Chicken Run or Free Range & put at night?

[Diesel]

Do you keep your chickens in a pen or run full time or let them free range and put them up at night? What kind of setup do ya have? Pics if you have them

[Bobbie]

I have kept chickens both ways as free range and in a coop. There are pros and cons to both. Free range you do not have to feed them at al or as much and you put them up at night but a few can still be killed by coyotes or foxes during the day. Also they hide their eggs or have them in bad placves. Also chickens can spread dieseases to your other animals.In the coop you do give them all their food plus short grass clippings(too long it can impact their crop) but they are safe and it is easy to get their eggs. the coop is made from pallets with chicken wire over the top and on the sides. The house is the white part it is a 8X 8 building. There is a door in each part both to the house and run. I am making a new coop this year as that coop got fenced in and I use it for baby calves now.

[RatLife]

Sorry no pics. When i'm off work and at home i let them free range. I always leave their coop door open though so they can go back in if they want. Luckily during the day they will go back into the coop and lay eggs then go back out and wander around. At night they go back into their coop to roost and i go and close the gate. It's nothing elaborate. For the 4 corner post i used landscape timbers,plywood roof and chicken wire walls. I made them roosts out of tree limbs about 18 inches off the ground. They really seem to enjoy free ranging. They will come stand by the gate when they see me coming. They like it and i like it. Fun watching them run around trying to catch insects.

[Mangler]

I made a chicken tractor two years ago. It worked ok during summer, but it was too small and not insulated enough for Wisconsin winters.

I am looking to make a coop this summer. I plan to leave it in one location, so it can be heavier than the tractor. What suggestions go people have for coop features?

Thanks.

[Bobbie]

A frame houses work great. Very little cutting invovled. then in the back of the building build a wooden box that attaches to the back with a raise up lid.Go inside the building and cut the wall out to let chicken inside the box. They will lay eggs in their so you can get the eggs from outside.

[MGF]

We do about the same. They are in a large fenced in pen with free access to the coup at night or when we aren't home. We open the gate to let them out during the day when we are home. Some get over the fence and come and go as they please anyway but we haven't lost very many.

We also turn the goats lose to roam the property when we're home.

[Bobbie]

No matter the loss of chickens I still wont let them free range around other animals as they can make other animals sick with there pooping on everyting and walking threw stuff to carry germs to the other animals.

[MGF]

No matter the loss of chickens I still wont let them free range around other animals as they can make other animals sick with there pooping on everyting and walking threw stuff to carry germs to the other animals.

I understand the concern but I'm not sure I understand the actual level of risk.

We have all sorts of critters that wander into the barn and pasture..birds, mice, bats and the occasional coon or opossum. The goats and horse are mostly outside where all sorts of critters wander through.

Are the chickens presenting that much more of a threat? Keep in mind I'm talking about a couple dozen chickens in a good sized area rather than huge numbers in a small area.

[RatLife]

I understand the concern but I'm not sure I understand the actual level of risk.

We have all sorts of critters that wander into the barn and pasture..birds, mice, bats and the occasional coon or opossum. The goats and horse are mostly outside where all sorts of critters wander through.

Are the chickens presenting that much more of a threat? Keep in mind I'm talking about a couple dozen chickens in a good sized area rather than huge numbers in a small area.

Never would have thought they pose that much of a risk. I know chicken litter is a common fertilizer. Back home they use loaders to clean out the chicken houses then put the litter in spreader trucks and put it on the hay fields. Growing up we always let the fowl free range.

[Bobbie]

cocsidia is pretty bad for all animals as is giardia and those can be spread by cross contamination. It is like for my dog kennel they have a big house with outside runs. All food and water is inside so birds do not fly down to eat and drink as they spread parvo. Anything that walks threw poop spreads contamination and in a survivol situation where there will not be ready replacments for lost animals or vets it is best to keep cleanliness up and prevent as much as you can. Better safe than sorry. The only animals that really benefit from being together are livestock since the worms that live in horses die in cattle and vice versa so a mix herd lowers parasites. Maybe I am more paranoid but I lost a sweet little pup 2 years ago to parvo even with her having all her shots so I take all the precautions I can.

[countryboy6685]

Heres mine . I plain on building another smaller one to house a cock and 2 hins to groe chicks in . 'Robert W

[RatLife]

Very nice. Looks like you put quite abit of time,thought and effort into it. Turned out very well.

[RICHFL]

It really depends of the local weather conditions.

Down here in Florida you should not raise free range chickens. They are so dumb that they do not know to get in the shade during the summer. I have seen chickens lay down in the morning and have to pickup their bodies by mid day. If you want to keep chickens use a coop.

You have to be the one on watch, for these dumb birds.

[drcalhoun]

We always put up at night, in our part of PA raccoons can be a real problem.

[Nikefan]

I was up early this morning and heard a crowing coming from my chicken coupe. I thought I had 10 chickens but unless chickens crow, it looks like I might have a Rooster.