Hi! we waited for our girls to start laying before we let them out to free range....we are a little chicken crazy ourselves!!!welcome to the club! haha!...we just started letting ours out to free range a few months ago,for a few hours a day-under our watchful eyes-(since we have huge hawks/turkey vultures flying around)...they love it...they now scream/squak at us as soon as we go out in the yard...they want OUT! haha!Good Luck
