Should I let my chickens free range all day

[Gem2006]

I’m chicken newbie planning on 3 bantams in a few weeks. I don’t want to feel I’m restricting them and hoping to give them as natural a life as possible, I can’t really deal with rabbits in hutches etc (not criticising it’s just not for me). I’m getting a coop with 8ft fox proof run and leaving pop hole to the coop open so they can get up and go to bed when they like, safe from foxes at night, but I’m planning on opening the run each morning so they can free range. I’ve read bantams aren’t as destructive and hoping 3 in a largish surburban garden should be ok. We love feeding wild birds but this has meant we now have a sparrow hawk visiting. We also live one house away from a nature reserve with foxes. I’m kind of thinking that farmers have their chickens free ranging all day (I often see them on the side of the roads as I drive to work) and the laws of nature may mean my 3 bantams are no more at risk than those chickens or all the wild birds. We have loads of bushes and trees and places for them to hide. Should I let them free range or buy a bigger run and keep them ‘safe’ but not as happy?

We have a similar set up to you. When we are home and in and out the garden we let them out. But remember when hens are free ranging it can be difficult to get them back in the cage until they go in themselves in the evening.
Also we do not let them out in the early morning or on days with bad weather as that's when we've seen the fox skulking around.
If they do free range you can never eliminate the risk but you can reduce the chances.
Good luck and enjoy them

Thank you Marmot. Do you leave them in the garden if you’re busy in the house or popping out to the shops for instance?
There’s not many days of the year where the weather is nice enough to be actually in the garden much, so I’m imagining lots of days where we might be home but the patio doors are shut and we might not be ‘watching’ them but it will still be nice for them to be rummaging about?

My bantams free range all day, all year with no-one home. We live very rurally and don’t have a fox issue. I’ve had my girls for 5 years. I’m surrounded by farmers though that shoot foxes that become a worry to stock-I’ve got lambs directly behind house.

I do know there is a risk though, unfortunately you won’t know if you have a fox issue until the worst happens. I’d probably give it a couple of weeks in the run with supervised access and see if any foxes appear then play it by ear.

I have 4 girls (have had 5) and you can’t see where they have been in the garden, no damage at all (mine are Pekins).

Thank you!! That’s good to hear! I’d researched that pekin bantams might be best so that’s very reassuring to hear that is actually the case (DH is keen gardener and worried about the damage but the garden is established with big shrubs etc he doesn’t have any bare soil or delicate flowers, he tries to garden for the wildlife so there are always piles of branches left lying around for instance which I thought the chickens would like). We live in a village surrounded by farmers so fingers crossed we’ll be like you and able to let them out all day. Yay!

Yes we do pop out and are in the house a lot of the time when they are free ranging. It's more we wouldn't leave them a whole day while everyone is out at work and school. The idea is that if the fox is around he will be put off by people coming and going. Also on nice days there is a lot of noise from that open space behind our house where they live and I think that puts them off. I think the best thing is to do a bit of both and find out what works best for you.

It’s urban foxes that are the biggest danger-they are much braver and associate humans and houses with food. Around here they are still naturally afraid of people and there is an abundance of pheasant, rabbit and hare-so it is rare they venture to populated areas.

But that’s not to say no risk-but I’ve decided that my girls are much happier out so we acceot the danger.
We move to next village later this year so will have to test the water to start with-but I can’t see me keeping them in, they are too used to it now.

Enjoy your girls, I adore mine-could watch them all day.

Thank you both! So incredibly helpful, I’m really happy they’ll get so much time foraging (once I’ve sussed it all out like you suggest). I hadn’t really thought about the difference between urban and rural foxes that makes a lot of sense. There are SO many rabbits near us I’m sure it’s like fine dining for the foxes I bet they couldn’t be bothered to break into our garden (but totally realise it’s a definite risk). I’m SO excited! I want them today!!!!!

Ours are free when we're home and shut in if we're going to be out for more than ten mins say. We use mealworm as bribery for getting back in, they will always come running for those. They do poo around the garden which is a pain but we don't have any slugs or snails!
Enjoy, chickens are so much fun! They are huge characters and will frequently join us in the house if the back door is open - not allowed but they enjoy breaking in!

😂 I told my DH they will probably come in the house (I’d love that!) and he’s like no way! I can’t wait for them to ‘break in’

Word of warning, chickens poo absolutely everywhere. We have had chickens for about 8 years now and have lost plenty to foxes, mainly when we've forgotten to lock them up at night but the last four were all taken in broad daylight on a sunny day when they were just wandering about. We have 5 acres but they like to stay near to the house and are particularly fond of pooing all over the patio plus perching on the patio furniture and pooing from height. It makes an enormous mess.

We don't have any at the moment because having lost the four to the foxes we were waiting to get a particular type from a local supplier but I'm now having a new patio and am having chicken doubts. We might actually just make a large enclosure this time around and not let them free range.

They will eat your DH's plants BTW and you will have to move the run around a lot since the patch the run is standing on will be reduced to mud very quickly. This means you can't be precious about a lawn. If you are then you're better to have a dedicated run area and put down bark or another type of surface for them which you'll then need to change regularly.

If you're leaving the run open with access to food you may also get rats. We've never had this problem but DM's garden (edge of village next to open fields) was like a rat park. You could sit in the kitchen and watch them coming in for food every 20 minutes or so.

You could also consider building a chicken Chunnel.

Our chickens were always free range during the day. To be honest they would spend most of the time in the house if the back door was open. They would keep an eye out and shoot indoors. Visitors used to find it quite disconcerting to find a chicken on the back of the sofa.

How funny on the sofa!
Ooh lots to think about, I feel like I keep worrying too much and it’s putting me off, maybe I’m better just jumping in and getting some. I did have 5 hybrids once, for a few weeks, they were a bit overwhelming and they did poop a lot then we got red spider mite and I found it all stressful so we gave them to a farmer. This time I’ve learnt from those mistakes and getting a bigger coop, only 3 chickens and smaller ones. People have said bantams don’t make much mess?

well they're smaller.. otherwise I'm not sure they're any different really? You won't be as overwhelmed with eggs.

My bantams have always turned broody very quickly