Free ranging baby chicks

[chickmomnicole]

I think I'm going to let my chicks free range for an hour or so tomorrow when the weather warms up. I will of course be back there with them the whole time but I am nervous that one of them is going to hide and I can't find her or they are going to be to fast and run from me while I try to put them away. Any advice? And have u done this before? They are 4 weeks

 

[azygous]

Have you taught them to come running to you when you offer a treat? That always makes it easy to round them up when it's time to go back to the brooder.

They will enjoy their outing and so will you, I guarantee it!

 

[TRMFAM]

We have 24 chicks and I have been giving them treats everyday for the last 10 days or so and calling Chick, chick, chick when I have the treats (mealworms about 1 tbsp) and about 7 or 8 of the 24 come running now but the others, not so much. About half our flock seems pretty shy and we have made an effort to hold them all since they were babies.

I assume some will never get it but hoping to get at least 18 or 19 of them "trained". I will keep at it...any advice?

 

[chickmomnicole]

Thanks I will try this! I'm a bad chicken mom and actually havnt offered them any treats yet. I offered them yogurt a few days ago and they wouldn't touch it. I will have to start this tonight with the treats

 

[azygous]

I like meal worms since they never fail to get a very huge positive reaction and they're easily concealed in your fist. (Easy to raise your own. See Raising meal worms on Feeding and Water forum.)

I train my chicks to come when they see that closed fist of mine, especially when I point to my fist in a pecking motion with a finger of the other hand. That way, in the future, when I don't have time to actually get some worms to bribe them, I can still make this visual cue work. Add a verbal cue on top of the visual cue, and you will always be able to summon your chickens from here on.