Should chickens free range?

It's a debate that sparks heated arguments: should you allow your chickens to free range or not? On one hand you have the chickens who absolutely love to be outdoors playing in the grass and chasing bugs. On the other side, we all want the best for their safety and chickens have a lot of predators out there. So what do you do? Do you free range your chickens and take the risk? Or do you keep them cooped up and play it safe?

Over the years I have done both. I've kept my chickens inside their coop and covered run all day and I've let them out with unlimited free range time. Whether I let my chickens free range or not depends on the  current situation. Anytime I feel there is a threat of predator attack I keep them in. I've also done supervised free range which isn't as simple as it sounds.

The idea behind supervised free range hens is that you would obviously be right there watching them. This works in theory but it also depends on how many chickens you have and how well equipped you are to handle predators.

Chances are a predator would stay away if they saw you out there with your chickens. Probably. Unless it's the neighbors dog or a stray cat, then they would more then likely be unfazed by you. I've also had wild predators attack when I was less then 50 feet away. A bear grabbed a chicken when I was in the yard and a fox snagged a duck in the 30 seconds I walked into the house to grab a flashlight.
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Should chickens free range?was originally posted by Favorite Chicken Blogs