Are my chickens lazy?

[willowtreecreek]

my chickens have a coop attached to a run so they have free access to forage in fresh grass. However my chickens seem to like to stay in the coop most of the day. Is this something I should be concerned about or is this typical? I only just got chicken so I don't know what to expect.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

When the temp gets hot my chickens stay inside almost all the time

 

[willowtreecreek]

Yesterday was very cool and today it is upper 60 and breezy so I don't think heat is an issue.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

maybe they don't want to be blown away. Mine are hideing right now while a few are getting a blow dry.

 

[willowtreecreek]

mmmm maybe. thanks.

 

[alalele]

How long have you had them, and how old are they approximately? What kind of chickens are they? Just curious. I haven't had mine long enough to answer, but have read a lot of stories.

One story is kind of vague in my memory but it was something about someones chickens dieing of dehydration because they wouldn't walk outside their coop to get to their water...? It did have something to do with weather, I think.

Also, that larger birds or meat birds were usually lazier. And lighter ones nest high in trees and some types forage more. General differences such as those.

And this is purely just a guess.. maybe they are satisfied with their pen (or run)...(yeh! you did a good job building it!!

2nd guess... maybe they aren't natural foraging types or they haven't gotten settled in yet and are still getting comfortable with their surroundings... that works only 'if' you haven't had them long.

As long as they are active in their run then I'd probably not worry about too much.. unless they looked sick.

 

[willowtreecreek]

I have 4 buff orpintons. 2 are about 16 week and 2 are about 6 weeks. I have only had them for two days and I am new to chickens. They have 3 water stations including 1 actually inside the coop. They seem to come out at about 6 and stay out til about 7:30pm. The rest of the day they only come and go a few minutes at a time but being inside is what they do most. All look and act healthy and have good droping. My husband thought that maybe they were more confined at the farm they came from and just aren't sure what they are supposed to do.

 

[CarriBrown]

They are still pretty young and vunerable so they probably aren't comfortable going outside for long periods yet. They have new surroundings, too, so they are a little skiddish still. Give them time to get used to the new home, grow and mature and they will begin to go forage away from the coop.

 

[me&thegals]

When we first let our then-grown chicks out last year, it took them weeks to get enough courage to stay out. They would only come out a couple more feet per day and then race inside when ANYthing flew overhead, including sparrows

By a few weeks or so, they were brave enough to explore the entire farm and sleep outside all summer long.

This year, a lot of the hens (maybe half?) still stay inside despite being given access to outdoors all day. I bet with time some of yours will find the outdoors more interesting then inside, but then maybe not. I sometimes "lure" mine out with a trail of sunflower seeds

 

[momma's chickens]

I think they just need more time to get use to their new surroundings. It is all new to them at this point.