# Question for free rangers.....



## mcchicken (Mar 24, 2013)

So my chickens have been free ranges for the past two months. I live on two acres and I'm surrounded by a few more and then there is some houses about another acre away. Today as I was driving up my road when , I see my girls across the street and down the road in another neighbors yard. Why do they wonder so far. I have 140 acres across the street from me that's all woods. Why the neighbors yard. She seems like a crazy lady and I'm afraid to even apologize. She might go crazy. My question is how do I keep them from wondering????


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Perimeter fencing. Good fences make good neighbors. The cheapest and best option is electronet...keeps out four legged preds, moveable, affordable and easy to set up..just push in stakes that are built right into the netting.


----------



## mcchicken (Mar 24, 2013)

Ill look into that thank you.


----------



## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

Give the flock scraps thru out the day. They'll learn to stay home if they want the good stuff. Heck maybe your crazy lady is giving them treats.


----------



## cindlady2 (Nov 6, 2012)

I have my back acre fenced in with cheap wire fencing but with moving wood into the back and just going in and out all the time, the gates don't always get closed. I was so worried about neighbours hating my birds (chickens, guineas and turkeys) for the longest time. I have trouble walking so going to socialize is an issue. The neighbours to the south are within shouting distance and old farm couple so they rather enjoy them, but I was worried about the ones to the north. Our land bumps 2 properties on that side. When my son moved back in I had asked him to retrieve the wondering poultry one day. He managed to catch the neighbours at home and talked to them. Turns out they love having the birds over! I guess my point is, before you panic, talk to the neighbours, offer up some eggs, see how it goes. Do let them know to try to keep then off the road though.

Good Luck!


----------



## rob (Jun 20, 2012)

fencing is the way to go.


----------



## mcchicken (Mar 24, 2013)

The only problem is I have way too much land to fence in. And where I found my chickens is way too far for my comfort zone. And I can't believe being prey animals they wandered so far from home. I'm thinking maybe bigger coop and run? Although I feel bad. Chickens were meant to forage....


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

That's the beauty of the electronet fencing...it's easy to setup and you can move it. You don't have to encase your whole land with it, just set it up around the coop area. This allows you to move it in a wheel or pie around your coop and keep changing their forage area while still keeping them safe.

Wish I had known about it years ago when I was keeping chickens while living close to neighbors. Back then I built a tractor that they used during the day and was returned to the coop at night, as I couldn't afford to fence in my property either.

Here's a pic of meat chicks in a paddock of electronetting fence....disregard the size of the squares..I bought sheep fencing by mistake and just kept it. They make it for poultry that has smaller squares in the netting. This paddock was made from 164 ft. of fencing at $1 per ft, but I hear you can get them even cheaper than that. Cheapest, most effective fencing I've ever gotten and I would have just such a fence if I had to free range next to neighbors once again.


----------



## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

I really love Bee's idea. That photo is great. Big Buy looks like he is dishing out advise and keeping the peeps!! 

Even if the neighbors SAY they just love the birds, once those birds hit the fresh mulch or the freshly planted bedding flowers they will have something else to say. 

Birds only wander when they have a reason. If they see green grass and tasty bits, they will migrate to the tasty bits. You may only have to fence the general area they wander through and not the whole property.

A couple times a day go out and call them with some grains or goodies, just enough to have them stay more near to your house.


----------



## cindlady2 (Nov 6, 2012)

Yea, I still have the fence up and have 2 gates to the neighbours. I let them choose if they want to let them come visit. All my birds (even the guineas) are good about coming home to roost so I close the gates when they go to bed.
I agree, just fence an area as you can afford it, you can add on. I never got the electric fence, but like the idea you can move it easily.


----------

