free ranging or controlled environment ?

[ChinaRose]

my friend and I has been discussing
the above methods ... which is better?

I used to do the free ranging but has
changed my method to controlled
environment lately...

what about you guys ? inputs please.

[gnomestorm]

free ranging in a controlled protected environment.

this translates to,

be on guard with a shotgun and a .50 calibur sniper rifle to snipe unwanted creatures
hire someone to watch ur birds when you are away
train many guard dogs to watch ur fowl

on second thought, what does ur definition of free ranging mean? all of ur chickens are loose and ranging the grass, or did you mean to say tying them to a cord so they can roam within their circle.


if u have absolutely no control over the bad things that'll happen with free ranging, go to controlled environment

[trueedge]

free ranging...i think they weak will cull themselves.

If you baby them with a shotgun or 50 cal you cant do that when they are in the pit lol

[gnomestorm]

Originally Posted by trueedge

free ranging...i think they weak will cull themselves.

If you baby them with a shotgun or 50 cal you cant do that when they are in the pit lol

hmmm. maybe i will. hahahahhaha

quick scope the enemy bird.

but in all seriousness, if a dog did come into ur property and started attacking ur birds. would u pull out ur gun and shoot it, or would try to chase it away with a stick.

[EPG5 Backyard]

All I have right now because of my extremely limited space is 'controlled environment'. Because of the extreme heat and occasional rain we lost a little over 50 chicks this year. I'm thinking if I had plenty of room to give them free ranging and of course shade from the heat I wouldn't have lost as many chicks plus they will develope better. Next year when I move my breeding to Bataan I'll finally have the free ranging available.

[ChinaRose]

my thoughts are for younger birds until they
are old enough to be corded.

[blades61]

i dont have the area for free ranging i raise anywhere from 20 to 30 stags a year it is a lot of work but i have had good healthy birds

[damien]

Originally Posted by gnomestorm

hmmm. maybe i will. hahahahhaha

quick scope the enemy bird.

but in all seriousness, if a dog did come into ur property and started attacking ur birds. would u pull out ur gun and shoot it, or would try to chase it away with a stick.

shoot it in the leg so it cant run, and then beat it with a stick hehe only joking i would slip my saluki on it, that f****r has killed more dogs than hares

[gamecock96]

Range will always be more natural to them growing up.

Al

[Gamecocker91]

Ive raised them both ways free ranging is goood as long as yoy dont have many birds crowding a small pkace.i have raisrd them in, pens also and they turnd out fine anf healthy

[Low point]

Free range for shure until they turn. They can roost in trees and have better instincts. Lost a lot of birds in pins and cords due to animals. Havent lost nearly as many runnin loose.

[JWPurdy]

Not sure what you mean by "controlled environment" but it sounds like raising them in an air conditioned penthouse! I think free range gives them a good chance to develop mentally and physically to their potential. When my chicks hatch, they are placed in a 4 x 5 pen with the hen in the woods. The perimeter of the yard is surrounded by electric fence and two guard dogs are in charge of wild animal control. The chicks run free, warm up under the hens as needed then take off again, looking for bugs and chasing each other around. Soon they'll begin serious scratching, digging, dusting and flying. I lose some to owls after they begin roosting in trees, but the stags and pullets I pen in the fall are in excellent flesh, have great frames, bright eyes, and slick feathers.

[msei]

for young birds freerange on good grass developes good insticts... less on your feed bill and easier to take care of ...i turn out on range at six weeks till penning time... will be in better feather than there pen raised brothers...just hatch a few extra because you will lose a few

[Sentenciador]

Controlled environment is too expensive.

For a great example, listen to this story from our friend who lives somewhere in a building..

Since he's in a condo, he started having problems with his chicks' eyes. They had no sunlight, just lightbulbs of the incandescent type, so the eyes could not develop and were really a problem.

The only solution to replicate sunlight is to install Metal Halide lamps or High Pressure Sodium lamps to get the Sun's spectrum of light. They will cost about $20 per square meter. Imagine how much that will cost if you have a conservative 100 square meter indoor environment? Get's you thinking, huh?

Then comes the Meralco or whatever electric bill... Don't need to mention that these lamps are 400w-1000w and will freely flow from your income like a bleeding wound

Unless you are breeding marijuana to sell at $400/ounce, it's not worth it

Cheers!

[jncblas]

Not planning on raising much, but I am breeding several hens only to have a fair amount to select from! Don't have the space for alot of fowl and my work schedule rotates every week, that's why out of maybe 50 to 60 chicks that are hatched only about 15 to 20 stags and 2 maybe 3 pullets from each breeding will be selected! The cross hens are usually all culled unless I'm trying to create a strain, which I usually don't bother to begin with! Ruthless culling and selection is the name of the game for me! Not having the space for alot of fowl is why I raise my fowl through control enviroment! Lot of work but one of the best ways to know your fowl because of all the handling involved while rotating them to new pens and enviroment!

[Guamasil]

My birds are free ranged from chick to the time they start acting up. This way I know which ones have adapted to the environment and smart enough to stay away/evade predators. I don't worry about the ones that don't make it because I don't breed to sell. The ones that make it from free range and pass my scrutiny/selection deserve to stay.

[jemm65]

i use both if i want to reach my target. im afraid i wont have enough left if i free range from day 1.

[j007]

I put out 7 cocks on tie cords that am prekeeping usually all same type this year Grey and just changed out for Brownreds for my extra hens/pullets to go to they usually hatch before my penned breedings and may the strong survive the yard chicks off good hens and pullets run around targets they get past the varmints send the pullets off to the meat market in Miami and the stags usually have a place meantime my pen hatched ones stay with the hen till they get up big enough to fend for theirself and they are turned out loose fewer ones that way been working for me.-Jim

[jay-jay]

Controlled-free ranged environment, thats what we do. We put our chicks on the ground, and day old placed inside outdoor brooders, we call "dog house". Following day they are free to roam the netted range area and come night time are gathered back into the dog house. In time they will learn to perch on branches, make shift ladders and sleep outdoors. We notice this system has decreased our mortality and improved the health of our produce.

sample of our "dog house"

[jlbs72]

Originally Posted by jay-jay

Controlled-free ranged environment, thats what we do. We put our chicks on the ground, and day old placed inside outdoor brooders, we call "dog house". Following day they are free to roam the netted range area and come night time are gathered back into the dog house. In time they will learn to perch on branches, make shift ladders and sleep outdoors. We notice this system has decreased our mortality and improved the health of our produce.

sample of our "dog house"

GD,

try this one. same method as mine. but dont forget to have a vaccination program. it's a must.

[Sentenciador]

Looks good jay-jay

Gonna build a "doghouse" myself

Cheers!

[Engkanto]

Originally Posted by ChinaRose

my friend and I has been discussing
the above methods ... which is better?

I used to do the free ranging but has
changed my method to controlled
environment lately...

what about you guys ? inputs please.

Madam China, I free range my chicks with the hen usually after they are a week old. I want them to spend most of their growing life on the range for them to experience being free and independent, not just waiting for us to give them the same type of commercial feeds every day of their life. This alone is one good reason why we need to free-range.

There are some advantages and of course a few disadvantages. Let me just copy/paste one of my old posts in another thread from this site (I'm just too lazy to type, lol...)

Originally Posted by Engkanto

Definitely free-ranged birds are way lot better than caged birds. We can list all the benefits they can get free-ranging - plenty of sunlight, fresh air, fresh grass, all kinds of plant and animal proteins, plenty of exercise, stronger immune system, stronger bone and muscle, healthier feathers, birds are always busy, always on the go and they are happier, they 'learned' from their environment and thru constant interaction with each other and with other living things makes them smarter and more alert, and the list of benefits will go on.

The only downside is higher mortality rate and maybe a few blemished birds and more culls. But we don't want to keep the weak ones anyway, right? In my case for example, I live on top of a hill and my mortality rate due to varmints is very high. Usually out of 10 chicks, I can only harvest 4 or 5 mature ones after 5 months of free-ranging them. May not be acceptable to some but that's okay with me. It also depends on your situation and what you have at the moment. But if you have a place to range, range them at all cost.

Here are some of my Roundhead x Black Japs chicks free-ranging as early as 1 or 2 week old


And here they are after 5 months (still free ranging)

[milandelight]

for me jay jay got the good formula. controlled, combination, free range. before, when i was breeding, at day 1, i put them in the brooder with ipa and a light bulb (bulb for max of 3-4 days). after my 1st vaccination (2weeks) put them in the controlled range (dog house) until 2 months or until they are already adopted to the environment. with this method, you will be able to regulate their environment, i put a lot of branches of trees inside to prevent them having boredom syndrome. then give mist when too hot and keep them when its raining. with this method i was able to produce healthy and TIPTOED STAGS.

[jay-jay]

JC. joel and milandelight: thanks for your input. Indeed a proper vacination program is a must together with proper range managemant, so as to ensure proper growth.
this is how my "dog house" looks, by the way red gamefarm was the source of my system.

[oddbird66]

Sir Jay-Jay that system looks niiiiice...

[jlbs72]

Originally Posted by jay-jay

JC. joel and milandelight: thanks for your input. Indeed a proper vacination program is a must together with proper range managemant, so as to ensure proper growth.
this is how my "dog house" looks, by the way red gamefarm was the source of my system.

jayjay,

Is your heat source (bulb) available 24 hours a day ? for how long (in weeks) ? regarding the chicks, when is the proper time you need to transfer them in the next range ? Thanks sir for sharing.

[GG Crasher]

free range is always the best, it helps a lot to less down expenses with surely healthy cockerels to those who will survive from natural mother nature..

[j007]

Originally Posted by j007

I put out 7 cocks on tie cords that am prekeeping usually all same type this year Grey and just changed out for Brownreds for my extra hens/pullets to go to they usually hatch before my penned breedings and may the strong survive the yard chicks off good hens and pullets run around targets they get past the varmints send the pullets off to the meat market in Miami and the stags usually have a place meantime my pen hatched ones stay with the hen till they get up big enough to fend for theirself and they are turned out loose fewer ones that way been working for me.-Jim

Doing it this way I lose more stags than pullets in the yard biddys GOKs as a pullet will fly before a stag will most times the stags get caught but the GOKs take the pressure off my Planned matings gives me a chance to weed out the local varmints before I turn out my prized breedings.-Jim

[meme ragudo]

nothing's better than the natural way of raring our gamefowls from hatching to cording. free ranging is still best for them.

[Camarines]

The chickens have to have access to grass to be called free range. Their eggs would have darker yellow yolks. They get all the minerals on the ground unlike the caged ones. This is called by some as organic. You can have a moveable pen and just move them when all the grass have been scratched to a new pasture. Like the above picture, free range but also protected against predators or bad weather.

I like the good size moveable round pens.