Can I free range 3.5 month olds?

[capesquad]

debbie.h :

I let the mamas take their babies out with them and they go outside the coop at about THREE DAYS old. The other hens tend to leave mama and babies alone.

it's not the hens i fret about... it's the other critters. while their this size (9 weeks) i let them out of the coop's run and into an attached temporary 'veranda' i made for the next couple months-- it's about 30' around, 3 feet high and i put 'bird netting' on top of it to discourage the cats and large birds from mosh pit diving. so far, so good--- i leave them out in that all day and they scrounge for bugs, eat dandylion grass and can come and go to the coop for food and water if they want. meanwhile they can pretend to be chickens and i can breathe.

My dad laughs every time i mention it or the chicks. keeps mumbling that the eggs better be gold.

 

[Forever Green]

We started free ranging our chickens at 2 months. We live on 40 acres, but they always hang close to our house and under the trees closest to our house. They still have not ventured out in any way, which was my biggest concern that they would take off. They caught on super fast on returning to their coop for water during the day and line up at dusk to head back into their coop, then we lock them up for the night. I would watch for predators. I work from my home, so I step outside a couple times a day and interact with them, make sure they are safe.

 

[kittyariel]

My girls are about 15 weeks now they have been allowed out all day for about a month now. They pretty much hang out under the tree next to their coop or right around the house

 

[capesquad]

Quote:
and your cats don't bother them? (thanks)

 

[kathyinmo]

I did it, I did it ! ! ! I let them out of their yard. We have about 2 acres, and the coop is in the back corner, with a large (40' x 40') run. Tonight I let them out to run around, about 2 hours before their usual roost time. Sure enough, they all stuck around, and they all went to bed (roost) as usual. They are around 10 weeks old (I lost count), and have been in their coop and run for a month. I was a nervous wreck, watching all 44 of them go in different directions! But I calmed, when I realized they were staying pretty near. Happy, happy, happy here!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Congrats! See that wasn't so hard.

 

[Beekissed]

Good news!

 

[lisadamole]

If they are free ranging most of the time, do you still need to add grit to their feed? The feed store sold me chick grit, said to "sprinkle it on like seasoning," and I did so, but these girls are eating plenty of plain old dirt it seems.

 

[Beekissed]

You shouldn't need grit if there are areas in their range with good soil/gravel exposure.

 

[karenc]

Hi, I'm new to BackYard Chickens Forum and have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts. This strand seems to relate to my concern. I have 13 chicks hatched the end of Feb. They are a mix of heavy and crested breeds. Right now they are free ranging during the day and in their own stall to roost at night. I'd like to move them to the "chicken stall" where my 9 older hens live. They will be safer there as the fencing is much better for chickens. My concern is that they would only get layer pellets in addition to free ranging with oyster shell and grit. They would no longer have chick starter and it wouldn't be possible to separate them from the rest of the flock. Are they too young for layer pellets?