Setting the Pullets Free

Even though the picture below was taken on an overcast, foggy Saturday morning, I think it is beautiful.  It is a nice shot because as far as the eye can see on our little 3 acre pasture, you can see our free-range laying hens scratching, roaming, searching for bugs, worms, and the first, tender growth of grass.  The hens go where they please and are free.

Oh give me a home, where the laying hens roam...

That is opposed to our pullets.  We have a little system that has worked for us in which we hatch out baby chicks from our incubator, keep them in a brooder and then when old enough, we move them out to pasture into one of three chicken tractors we have.  The chicken tractors are on wheels and have nesting boxes, roosting bars and no caged bottom.  We push them to fresh grass every day so that their poop is broadcast across the pasture to enhance grass growth.

These chickens are NOT free.  Better than being in an immovable coop, but not totally free.  That is, until they begin laying their first eggs between 20 - 24 weeks. Then we open the doors to the tractor and they are free to roam.  At this age, they are large enough to not squeeze through the hog wire fence that surrounds the pasture and they can fend for themselves (mostly) against the weather and predators.

Before releasing them, there's a bit of work to do.  As you can see from the photo below, there are some roosters in the tractor.  This is because we hatched them from our own eggs and you can usually count on 50% cockerels and 50% pullets.  We don't let all of the roosters out, though.  I only let enough out to maintain a 1 rooster for every 10 hen ratio.  The remaining roosters will be for supper. We'll butcher them and put them in the freezer and they'll make fine fricassee.

Pullets ready for freedom

First, Russ got into the tractor with a net and caught each pullet and handed them to me so that I can trim their wings.  I don't want them flying over the fence as they'll get themselves killed by the neighborhood dogs.  I had some sharp clippers and I expand one of their wings out.  

An Aracauna's wings

I clip only one of the wings.  I used to cut two before someone smartly told me that cutting both was unnecessary since with one wing clipped, they would be unbalanced and unable to fly.  They were right.  I clip the wings pretty far down, but not enough to draw blood or hurt them.  This Aracauna is a beautiful bird.  She lays blue and green eggs.  We don't name our laying hens, but if we did, her name would be Smoky.

Clip, clip...

You would think that chickens would be going nuts while I clip them, but if you put them on their backs, they become amazingly calm while you clip their feathers. Once done, setting them right side up, they'll give a brisk shake and take off, exuberant about their freedom and the prospects of not being confined to a 12 foot by 6 foot chicken tractor with 22 other birds.

Free at Last! Free at Last!

Then it's on to the next bird - a barred rock.  In all we set 13 pullets free after trimming their feathers on their right wing with some sharp clippers.  The first year I did this I used ordinary scissors and in the process, compressed a nerve on my middle finger which resulted in my finger being numb for more than a week.  My weirdest injury ever, but it taught me to use the proper tools for the job.

Note to self: Use sharp clippers!

At the end of my task, I had a nice pile of feathers from multiple breeds of chickens. Ordinarily, I'd rake them up and compost them, but over the years I learned an unusual fact.  Feathers are composed of protein and as a result, the chickens will come around once you're done and eat every last one of them.  Sure enough, the next afternoon, there was not a feather in sight!

Here today - Gone tomorrow

The pullets seem a little awkward at first, sort of like you might feel if you are in a new place with lots of people you don't know.  Same thing here.  They stay close to one another and don't venture out much.  Although the existing roosters on the pasture rush up to introduce themselves as you see in the photo below:

Rooster (far left) introducing himself to four prospective harem members

I notice after a few days that they are all still hanging around the chicken tractor that they were released from, but if history is any indication, they'll slowly assimilate to the flock on the pasture.  It just takes them a little while.