Free ranging in a suburban backyard?

[ChickenHawk12]

I am only 7 weeks in to my first chicken adventure, and I'm already gathering that, at least here on BYC, the majority of members live on "acreage". I am in suburban coastal NJ on a 1/3 acre lot, less than half of which is my fenced-in backyard. I have five 7-week-old BO's that just moved outside into the newly-finished 4X8 foot coop. We have not built the run yet, so I let them out in the morning when I wake up, and they "free range" their way through the backyard until dusk, when they march themselves up the ladder back in to their coop for the night. (It's secure, 2 feet up off the ground with a padlock on the door at night, open during the day but I do a coop-check before I lock them in to make sure nothing has gotten inside during the day).

I'm noticing that since being outside all day long, they are hardly eating any feed. Is this to be expected? They are out free in the backyard about 12 hours a day (with the feed and water available).

Is it going to be reasonable to keep them free-ranging on such a small property? Will they eventually destroy my yard? (so far they don't seem to have done much damage to the grass or my garden - mostly just bugs and weeds) Will the poop get to the point where I don't want to let my kids play in the yard?

We plan on fencing in about an 80 ft squared run, but it's summer and money is tight and we are not overly experienced at "building" stuff, so we've been dragging feet on the run.

Do you think we will be happier keeping them in the run most of the day and letting them out for 2-3 hours in late afternoon? I love the idea of letting them have the run of the yard, but we do have hawks in the area, and I'm afraid the poop factor is going to get worse. But I feel bad keeping them in that run all day. I feel like they should be free. Does anyone live on less than 1/2 acre in a suburban area? Any advice?

 

[Mrs. K]

As they get bigger, they will cause more damage to your backyard. I really like having a coop/run combination. Sometimes I want mine contained. I leave the pop up door open year round, and mine put themselves to bed, and get up when they want to. If you are going to be gone, it is better to have them truly safe.

As for feed, the amount of feed needed changes depending on the season and the age of the birds. Personally, I want the feed dish nearly empty at dark. I do not provide feed 24/7 as that brings rodents, such as mice and rats. You might not think that you have rodents, but if you keep food out there, you probably will get them. Anyway, if the dish is empty, I feed a little more the next day, if it has a lot of feed, I feed less. June and July, the bug population will reduce my feed needs, but even by August, their needs will go up. Feed is a cost, and a lot can be wasted. I double bowl mine, a smaller bowl in a bigger flatter black rubber bowl to reduce waste.

Chickens do poo, and I am not sure if I would want my kids playing in that directly. I have grandkids that tramp all over the chicken house, but their toys and stuff are away from the birds.

As for costs, it does not have to be perfect, and often times Craigslist, people will have excess supplies and sell them cheap, or even a dog run that they just want gone.

I would really recommend you getting a run.

Mrs K

 

[Tuhmu]

As far as them ruining the yard, it really depends on how many you have...I'm assuming in the 2-5 range? There are always going to be some favorite spots that will take most of the damage, but if you don't have too many, I think most of the destruction will be minimal.

I agree that a run is necessary. You don't have to keep them locked up all the time, but there will be times that they need to be out of the way. Having outside gatherings, just need a moment of peace, etc.

If I were living in a suburban area, I would probably keep them in a decent sized run for roughly half the day. Then you know their eggs will always be findable (occasionally one might decide to get sneaky, when they are free ranged, and start a "stash"). This will also give your yard some time to recover, and keep the poo levels lower. Plus since it's summer, they get quite a few hours to be outside (if you only get home in the evenings for example).

Them eating not as much during the summer is one of the best parts of summer. They are filling up on bugs, plants, etc. all good stuff that make their eggs golden..literally. I like to believe this compensates for the winter months, lol, when they seem like bottomless pits.

 

[TheLaboratoryBF]

I live in a suburban neighborhood of a small town and my three 14-week old Barred Rocks are kept in a small coop/run during the day. They are let out for a few hours at a time as often as I can, but I would never leave them out all day long (or unattended) because of predators (hawks and cats; our neighborhood is overrun with feral cats at the moment, mainly because our neighbors behind us are feeding them but that's a gripe for another day, I've actually had to chase cats away that I catch stalking my girls from their vantage points on top of the 6' fences) and the potential damage to our backyard. They're not especially destructive to our yard when they're out, some light scratching but mostly hunting and pecking) but it's important to keep in mind just how high in nitrogen their waste is and will most likely burn grass and roots if built up. I have also seen just how quickly they can destroy an area that they're concentrated on as we moved their coop/run from our patio to the back corner of our yard under a sycamore tree and the existing grass was completely gone and down to bare dirt in less than 48 hours (which I expected). My girls are perfectly healthy and seem very happy in the space they have (I regularly see them dust bathing, preening, and napping when the sun peeks through the tree limbs and have had no issues with pecking or bullying). Hope that helps!

 

[aart]

I'd highly recommend building a secure run, for predator protection as well as the fact that they will start to destroy your yard....
......and pullet poops are mostly tiny, tidy little things when compared to a full grown chickens poop.

Poop on the patio or your favorite lawn chair or anywhere else you want to enjoy your yard is one of the major complainants of free range chickens....and the number 2(hahaha!) reason I don't free range at all.

 

[ChickenHawk12]

As far as them ruining the yard, it really depends on how many you have...I'm assuming in the 2-5 range? There are always going to be some favorite spots that will take most of the damage, but if you don't have too many, I think most of the destruction will be minimal.

I agree that a run is necessary. You don't have to keep them locked up all the time, but there will be times that they need to be out of the way. Having outside gatherings, just need a moment of peace, etc.

If I were living in a suburban area, I would probably keep them in a decent sized run for roughly half the day. Then you know their eggs will always be findable (occasionally one might decide to get sneaky, when they are free ranged, and start a "stash"). This will also give your yard some time to recover, and keep the poo levels lower. Plus since it's summer, they get quite a few hours to be outside (if you only get home in the evenings for example).

Them eating not as much during the summer is one of the best parts of summer. They are filling up on bugs, plants, etc. all good stuff that make their eggs golden..literally. I like to believe this compensates for the winter months, lol, when they seem like bottomless pits.

So far the yard is ok, there is just poop EVERYWHERE. We have every intention of building a run, we just haven't gotten around to it. We have the area set aside, it is an 8 foot by 14 foot area (with 4 feet being the coop, which is up about 2.5 feet off the ground so they will be able to go under there as well). It still seems small to me for my 5 BO's, but according to recommendations it is plenty big enough. We are mostly just hung up on how to build the frame, and setting aside the time and money to get it done. I have been trying to pin down my husband to get it done, because I will have much more peace of mind (and a lot less poop everywhere!) once it is built.

 

[azygous]

Get some deer netting at the garden supply or hardware store. It's pretty cheap, and can be stapled up onto existing trees or shrubs or building sides to create a temporary run.

I have many acres, but I don't enjoy poop everywhere and having to watch where I step. So my chickens are in the run except for a few hours of free range time each day. That limits the poop to a rather quick cleanup, which controls the flies in summer, too.

So plan on a permanent run. You'll be far happier and so will your landscaping. But there's nothing stopping you from putting up something temporary for starters. You will even learn from it what you will need in your permanent run.

Tip, plan on a covered run for maximum security.