Hot take: letting my chickens free-range for a week was a disaster

Everyone says free-ranging is the dream, but I tried it for 7 days straight back in April and lost two hens to a hawk that came out of nowhere near the oak tree by my fence. Plus, they scratched up every single flower bed I spent March planting, and my neighbor Mrs. Davis cornered me about them pooping on her patio. Has anyone else had a free-range week that went totally sideways, or am I just doing something wrong with my setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyjones1mo ago

Yeah that's rough but honestly free-ranging in spring is peak hawk season, and losing birds to predators isn't really about doing it wrong, it's more about timing and not having enough cover overhead.

markm271mo ago

Buddy of mine lost three hens in two days last April. He thought he had enough trees and brush piles but the hawks just waited for them to step out into the open part of his yard. He ended up stringing a bunch of old fishing line crisscross overhead between the trees and that finally slowed them down. Still lost one more that season though. It's tough, no matter how careful you think you are.