Thursday, November 6, 2014

Free Range

FREE RANGE



Yesterday was a big day for our hens. We finally let them fly the coop!

We have always wanted to let our hens be free range. It sounds so natural, so healthy for them. Actually, we are lucky to have a really large grassy run for them, about 35 feet by 20 feet, so even though they are fenced in for their safety, I feel like they really have been free ranging all along, just in a protected area. But now that the fall has arrived, the grass in their run has died down because of the pine needles. And every time I opened their run door, they try to grab a bite of the green grass still growing out of their run before the door shuts again. So that got me thinking that maybe it was time to let the girls try free ranging for real. But a few things were holding us back from letting them actually leave their run in their seven months with us. (I can't believe we've only had them seven months, it feels like we've had them much longer than that! In a good way.)

First, I wanted to wait until they had learned to always lay their eggs inside the nesting boxes in the coop. It would be sad if they were laying their eggs under a bush in the yard where we would never find them.

Second, I wanted them to be full grown. We have so many predators in our neck of the woods (hawks, raccoons, coyotes, snakes, etc.) that I figure the bigger the girls are, the better chances they have of not becoming someone's next meal.

Third, I wanted to make sure I had them trained to come running when I called them, so I could get them back into the safety of their run when it was time.

My boys were totally against it. These hens are our pets and we love them enough that we would be devastated to lose one. We recently had a hawk sitting on top of the chicken run, practically drooling over our hens. Thank goodness we have hawk-netting over the top to keep them out, or at least to make it harder for them to get in. We all ran outside to scare the hawk away. Sadly, the dogs missed the memo and went after the harmless squirrels; didn't even notice the hawk. Nice work, dogs. Note to self: re-train guard dogs. But the boys and I tried to scare the hawk away. Unfortunately, the hawk was not afraid of us. Really. It took a launched tennis ball to get it to leave the yard. So, that's a little disconcerting.



The boys didn't feel the risk was worth it.  I guess it's a similar decision as to whether to have your cat be an indoor cat or an outdoor cat. Trying to weigh the pros and the cons. But eventually, we decided to give it a try to see how it goes. A special treat for the hens. And we would stay right with them the whole time. After a quick heads-up text to our neighbors who have a dog that comes to visit sometimes, asking them to keep their dog home for a bit, and of course, locking up our own mutts (because I certainly don't trust them with the chickens yet, more training in order), we gave it a go and let the hens out!  It went great! The girls needed a little motivation to actually leave the run (mealworm snacks), but once they were out, they did great! They stayed nice and close to me and the boys, and had a fun little field trip around a small area of the yard.

Here are some photos of their first time out. I was going to post the video, but my voice is too annoying. Nothing like a video to make you aware of how annoying your own voice is. Especially when talking to chickens.








Our dog Jessie was going crazy in the house. Not sure if she wanted to come out and play with the chickens or come out and eat the chickens. But she was barking her head off inside. Definitely need to work with Jessie on that. Cooper was actually much more relaxed about it. No crazy barking, no crazy energy. Good boy, Cooper.

Relaxed Cooper, Barking Jessie

And then when it was time, the chickens were so good at returning to their coop, safe and sound. Phew! Success! We might have to make this a regular thing. :)




On another note, here is the one and only pumpkin that we succeeded in growing 
in our garden this year. I love it! Nice work, Jonathan.






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