Afraid to let the girls out to free range for the first time!!

[jcatblum]

The chicks I hatched on Easter free ranged for the first time today. I let them out about an hour before bed time. Most of them stayed together. Only 2 out of 18 appear to be loners. They played in the leaves @ the edge of the woods about 10 ft from their run. They love all treats & we have a designated treat pan. I brought it out called them & with in 3 minutes all 18 were back in.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

ditto on the treat pan. They know the sound of food in the pan shaking and come running. Never a problem getting them back in.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I agree that since you have kept them confined to the coop and run for several weeks that they will return at dusk with no trouble at all.

As far as your worries about letting them free-range, you're totally justified in that concern. One of the things that I had to accept when I decided to allow my girlz to free-range was that there were going to be losses to predators. It happens and it's awful. Some disappear without a trace while others leave behind patches of feathers as an indicator that there was trouble (usually a hawk). That having been said, I've been keeping chickens for two years and have lost a relatively low percentage of chickens to predators (and have never lost one to a predator inside the coop due to diligent security measures).

I happen to believe that chickens live a happier, more normal life if they are allowed to forage but it comes at a price for some of our feathered pets.

 

[2overeasy000]

I started the same way too. Letting them out an hour before sunset and getting them back by shaking some cracked corn. And as soon as they hear that, they come sprinting back.