Whether or not to allow your chickens {and other poultry} to free range is a debatable topic, and if you have ever considered it yourself either for your current flock or future flock, there are pros and cons that must be considered against your own personal situation.
Pros:
1. Healthy, Natural, Happy
It’s a given: if chickens are allowed to roam about, free from the restrictions of pens and fences, able to choose their own bugs, greens, and other goodies- you are probably going to have about the happiest and healthiest bird on the block. Why? Because it’s the most natural way to go.
2. Let’s Talk Eggs
If you recall my Why Chickens? My Top 5 Reasons post, you might remember the stats put forth by Mother Earth News regarding free-range chicken eggs vs. commercial eggs:
– 1/3 less cholesterol
– 1/4 less saturated fat
– 2/3 more Vitamin A
– 3x more Vitamin E
– 2x more Omega 3 fatty acids
– 7x more beta-carotene
Clearly, free-range chickens result in better eggs.
Period.
Period.
3. Let’s Talk Meat
For those of you raising or wanting to raise chickens for meat, it seems a no-brainer that free-range chicken would likely end up being a better option than strictly grain-fed poultry. And of course it is! Greens and grasses are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which in turn creates meat that is higher in Omega-3. In contrast, grain-fed chickens are high in Omega-6. We should have a friendly balance of both acids, but because your grocery store meats are from grain-fed animals, we as an average have far more of the Omega-6 in our bodies which can lead to degenerative diseases.
Additionally, free-range chicken results in more tender meat.
4. Less Poop in the Coop!
If your feathered friends spend the majority of their day outside, your coop maintenance will be drastically reduced. Less cleaning and a lowered cost of bedding is something few would find complaint about!
5. Peck, Scratch, Poop, Repeat.
If your chickens are welcomed in your garden, they will do wonders. Now, I would never suggest this during the early stages of your garden as you might not have anything left. But I have found that when the garden is at its peak and the girls get in there, they have such a good time picking out the weeds and bugs, scratching around and aerating the soil- they leave the “goods” alone. What’s more is they drop some fertilizer along the way. Same benefits go for the yard. Chasing grasshoppers, flies, and mosquitos all day long is good by me!
Cons:
1. Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
Let’s talk predators. To me, this is by far the #1 con of free-ranging your flock. No matter where you live, you probably have a predator or two who would love some chicken for lunch. Or supper. Or snack and everything in between- then come back for seconds. Raising free-ranged chickens my entire life, I have suffered a multitude of losses to predation. It happened just last week. And it is never easy to deal with. The worst of it is once a predator learns there’s chicken to be had, they will be back.
2. Let’s Talk…Eggs?
Where did they go? Ah, yes- the girls are having so much fun playing that it’s too much work to head back to the coop to deposit an egg in the box. Instead, they choose a nice sheltered spot under a tree to lay their eggs, and it is so well hidden that you don’t discover them until months later and you groan in agony at the dozens of eggs gone to waste! Now, not all girls are this irresponsible. But some will inevitably get in the habit of laying their eggs outside- and they’re usually tough to find.
3. Not-So-Neighborly Love
Do you have neighbors? How close? I’m fortunate to not have neighbors too close by and this is a non-issue for me. But if you do, keep in mind that free-rangers will do just that- range- and might range right over to your neighbor’s yard. If your neighbor doesn’t mind droppings in the yard and doesn’t have outdoor cats or chicken-eating dogs, you’re golden!
4. Slip ‘n Slide
If you have chickens in the yard, you will have plenty of their poop there too. This one always makes me laugh when it comes to my husband. I grew up with chickens and he did not. I spent my childhood barefoot and with chicken poop stuck to my toes…he did not. So having my free-rangers today, the droppings don’t bother me. But oh, he is not so cool about it.
He tolerates it, but doesn’t like it.
He tolerates it, but doesn’t like it.
5. All Cooped Up
This one is frustrating for me. After a predator attack, I tend to keep the flock cooped up for a few days to a week just in case the animal comes back right away. In my mind, I like to think that after returning a few times and finding no more lunch, the animal will lose interest and find food elsewhere. Most of the time it works…for a while. Until the next one comes along. But either way, the flock suddenly finds themselves in “jail” and desperately want to bust out of the joint! It makes it very difficult getting in and out of the coop to give fresh food and water. You’ve never seen me open and close that door so fast- and even then, one of them manages to fly through the fleeting opening which means I then have to give chase and catch the fugitive, sometimes unsuccessfully. It’s a headache. But given the fact that they’re used to their freedom, you can’t really blame them. So it can be a bit of a shock to go from freedom to four walls.
Conclusion:
You’ve got the pros and the cons.
Now weigh them against your current personal situation.I will use myself as an example:
Now weigh them against your current personal situation.I will use myself as an example:
I free-range. Why? Because I do believe that animals should be allowed to live the most natural, healthy, and happy life possible. It makes me feel good knowing that they feel good. And I like eating eggs that are probably the best eggs I can possibly eat. And I love taking photos of their happy little selves and watching that makes me happy.
However, I know that there is the possibility of loss due to predation. This year alone we lost 3 of our best laying hens and 1 young cockerel. I understand that this can happen. But I have made adjustments in order to prevent further loss. I’m fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom, and I literally stay at home 98% of the time. If I have to go to town that morning, the flock doesn’t get to come out until I’m home. I also know how to use a gun very well and am willing to protect my birds if necessary. And I’ve done it. I’m constantly on alert and probably step outside 3 or more times a day simply due to ruckus. Thankfully, it’s almost always a false alarm.
But I’m there.
But I’m there.
Additionally, I have a dog. Earlier this summer, he alerted me to the timber wolves that walked through the yard in broad daylight. Definitely helps having a living, breathing alarm system.
I would love to hear your thoughts and your current situation. Do you free-range? If not, what kind of system do you have? Thanks so much for coming over and sharing 🙂
Shared on:
Down Home Blog Hop #63
Homestead Barn Hop #135
Clever Chicks Blog Hop #60
The Homesteaders Hop #17
Beautiful chickens! I am always tempted to get chickens until I think of going out in the winter, trudging through 2 feet of snow and taking care of them.
Thanks so much for stopping in at Cranberry Morning and following! I’m running a giveaway of 4 handcrafted, vegan soaps today through Thursday only. Be sure to stop in and enter! 🙂
I know what you mean! I’m excited to have a snowblower this year so hopefully my husband can clear a nice path for me ;).
Will stop by, thank-you!
Erin
There is so much to consider when making your decision! We keep our chickens enclosed in a big run with a guard dog and let them out to free range when we can supervise them. They have turned into pets for me so I can’t bring myself to risk losing them to a predator. But we have increased their run several times to give them lots of space to roam and try to let them out whenever we can.
We free range ours, but lock them up at night. We did lose some chickens to loose domestic dogs, but in the long run we decided it was worth the risk. Here’s another one to add to your list….
Pro: Your roosters get along better. We’ve found the extra space allows them to tolerate each other for the most part.
We lock ours up at night also. The one time that I forgot until late is when the wolves got our two Cochins this past summer :(.
I agree on the roosters too! We have LOTS of roosters and it’s absolutely necessary that they have that room to get away from one another 😉
Thank so much for visiting!
We have always let our chickens free-range until this year. We have lost too many flocks from coyotes and sadly, our own dogs. We got the dogs before we decided to become chicken people, and we just can’t get rid of them. Once the older one dies, we will probably go back to free-range. The younger one will be easily trained once the ring leader is gone.
Until then, we have a large run for them.