Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
perimeter. It may discourage digging animals to meet a wall of wire just when they think
they're hitting pay dirt.
FREE RANGE OR PEN SAFE?
We all love the notion of our very own free-range backyard eggs, and so do your neigh-
bor hood predators. A bird that can roam as it pleases in a safe, fenced yard is certainly
a happy bird, but you might want to limit its free-ranging time to when you're home.
When an Idaho neighbor complained about my chickens walking onto his property I had
to confine them, letting them range only in the evenings while I made dinner. Birds are
less likely to stray too far from their home come sunset, and this way I could keep an
eye on them from my kitchen window. Compromises can be reached.
Since my time in Idaho, my laying flock has been entirely free range. I currently live in a
rural area where locals are used to swerving around the occasional goose or hen. During
the day my birds have plenty of cover from aerial predators, and come nightfall they are
locked up in their coop, protected from nocturnal beasties looking for a midnight snack.
I have lost some birds to a fox, but for the bliss of my roaming birds, the occasional loss
is one I'll abide.
If the fox were to take a large quantity of my girls, however, I would certainly confine
them to a fenced run for their own safety and my peace of mind. Confinement options in-
clude stationary pens, electric portable poultry fences, and mobile pens. Stationary pens,
