How to Teach Chicks to Free Range 

Indo went through a phase where he liked to eat chicks, but he grew out of it. I should have specified that I keep that coop where that black hen is a long ways from where the main flock hangs out.

@@Florida_Bullfrog the situation with Indo (not my hen) made me think about how when a male lion takes over a pride they kill all the young cubs so that all the new offspring will be fathered by him. I’ve never heard of that with chickens but maybe that instinct is there.

Great Insights! Thank you for speaking freely about God!;!

Did you see my eagle video? They’re bad news aren’t they? The knowledge has been lost as to what fearsome predators bald eagles are. Nothing is better at catching mature gamefowl roosters on my farm than eagles. Seems like the eagles prefer the roosters. I haven’t had a loss to an eagle in a year or more. Mostly due to my hound deciding one day that she doesn’t like them. Whenever she hears one call on the other side of the farm she’ll charge it. But my local ospreys also help. The ospreys have taken up fishing my ponds daily. I allow it because they’ll tag team the eagles and keep them harassed around the farmyard where my ponds are.

@@Florida_Bullfrog thank you! I will watch your eagle too!

I free range poultry I did lose some birds from flying predators the flock became very wary after that haven't lost birds for about a month now

I did one airgun video last year of a coon hunt that I lost half the footage to and shelved the rest. I have an idea for a couple of airgun hunting videos that I can probably film on demand but I’m waiting for my book release. The idea is that when my book is published I’m going to reboot the channel and drop a bunch of videos that cover the gamut of the material my channel is known for. Supposedly the FWC is going to legalize year-round squirrel hunting in July. If that happens, I can drop squirrel videos with ease.

Are “bush bantams” a common thing where you are? I like to learn about free range traditions in other parts of the world.

​@@Florida_BullfrogI'm in the north of New Zealand. I was inspired through your videos so I mixed some game bantam varieties up with the idea to keep them in the regenerating bush to turn the soil over, replacing the role that some native birds used to play but are now too rare in most forests. I got to three generations but sadly I sold them. This time I'm going go slightly bigger size. I have a small video on my channel with them in I think called bush banta

​@@Florida_BullfrogI do have a feisty mini leghorn, reading your comments below I'll give him a try this year

It will be on Amazon when its released.

​@@Florida_BullfrogEta?

@@user-ic2ug8ys1z Unknown. Its in what I understand to be the last stage before publishing (final layout editing). David the Good is trying to get it ready for a release before Summer. If not before Summer, I would imagine early Summer.

Lots of space. Some turkeys are just aggressive towards chickens. And some roosters will fight any other male bird to the death.

I don’t have any videos about it. They don’t need anything. They take care of themselves in hot weather. Presuming they’re free ranging. All they need is cover, a place to catch the breeze, and a water source. If you have them cooped, then you’ll want to make sure the coop is in the shade and has water, and has good air flow. That’s it. They don’t need fans or ice cubes or a lot of things people do to pamper them.

@@Florida_Bullfrog thank you for the response and info

No, the black chicken thing is a myth. Hawks have good eyesight and can see the minute details of your chickens. They can see the difference between your chickens and crows. Fake owls and other decoys are only temporarily effective. Bird feathers shine in the UV spectrum and birds see in the UV spectrum. Real feathers don’t look like plastic. After a few encounters, your local hawks wills start ignoring the deterrents. Your chickens have to make it hard for the predators, but you also have to harass predators to make them wary of your farm. There’s no other way. Many predators such as birds of prey are federally protected. Therefore you cannot bother them directly. So you must rely on other animals to do it for you. In the 1800s and early 1900s it would have been unthinkable to not have a dog or two roaming the farm as a matter of practical necessity. Let me ask you this; what’s stopping you from having a dog? I understand some people have allergies to them or cannot otherwise have one for health reasons. But I would think somewhere you can free-range chickens will also let you have a dog. I am able to free range my dogs. I understand many people can’t, but most dog owners who have space for chickens can most certainly fence a dog in the same area the chickens are free ranging. If you absolutely can’t have a dog, you’ll have to rely on your rooster or some other guard poultry like a turkey or a gander. One my turkeys paralyzed a hawk once. Whatever you use, predators must feel in danger when lingering on your farm. That fear will cause them to give up once your chickens prove hard to catch. While a fearless predator may keep making runs on them day in and day out until they figure out the pattern to catch your birds.

idk how cold you mean, but chickens are more cold tolerant than one might think

Yes, if you’re using the correct breeds for your area and are doing it in the warmest months.

I’ll look at my records and calculate their ages this evening. But the important thing isn’t an age-number but whenever it is that all their fuzz is gone. As long as they have patches of fuzz, they cannot effectively regulate their body temperature and they need to stay out of downpours and near their heating element.

Thank you! That makes sense

The oldest chicks in that batch were hatched around March 10. The next batch in with them (two different age groups in that flock) was around March 31.

In my experience, yes. I had 6 white leghorns that did excellent free range. I got rid of them because I didn’t like them molting white feathers all over the farmyard.

In my book I talk a lot about leghorns. They descend directly from wild chickens from northern Italy that the Romans documented in the B.C. era.

Is your book out yet? If not, where will I be able to purchase it later?

@@eflowers8306 It is not out yet. It will be on Amazon when it is released.

I'm sure they would be leghorns don't just come in white

You mean do they go through the shell and poison the egg? If that’s what you’re asking, they do not. I use Sharpies on nearly all my hatching eggs and they have no effect on the chicks.

Sure am. I believe that animals evolve within the parameters of their “kind” God created them in but not beyond. For most animals, I believe God created them at the family and sometimes the genus levels. For example, I believe God created a Pantera cat and all living Panteras evolved from that archetype cat. In the case of chickens, God may have created an archetype galliform that all specific species of galliform evolved from.

@@Florida_Bullfrogamen