Unpopular opinion: letting your hens free range all day is actually worse for them

A neighbor told me her flock got picked off by hawks every year until she built a covered run, and I used to think that was cruel until I lost two of my best layers to a Cooper's hawk last month. Has anyone else found that supervised free ranging works better than full-time roaming?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan4641mo ago

Oh man, I feel this one. Something I don't see folks mention much is that full time free ranging can actually mess with their natural predator awareness. My first flock got too comfortable lounging in the open without ever having to hide, and I think that's why I lost three to a fox in broad daylight. Now I let them out for a few hours in the morning when hawks are least active, then call them back near cover around mid-day. The ones that learn to duck under bushes or run for the coop when a shadow passes seem to get a lot smarter about it over time.

river_adams251mo ago

Gotta disagree with ya here. I've had my flock free ranging full time for four years and they're actually way more alert than any backyard chicken I've seen. They've got a pecking order that includes who's on watch duty, and they'll hit the bushes way faster than any hawk can dive.