Can I free range 3.5 month olds?

[gritsar]

Quote:
If they have been in their coop for awhile, then they should consider the coop home and want to return to it in the evenings for security. Start by letting them out a few hours before dusk and then let them out earlier and earlier as they prove they know to go in the coop at bedtime. Don't be concerned if it seems like it's getting pretty dark and you have a few still hanging around outside the coop door. There's always at least one that wants to squeeze every last second out of the day. I just shoo the stragglers in the door.
I have let mine roam around the (fenced) yard since they were little more than two weeks old. At first I supervised constantly. As they grew they learned how to get out of the fenced yard and wander everywhere on the farm. I check on them from time to time and always do a head count when I go out to the coop to lock them up for the night.
My chickens have certain set safe zones they all head to if they feel threatened. My roo is good about warning of predators - or if he disagrees with my clothing choice for the day

- but that's a whole 'nother story.
Their favorite safe zone is a stand of fig trees that form a natural cage, open on one side. Twice now I have gone out and found that my rooster has hemmed all the girls up in the "cage" and is standing guard at the opening.

 

[cackler]

I recently was searching this website for the same answer - we have 16-5 week olds (we are new to all of this as of April) and I wanted to know when they could free range as we have 9 hens that free range. I found somewhere (I don't remember where

) that said that they needed to be 10 weeks old to free range. That made sense to me because they are still pretty small in terms of the farm cats not getting them during the day. Our 9 other hens do come back to the coop when it starts getting dark. We will be SO happy when the 'little' ones are old enough to be out running around! We are going to keep them behind chicken wire in the coop until probably about 9 weeks - let them out in the fenced in coop yard for about a week and after that - they're on their own like the rest of the girls.

 

[jelmer]

I let mine free range as soon as they were born under the care of their mum and they are doing just fine

 

[capesquad]

This is little off topic, but hopefully close enough? I have a 4' x 6' raised coop with a run underneath it that runs about 11' long and 4' deep. The run has a metal roof that covers it completely and sturdy wire- the whole thing sits on top of a 'garden clothe' and has an enclosed floor. The guy who built it has built many and has one himself. He swears it's predator safe. My question is, if i'm going away for the weekend can i leave the door open between the run and the coop so that they can at least enjoy the run while i'm away?
i'll let them 'wander' the yard when i'm home, but I thought this would be better than nothing...
Do you all lock your birds up in the coops at night, do they have access to their runs?

Thanks! i'm MORE than new to this... picking up my first 3 laying hens tomorrow. Will raise some chicks in the fall when I'm a little more experienced.

 

[Beekissed]

I never close up my coop unless I want to keep the birds in for the day to retrain to the nests. But then, I have the biggest and baddest "predators" right outside the coop door, so I don't have to worry.

 

[ange]

I like you free range ideas, that is what I will do . But, will my 8 week old chicks stay around like my hens do, or will they ytake off on me, I do not have a fenced in yard, but it is lined with large spruce trees. I am concerned I will lose them. Will I. The hens are not their mothers.

 

[Beekissed]

The young birds will range with each other but they will not range far from the older birds. They depend on them for alarm calls. I don't know just how they learn this behavior but my chicks run to cover at the first call of the roo, even before the big gals do.

 

[ange]

Thabnks, and that is my favorite, psalm, so comforting.

 

[phrank]

Hi,

I have 2 chickens (RIR) which are about 5 years old. They have their own coop and have had free range of the backyard since march. In march I got 5 more chicks. They are now about 4 months old. And are outside in their own coop, which is located about 10 feet from the innitial coop. I would like all 7 chickens ( the innitial 2 and the additional 5) to have free range of the yard, but while i was cleaning out the coop of the younger chickens, one kinda strayed away. When the older RIR saw this, it aggressively ran over to the younger chicken and began to show aggressive behavior ( pecking, jumping on it etc.) The yard is relatively large. Will this aggressive behavior eventually go away? or will I not be able to let both groups out at the same time? Is there another way to introduce both groups so they will tolerate each other??

Thanks in advance,

Larry

 

[tampitt]

I've been letting ours free range up to 6 hours a day, letting them get used to this heat. Yesterday was their first whole day outside and sleeping in the coop. Ours just turned a month Wednesday, but it's been in the 80's at night here, so i'm sure they won't get cold.