I am such a chicken!

[Sandischics]

I got my girls about a month and a half ago and am afraid to let them free range out of the coop and run! I guess I am scared of loosing any of them.. How can I defeat this overly protective attitude?

Today I chose 1 girl and took her out of the run and let her peck around for a bit and then back in she went!

Help me out please!

Nervous Nellie!

 

[7L Farm]

Whoa Nellie LOL. Nobody wants to loose any of their stock. Personally, I live on a farm & I'm always outside so I free range mine everyday. I do have mine trained & can put them back in their coop whenever I need too. You might let them out the last few hours of the day when you can supervise them & when dusk comes they will head back to the coop to roost .

 

[Sandischics]

I have been trying to give treats in the evening in the coop to train them to go in but they seem to still want to be in the run and will hunker down to rest out there.

I also live on a farm and have a ton of predators around at night and a hawk by day. So I want to be vigilant about the time they are out of the run.

 

[joymac]

I live in town and the coop/run is situated so that my four girls have their own little yard (enclosed by the house on one side, fence on two and the coop/run & gate on the other). I only let them out if I'm at home and did so this morning but then we went to church. I remembered then and my dear husband left church and returned home to lock them up! Luckily we only live about 6 blocks away, lol!

 

[goldnchocolate]

Generally they will stay close to the door that they came out of while they familiarize themselves to the area. They are even MORE chicken than you are....haha! As long as they know where the door is they will find their way back. You could help them out by putting a feeder or waterer near the door to give them a hint.

 

[Sandischics]

Omg thank you all for the ideas! Much appreciated!

 

[dadtochickenfan]

Same with ours. It took some time. To build thier confidence, and yours, try letting them out just before dusk. They tend to return home at night. This way, they won't go too far. Eventually everyone will get more comfortable leaving the roost.