scratch up my gardens.
Sometimes this is good, sure, like those three weeks a year when I don't have anything planted in it. But broccoli starts that I've been patiently and lovingly growing since the middle of February, gently transplanted out at the ideal time, mulched to perfection, only to have a rogue chicken scratch them up in a matter of minutes with their big stupid feet? Fu-get-about-it.
Yes. This happened last weekend. And I wept (It was before Pocket's death… it seemed big at the time. Don't judge me).
But lest you think chickens only save themselves for broccoli, let me assure you, they are a promiscuous bunch and willingly give themselves to any available scratching-up.
Such as my twenty new lavender plants. Or that beautiful climbing rose that survived the attack by an escaped lamb, only to fall victim to the poultry gangsters. In fact, until I fenced in my chickens, I didn't realize just how much had to be fenced to keep them off and away: raspberries, strawberries, lambs ear, the flower garden, both vegetable gardens, the ivy, the trumphet vine, the porch…
…and speaking of the porch, that leads me to a very, very significant second point:
2. They POOP EVERYWHERE.
Porch. Greeting mat. Cars. Hay. Feed boxes. Children's shoes. Golf cart. Grills. Tables. Coats. Camera cases. Toys. Tractors.
No surface is sacred from their defecation. I realized this the morning we got in the car for church, only to realize that a car door had been left open and a Buff Oprington thought it her obligation to apparently mark her territory on my seat in some sort of sacred chicken ritual reserved only for the finest of circumstances. Like leaving a giant chicken poo smear on the back of my maxi dress.
Don't worry. I changed.
I thought about just wiping it off (I am a homesteader, after all) but thought the smell to be far too offensive to fellow congregants. And ya know. God.
And speaking of smells, let's just talk about the giant elephant in the room here. THE SMELL! Oh lawdy. It's bad. It's baaaaaad. I'm quite accustomed to the smell of poo around here: I've got rabbit poo, sheep poo, cow poo, pig poo, and three human being's that seem to never stop going.
And yet still, chicken poo tops them all – it takes the cake! (That is, the poo-smelling-cake that would cause instantaneous death upon an attempt to eat it) And frankly, I just got tired of cleaning it off from everywhere all the time. I've got better things to do… like drink mojitos and contemplate heirloom vegetable varieties and stuff.
3. They lay in naughty places.
Just for fun, let's take stock of all the places we've found loose eggs:
The trunk of the van, the bed of the truck, the grill, under the house, inside the house, in the neighbor's dog kennel… and in the neighbor's hedge, in the shop, in the haystack, in the shrubs, in the cow shelter, in the field, in buckets, in the tomatoes…
Shall I go on?
Now… I don't know about your farm… but we don't have any of those money trees growing around here. So that organic, local, non-GMO feed that I splurge on to feed the chickens? It better be putting food on my table in the form of eggs, man. If I'm only collecting 80% of what they're producing, that's just bad economics for the farm.
The Solution: A Chicken Run
I do love the idea of chickens scratching for their food. I think it's important and healthy for them (this standard is what got is into this mess in the first place). That being said, we came up with some middle ground that has served us well – a chicken run. And even though our chickens aren't completely free-range anymore (that is, they have boundaries), they still have a huge chunk of fresh land to scratch up as they'd please.
Decide On An Area For The Chicken Run
We first had to decide how much of our land we were willing to open up to these ladies. The hill behind the coop seemed to be an obvious choice for their chicken paradise. It gave them over 3000 square feet to roam free and eat other things besides my rosemary.
Fence The Chicken Run
We opted for round posts and 2×2 kennel fencing. It's not the cheapest option available, but since this is very visible from our house, the aesthetic aspect did matter to me. I know, I know, Joel Salatin says the aesthetics of an operation don't matter much. But I'm a woman who likes pretty things – I can't help myself. I love the way that the round posts and fencing look structured, but still natural.
Because the kennel fencing only came 4 ft tall (chicken fact: they can seriously fly pretty dang high), I simply strung some natural twine a few more feet up the round posts to help deter any hoppers.
We installed a gate so that we can easily enter and exit The Chicken Palace with a wheelbarrow or tractor.
And then I planted some clematis and hardy kiwi alongside that shall climb the fence and create a living barrier full of beautiful blossoms and fruit.
… unless I kill them. Which, let's face it, I've been known to do a time or two.
… but I still had to try. I love climbing plants and the look they give to spaces. Can't just picture this? A beautiful, flowing wall of clematis lining our driveway? Ahh… dreams…
Police The Area
We've had a few rebels. Chickens that are used to ranging over 10 acres don't take too well to confinement, at first. But luckily, I'm the boss. And what I say goes. And I say “Lay your danged eggs in the danged chicken coop and stay out of my danged broccoli, crazy poultry gangsters!”
They listen. Some of the time.
There are two white ones that are refusing to place by the rules and shall be re-homed to my Mama's coop shortly. Great chickens. But seriously hazardous to a spring garden full of sprouts.
Enjoy The Chicken Run In All Its Glory
Life is much more peaceful without the chickens causing chaos. After all, there are still those little humans and puppies that I have to contend with. And I love that I can still see them scratching, pecking, sunning, dust bathing, and frolicking from my windows. I love that they are still in an entirely open area, full of sunshine, soil, bugs, compost, and life.
Couple that with the fact that they're safer from the neighbor's dogs, and it's really a win-win situation.
Win-win because at this moment, there is no chicken poo on my house shoes AND I have eggs on my breakfast plate.
And that deserves an Amen.
Other Chicken posts:
Janet
I feel your pain, especially the poop on the porch….which gets tracked in. Ours lay their eggs in the boxes, our problem was gathering all the chickens up in the evening. Some would walk right in to get fed, others would lead us on a wild goose–um, chicken–chase. We recently re-did a 5 acre pasture, to make it “everything” proof…..but a few chickens still escape. Looks like we will be fencing the garden=(
Sara S.
We are putting posts in this weekend for our chicken pasture. After allowing them to free-range on our acre plot for almost a year, the last straw was when I found them across the street in the “angry man” neighbor’s flower bed thrilled with a new place to scratch it up. Carrying my 27 lb. one and a half year old on my hip as I tried to shoo them all back across the road before said angry man neighbor found out they were there was the end of their free ranging days.
Allison Lavine
I’m not going to bash anyone- each farm has to decide what works best for their circumstances. Before we moved to the homestead – our chickens free ranged in our fairly rural neighborhood, most nights they all made it to the coop before doors closed, although sometimes they didn’t and ended up roosting on the shelves in the lean-to. Some neighbors didn’t mind it, some did, especially when one caught them in her flower beds. It would drive me mad to get home from work and find the mulch all over the front sidewalk and in the grass instead of the flowerbeds! They ended up in a penned area and wings were clipped. Now that we are on a 100 acre farm we are planning our chicken run. It will be a larger fenced area the girls can get to from the coop we built in the barn. They will stay out of the vegetable garden and the flower beds!!! 🙂 Good luck and best wishes!
Jacquelyn
We tried to free-range on our seven acres, but had the same problems you mention here. Now we try to do the Joel Salatin type thing and rotate them on pasture behind our sheep. We use electric netting and mobile shelters/coop then move the sheep and chickens every few days. It works pretty well. It distributes the poop and keeps the parasite load in the sheep down.
Angi @ A Return To Simplicity
We literally did the exact same thing. Our chickens have been used to roaming our 10 acres (their favorite parts being my garden and flower beds+porches.) and they are now in a large 1/3 an acre “run”. I am SOOOO happy that my porch rugs are no longer covered in chicken crap, and my herb garden is not being used for dust baths. Haha. I can definitely relate to this post. 🙂 So glad for you!
Anna
I hated free-ranging for all the same reasons. An to add to the list, we had a sudden predator problem, which reduced my small flock down to two ladies. I have since replenished the flock. I thought I’d let them out last week to cover some fresh spring ground, and sure enough, a predator got another four. Sad week, lesson learned 🙁
Season
I can totally relate to this!! We have a large chicken area fenced and they still manage to get out, which dtives me crazy! Nothing like walking into your garage and having to look out for chicken poop and not to mention how embarrassing it is when a friend drops by. We are revamping our fence again real soon with 5 FOOT HIGH fencing. We have even clipped wings and still they manage to get out I have seen them climb the fence, they are unstoppable! Lets not even talk about Goose poop.
Xandra Williams
Hi, I know how you feel, I am in the throws of designing and then building a chicken tractor so I can have them in out top field…AWAY…from our house…they break in at every chance! We will have a movable electric fence to stop the foxes…I am so looking forward to not having poop on my house shoes! Thanks for the article, it was a very funny yet informative read.
Jenna
Those chickens are total gangsters! Have you heard about Geoff Lawton and his chicken tractors on steroids? I think it’s a brilliant idea, everything he touches seems to turn to gold, but I’ve seen a few applications where it seems to work as directed. Would also solve the issue of your expensive feed bill for them if you’ve got enough scraps going. Just a thought! Good luck with the new run. 🙂
Billie
I totally agree. We live in a neighborhood of non farmers. They are very nice and supportive, but I hated seeing a renegade chicken grazing in a neighbor’s yard. We also had some issues with dogs killing our chickens and I am sick of chasing them out of the garden and finding eggs in unexpected places…..basically the whole shebang mentioned in the article. I really like the Joel Salatin style chicken tractors. I am in the process of doing something similar for us. The chickens have significantly reduced the amount of flies we have, so I want to be able to be able to keep them following the cows. That is a nice compromise.
Lissa
I just have to say Thank You for the recipe for chicken feed. We finally started mixing up our own after becoming disgusted over how much waste (powder) was being left behind from the organic chicken feed we were purchasing from the feed mill. The combination you came up with is just perfect! Our chickens had large bare patches on their backs. We could not get them to grow feathers for anything. We even got rid of the rooster in hopes they would grow back. After just over a week on this new food they were fully feathered! And in the middle of winter to boot! Yes this feed is expensive but we always say you can’t put a price on health.
Thank you once again!
Jen @ The Easy Homestead
Oh, how I feel your pain! We used to let our chickens free range all over and our shoes, front porch, and everything was always covered in poop. It got old really fast! We now have them fenced in (with electric fencing and poultry netting) on 10 acres that are separated into 5ish acres and follow the goats around. I do not miss the chicken poop all over the place!
Sarah Paea
Oh My Good Ness!
I have read your blog for sometime. You make me think of the Homesteader’s Erma Bombeck. Although I have felt like commenting in the past I just haven’t taken the time. After this post on your Poultry Gangstas I just had to! Our daily routine, until recently, always included an egg hunt. The bottom of the stroller, on top the tool box, in the pile of kindling, in the trash barrel, etc. Then there is their favorite place to dump…..on the neatly stacked firewood on the back porch. We now have a chicken run also. After 14 years of free ranging it, I have set out my first pot of flowers! (Just outside the chicken coop, so they can see exactly what they are not scratching up) My reasoning in the past for free ranging wasn’t necessarily for their benefit. I have an irrational fear of snakes and the chickens helped. We also have bear stroll through on occasion and the chickens naturally go beezerk, alarming us to a big hairy beast in the area. I’ve since stopped relying on the chickens and put my trust in the lead stacked neatly in the pantry. After all, it doesn’t poop. I did leave a worthless rooster on the run. So far he has not caused trouble. Just hovers around the run and pecks up the feed that is occasionally left by the cows at milking. This set up has changed my life!
Amen to boundaries! !
Bonnie
Ugh! I know oh my gosh how I know! Our chickens have there own little pasture but they have striped that clean and the grass is literally green on the other side they are now in dirt :/ our place is to small to rotate them so I give them scratch and scraps in the morning and then let them out toward the end of the day so they get a few hours of free ranging on grass etc and less damage it done to my flower beds. Our garden is fenced. The fence is taller than me and keeps them out 🙂 I look forward to the day when we can rotate the chickens. I definitely live with a pack of chicken gangsters!
Camille
My chickens are still at the main house with my ducks, which is 1/3 of an acre and not at the main ranch yet. What really worked for us is we put them in a coop/small run maybe 16×4 small I know but the fences are only 4′. Then we clipped the flight feathers on one wing. It takes 2-3 months for them to grow back when we noticed chickens escaping we did it once more… Now my chickens “free range” my whole property but they head straight back to the coop around dusk and they don’t fly over the fence until after they have laid their morning egg. I also have a kiwi plant full grown, cannot kill it, i accidentally tried, so have the dogs, ducks and chickens, nope it grows back stronger every year. Same with my grape vines, they are in one of the pig pens, they get rooted up snacked on, scratched on, climbed on eaten bare, and every spring new life shoots forth. I had no idea they were so hardy but i’m glad they are i think its a great choice for around your coop.
Marie
I might mind the garden less if I could garden all except three weeks in the year. 🙂 We have a 110 day frost-free season, so losing anything in the garden is a tragedy – there is NO chance to replant and have another crop.
We’re going from free range to a paddock system. It’s not possible to have free range chickens AND a garden. Plus, I’m getting tired of feeding the local mink.
Kerry Keel
Marie, you might want to consider a green house. To heat it, make methane, that is, natural gas from the chicken poop. The left over liquid from the digester to make the fuel gas can be used as a fertilyzer.
katy
May I suggest sectioning your run into 3 runs. No matter how large a space you give your chickens, they manage to turn it into dirt pretty quickly; especially in the winter. We recently split our run into 3 sections (with temporary fencing) and it is giving the grass time to replenish a bit. We let them in 2 of the 3 sections and let the next one replenish before we rotate them. It may be better to split into 4 sections but we only had enough fencing to do 3 so… 🙂
Cortney
Brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of this?
Shaye Elliott
Love this idea, Katy.
emily
Your property is amazingly beautiful!! Good job on setting up boundaries 🙂
Judy G
Yup. Been there, done that. Couldn’t stand the constant poop on my patio. And then when we got our new puppy who loved to snack on the poop, that was the last straw. They got fenced in so quickly.
Kathy
I know what you mean by poo everywhere. We fenced in a area in front of our house that the chickens can’t get in and then fenced in a garden area. They still get in with the goats which is a good thing but they don’t venture very far away. We have 10 adult chickens ands bunch of pullets and 5 ducks. Gosh I didn’t realize ducks were so messy. They have their own little kids swimming pool but they still muddy up the chickens water. The ducks just started quacking and they love sitting in the grass and nibbling it when they aren’t sitting in the pool. Wears on 13 acres and they all stay home.
Mummaducka
Yes mine have to be in a run as well. Otherwise they scratch all my mulch up, and risk being killed by my dogs. I chain my german shep up in the afternoon and they get a couple of hours onbthe lawn and paddock around their yard( which is about ¼ acre. They are lucky- they get scraps and 2 sorts of feed mix- pellets and a grain mix. Plus they get a bale of lucerne(alfalfa??) hay in there to get some green pick. Plus i always have fruit trees in with them. I built a new run and there’s 4 young mulberry trees doing really well in there. Eventually they’ll grow and spread and cover the whole thing. Perfect as chooks are jungle animals and will live that canopy. Which will open Up in winter for them when they lose their leaves.
Confining the poop is a good thing. I can’t remember the exact bug that got mine, but my kids got quite ill (and hospitalised) from it. Not to mention the odd coccidiosis spreading to calves etc. salmonella and e coli are other ones. Your little children are crawling on the ground. We had a strict shoes off at the door policy at home for this.
Tammy
Love this! I totally relate! At this very moment my porch is covered with chicken poop. So is the grill, the cat house, my son’s bow target, and a pair of boots, which are all on the porch. Love my girls, but a run is in our future….or theirs. 😉 Poultry gangstas! LOL
Sarah @ The Farmhand Homestead
Oh how I love to watch my chickens from the kitchen window, but not when they are digging up my newly planted strawberries. We have tried to pen them in and clip their wings but they still find a way out. If we did not have to get the barn roof painted we would totally be putting chicken wire around the pasture this year. One more year of dealing with a poopy porch and endless Easter egg hunts. Enjoy your clean porch!
Lori Barre
sigh…
I recently had to visit the henhouse when they roosted in the evening to “trim” some wings. Mostly the Aracauna’s, those sneaky birds!
I have been moving my strawberry beds out of my garden where they are trying to take over and the chickens are making me so ticked off. I couldn’t imagine not having chickens, BUT….. 😉
Lisa
Chicken gangstas!! LOL!! I so feel your pain! I’ve been thinking of doing this for a year now! My beautiful garden! My gorgeous flowers! My porch! Grrr! Maybe I’ll get it done this year.
April B
AMEN! 😀
Cindy
i really appreciate this post! So true. Our girls and roo are now safely fenced in with room to scratch, dust bathe and run around. The garden is safe, our space is safe and our girls are safer to! Another benefit to controlling their space is controlling what comes into it. We have every predator imaginable and a few months ago after losing one of our girls to a bobcat attack, I was able to get him because he could not easily get to our chickens and when he tried again I got him instead. The threat of predator loss is greatly reduced. I almost saved our buff when he took her, he killed her but I forced him to drop her and deprived him of that meal. Life is so much easier when we all have our space ?
Kylie M.
How do you keep your hens safe from hawks while in an open run like this? I would love to build something like this at our new house, but worry about hawks picking them off. We don’t have a rooster & aren’t allowed to have one in the neighborhood where we live.
Shaye Elliott
We haven’t had a problem with hawks. They’re usually pretty fast to hide under their coop whenever they see a hawk up above.
Janet
I have bird netting over our run, keeps the hawks out and the banty’s in! Our fence for the girls is about 6ft. and the banty’s would easily fly over it if it weren’t for the bird netting.
Kerry Keel
I never thought I would ever raise chickens. That ended about 2 years ago. The way our society is going, and prices going up, I think the “haves” will be those who know how to plant a garden, and have some kind of food animal around. Anyway, ……. Knowing that I knew little about these critters, called chickens, I got a book, and a few magazines to get me at least to the beginning apprentice stage. Yes, I know about the poop, but, mine are free range only in the fact that they have a large pen to run in. No cages, at all, unless a bird is sick. I have 3 that I am treating for Bumble Foot. A vet in Opp, AL, told me it is due, in part, to a vitamin shortage. She also told me to toss the pine chips for bedding, and use a green Horse hay. Why it is called bedding, I have no clue, since they roost on wood bars. Since I have zero desire to see any of my birds become a meal for a Hawk, Owl, or anyother bird of prey, my pen is mostly covered. So far, it is working. I understand the woes of bird poop, and where they do it. I have also learned that the phrase “dumb cluck” does not apply to Chickens. Albeit limited, they figure things out. I have also found that they like to stay in their pen. I was in the pen, and hen house area one day, and, being playful, I said BOO, to some of my birds. One took off, straight up, and over the fence. While my first thought was the troouble to get her back, quickly evaporated. She was frantic to get back into the pen. So, this guy does understand the perils of raising chickens, and the joys that come with it.
Michael
I’m 73 years old and have never posted comment on any blog (don’t really know what one is) before. Have been gardening and farming all my life including raising rabbits, dogs, calves,and chickens.I can” feel your pain” . I must say that of all (several) homestead sites that I keep up with, your’s is the most entertaining and informative. At present all 22 of my chickens are not free range and never will be (been there and done that). One of the most embarrassing times in mine and my wife of 54 years was when guests came in our house with chicken poop on someone”s foot and all of us including our guests tried to pretend the odor didn’t exist. However just as soon as I get over the surgery I just had, I will be setting up runs for my Australorpes and Black Star Hybrids.Have many predators here in central Alabama and must provide netting or poultry wire overhead or feed the local hawks. Want to offer one suggestion. In order to keep coyotes, foxes, dogs, etc. from digging under your fence extend out from the fence about two feet with fencing fastened with tent stakes. Hope I haven’t worn out my welcome with this “tirade”. If I comment in the future, it will be much, much shorter.
Beth
We had the same problem but found owls and Hawks still getting them from above. We covered the run with fruit tree bird netting. We also ran an electric wire around the bottom to keep out raccoons and opossum. It has been great so far. Thx for the fun articles.
Meg
I could not agree more with this post! Haha! I just finished a chicken pasture which is attached to a completely enclosed 16 foot run. I plan on making thenpasture bigger, but for now am so happy to have back my yard, beds & walkways! Plus by keeping the girls fenced, I can resume feeding wild birds!
Samantha Burns
Chickens are so much fun─until they reach the garden! Or til the poo starts to accumulate here and there, lol! Great post; thanks for sharing.
Dory
This Is so funny, we have 2 roosters and about 12 hens and I love seeing them roam, but my Hubby hates the chicken poop everywere! We need to set a run up. I like katy’s idea about the sections , it bothers me when they don’t have fresh area to “work”! In my perfect world they will have a Chicken wagon and new scratching ground evey few days…. In my perfect world.
Rhenda and Jim Wilson at Heartiness Homestead
We reached the same heart wrenching decision today. We lost one hen yesterday because she kept trying to see how far she could go by herself. Well, the hawk found her, killed her and left her. What a waste! So today, we decided they can only be out when we are watching. One still got herself hid away some where. (We found her) So we have a small run and we will need to make a bigger one because a dead chicken does not give eggs.
Jessica
I seriously can sympathize with this post. If we could just tell them to “free range” in a certain area. LOL
Great post thanks for sharing.
Pam Winterrowd
Great article and true on ALL counts.ha. We have about 20 chickens who free-range on our 3 acres which are surrounded by farm fields; our chickens have no one to bother but us. The poop drives my husband crazy and he says there will be NO free-ranging chickens at the new house, so I was glad to stumble upon this article and all the reader suggestions. We are retiring to 3 acres next door to my parents in FL, and the chicken will have to be contained. I feel much better about that after reading this article.
Jenifer M. Dana
I am Jenifer from Hickory. Last few days I try to build the chicken coop, like this types. But not possible to complete till now, I think if you try to build something then you need to collect some materials for complete your dream. Thanks for share this really interesting plan.
Jim J
Your website is an inspiration. It takes me back to 1960 where as a 6 year old black Philadelphia PA kid, I found myself dropped off in North Carolina with a grandmother I had never met. She lived alone on a 48 acre farm with a mule, a large yellow cat and lots of chickens and hogs. I cried for a week wondering why my mother abandoned me. Finally this stern grandmother told me to get over it and I had to pull my weight. That every living thing on the farm had to work to produce food for us to survive. The next 12 years was full of hard work (self-pity sometimes) and eating of food I mostly hated because I did not appreciate farm grown food back then. The only items we bought from the store was paper products. I learned how to plant and take care of a variety of farm crops, plow a mule, milk a cow, raise and butcher chickens, hogs, and a variety of wild game for food on the table. Let me finish by saying I left that farm right after high school in 1972 and have been working with the U.S. Military ever since mostly in overseas locations. I can truly say what success I have had came from what I learn on that farm during those formative years. I would not trade it for anything in the world. And that food I use to hate, I now cannot get enough of it. I live in a metro area so I plant vegetables in buckets.
Josh
I don’t like free-ranging chickens either. But I’ve transitioned from a permanent chicken run to a portable run and it’s been fantastic! I wrote a blog post about it here: https://homeschooledhomesteader.com/why-you-shouldnt-have-a-permanent-chicken-run/ – you should check it out – I’d love to know what you think!
Shelby DeVore
Oh no!! Free ranging chickens are the best! I even wrote a post about it on my blog: httsp://farminence.com/raising-chickens-on-pasture. I will say that it’s not the easiest at times and can be inconvenient. Our chickens are for the most part free-ranged. I don’t let them out on days when I’m not going to be home because we have a much-too-healthy fox population around my farm. I’ve always more or less had free-ranged chickens (20+ years). Some are better mannered than others! We had a flock several years ago that was bad.. They pooped everywhere and one of their favorite places to poop was on my doormat. That wasn’t cool. That same group of chickens was obsessed with our brand new pontoon boat that we had. They pooped on it one time and my husband decided they weren’t going to be free ranged anymore. LOL. We’ve since moved and have a much larger flock and larger yard space, so we tried free-ranging again. I don’t know what the difference is with this group (27 hens and a rooster) but they don’t come into our carport/porch area the same way that the previous group did. They also could care less that our boat is there. We have different breeds this time than the ‘bad’ flock, so maybe that makes a difference? Or maybe it’s because it’s a larger group? I don’t know why they seem to behave better, but I guess some chickens are more mannerly than others!
vuyani Tony
I am extremely interested in having a free-range flock.
Peg
My grandparents who died back in the 70’s, had 90 acres and a chicken coop in view of the farmhouse. But the house had a fence around it to keep all the farm animals away from the house and porches. The chickens were in their free ranging area and the other animals were in other areas. Chickens don’t really stray long distances away from their territory. They like to stay near their home base and where they get fed by their humans. I’m not remembering now if the garden had it’s own fence or not! I’ve been letting my chickens free range here since I’ve had them for almost 10 years–fenced in the garden, lightly fenced in with chicken wire any other beds around or laid chicken wire down on ground on bare areas in landscape beds as needed. I keep a roll of paper towels and spray bottle of disinfectant handy to pick up any chicken poop. It’s not all that much on the porches unless we have a lot of rain and then they love to hang out on the rails and walk around up there more. I keep a nest box on the porch to for another place to lay eggs. Guests love to get to see that happen! Your article was great and wonderfully humorous!
Heather
I know this is a five year old post but I just had to comment anyway. I was actually searching for ways to build a fence the chickens can’t fly over and I found this article. I didn’t read who’s blog it was or anything and I had to laugh because my daughter and I watch your youtube videos all the time.
Anyway, I’m at my wit’s end with our chickens. We have nearly six acres for them to free range and they spend 90% of their time pooping on our back deck. It used to be such a lovely place to sit…So I’m researching options before all 48 of them end up in my freezer and I go back to buying my eggs.