Unpopular opinion: letting my hens free range all day is worse for their health

I was at the county fair in July and watched a lady's flock get attacked by a hawk right in front of me, made me rethink my whole setup. Now I'm torn between giving them freedom and keeping them safe in a run, but the run feels cramped for 12 birds. Do you guys think a covered run is safer or do the benefits of full free range outweigh the risk?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.hugo15d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on this one. My heart absolutely sank reading that story about the hawk attack, I would have been a mess just witnessing that. I've got 10 birds and I went with a covered run after my neighbor lost three to a fox last spring, it's not as pretty but at least I can sleep at night. The way I see it, a predator strike can happen in seconds and you can't undo that, so a good sized covered run with some enrichment like perches and dust baths has been a solid middle ground for me. That cramped feeling is real though, maybe you could expand the run a bit or rotate them between two spaces if you have the room?

faithb7815d ago

Hey @hill.hugo I gotta disagree a bit here lol. A covered run feels more like a cage than a solution to me, I'd rather take the risk and let my birds have real space to roam.