Free range

[CarolynEarley]

We live in Crete and are new to poultry keeping. We have made a great hen house and installed 41 chicks and 3 ducklings in there. All seem happy and healthy and growing well. They are now 4 weeks old. We have a huge plot of land and want them to be free range. At what age should be start letting them outside? :roll:

 

[Tim]

I usually let mine out once they are fully feathered and off heat- but they are in a covered run. The main issues are predators (cats can be a problem with small chicks) and the temperature (not such a problem for you in Crete of course )

I heat mine at night for a few weeks once outside - at the moment though it's close to freezing at night here though so they need the extra warmth.

 

[CarolynEarley]

Thanks Tim. The weather is not a problem here as it is about 23 degrees here at the moment and only goes down to about 11 degrees overnight. Most of them have lost their fluff and have little feathers, but are only 4 weeks old - should I leave them in for another few weeks do you think? When I let them out for the first time I have been told to do it just before dusk so that they will want to come back in fairly soon - is that right? Do I treat the ducklings in the same way as the chicks?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I think it would be safer to keep them in for a bit longer,at least until they are 6 weeks old.
I would start whilst they are in the shed,giving them a bed time treat,call to them using the same words each time,and then scatter/feed them the treat.
It will help once they are free ranging,close to dusk you can stand at their home,call them and they will all come running.
If you have some that are good fliers,and have plenty of trees,some may decide they prefer roosting in a tree,and if up high enough,should come to no harm.I'd expect this to happen though,when they are more mature,not straight away.
To start with,have their water containers close to their home/house,they will come back to it for their water,food and security.
Ducklings/ducks are a bit different,wait for Tim's advise for definite on that one .

 

[Tim]

Yes, I think Lydia is right - perhaps keep them in just a little longer. I would also start with a small enclosed area or run to make sure they are going back in at night - they take a little while to get the hang of it sometimes. You will need to put them in a few times first.

Temperature sounds lovely.. it's a bit warmer here now but there's a keen wind making it a bit nippy at times.

You will need to do the same for the ducklings too.

I don't know what predators you have in Crete - but crows etc will take chicks / ducklings if they are small so do be careful. Last year a friend was losing full grown Indian Runner Drakes to crows in the early morning and had to house them all (and she has 350 or so ducks and geese!)

 

[CarolynEarley]

thanks for all your helpful advice. i will do as you suggest.

I have noticed that where I have put cardboard on the floor to soak some of the water up that the ducks are nibbling it .. will it harm them? should i remove it?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,I had newspaper under my ducklings,they kept eating that.They knew I didn't like them eating it,and would stop if they spotted me.....with soggy newspaper hanging out their bills trying to look innocent :lol: .
I honestly don't know about cardboard,I stopped using newspaper with mine.If it is only a small amount,I wouldn't worry too much,unless any ink used on it has something harmfull to ducks-which I don't know if you could find out :? .
If it is a lot they are consuming,then personally I would stop using it,just use shavings(although they eat those as well)hopefully someone else will know for definite.I'm only guessing as I'm very much a novice.

 

[CarolynEarley]

:lol: :lol: :lol: I know what you mean about them trying to look innocent!
We heard our first little quack sound yesterday... it was so cute. We can't believe how much they are eating. We have 40 chicks and 3 ducklings and bought a 10kg bag of food on Tuesday and it will all be gone by the end of the day. Is this normal? :?: There is some wastage as the chicks are scratching in the feeder and distributing it onto the floor, but some of the others are pecking it up. They are 36 days old. My husband has just gone out to buy some more food! :roll:
The goats are arriving today or tomorrow so another learning curve begins then! :?
Thanks for the help, Carolyn

 

[Anonymous]

I think what they are eating is normal ,I've only got 3 ducks,who I got earlier this year as ducklings, and they eat a lot more than chicks :roll: .I've got some chicks at the moment,and,I can't get enough chick crumb in their brooder for them.I'm constantly re-filling their food dish.They are feathering up,so I'm going to give them crumbs and rearer pellets,see if this helps.
To save on wastage,when they are a bit bigger,putting their food container in a cat litter tray helps this.They still scratch the food out,but it stays in the cat litter tray so does get eaten.Another way to feed them when they older/bigger is to hang their food containers,that way the chickens can't scratch any food out.
I don't know if ducks can eat from hanging containers though :?: ,my duck food now is in large earthenware dog bowls,which they do enormous poops in......doubt it improves the flavour either :lol: .

 

[Tim]

I put my ducklings food in the normal hanging feeders. They still make a real mess of it though!

Mine eat a little newspaper when it gets soggy but they can't always get it because once they are a few weeks old, I use plastic garden trays (about 3 ft square) in the bottom of a box with no newspaper in it, just a little on the bit that the tray doesn't cover. I have two trays and swap them around every day, hosing the other down outside. This at least keeps them fairly clean.

 

[CarolynEarley]

so ... we have now got 40 chickens, 6 ducks, 4 geese, 4 turkeys. We plan to let them 'free' in about 3 weeks time when they all have their feathers through and need some reassurance that they will return home! We live in Crete and here the poultry literally do have free roaming as we do not have any fencing around our land or rather we won't have when we let them loose. Do we need to clip wings or take any other measures to stop them flying off forever? :?

 

[Tim]

You would usually clip the wings to stop them flying over a fence to get onto the neighbours garden or your own and to stop them from getting munched by Mr. Fox

So if there are no predators around during the day and no problems with neighbours... my guess is you should be OK.

The disclaimer: We're talking Domestic Ducks and Geese - not Wildfowl (Ornamental Fowl) that will fly off to your nearest lake Ohh and also the small domestic ducks - like calls can fly pretty well too.