I'm a chicken noob, but have been lurking here for months. Boy, am I grateful for this site!
Before I get to my question, let me tell you the big chicken plan.... Build coop. Drive from NC to Maryland to pick up eight 8-month-old Black Australorps from a friend who's downsizing her flock of 20. Drive confused chickens back to NC in cardboard boxes (we're used to doing this with racing pigeons, but have never done it with chickens, so hopefully they'll channel their inner-pigeon and do just fine). Introduce chickens to new digs and leave them in the new coop/run for a week to let them adjust to the change (and to give us time to explain to the cats that the new pack members are not there for food or sport). So far, so good??
Here's one of my questions: After I let these girls hang out in the back yard for a few months, can I pick up a couple of hens and walk them out to the front yard to let them free range on the lawn for a few hours a day? The coop is under construction in the back yard. Here are two pics to give you an idea of what we're working with.
The coop dimensions are 7'x8' and the attached run will be about 145sq.ft. We're going to let the hens free range in the back yard when we're home (after we clip their wings to make it a bit tougher for them to fly over the existing 4' chain link fence that surrounds the back yard). As you can see we've got lots of trees and leaves in the back, but no grass. And not much in the way of weeds either, since we haul all the leaves from the front yard and pile them out back.
The front yard is turf, however, and I'd love to let them eat grass and whatever else they'd find there. I was thinking I could confine them with either temporary fencing or a lightweight mini-run that I could haul around the lawn. But, my big question is what are these gals going to think about me grabbing them and carrying them out front and then later hauling them back to the back yard. Will they be totally confused and not know where they live? And is it worth the extra hassle to give them the chance to eat grass? Or should I just bag the clippings and throw them in the back yard for some extra green stuff.
This is only the first of what I'm sure will be many posts with questions. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.
Before I get to my question, let me tell you the big chicken plan.... Build coop. Drive from NC to Maryland to pick up eight 8-month-old Black Australorps from a friend who's downsizing her flock of 20. Drive confused chickens back to NC in cardboard boxes (we're used to doing this with racing pigeons, but have never done it with chickens, so hopefully they'll channel their inner-pigeon and do just fine). Introduce chickens to new digs and leave them in the new coop/run for a week to let them adjust to the change (and to give us time to explain to the cats that the new pack members are not there for food or sport). So far, so good??
Here's one of my questions: After I let these girls hang out in the back yard for a few months, can I pick up a couple of hens and walk them out to the front yard to let them free range on the lawn for a few hours a day? The coop is under construction in the back yard. Here are two pics to give you an idea of what we're working with.


The coop dimensions are 7'x8' and the attached run will be about 145sq.ft. We're going to let the hens free range in the back yard when we're home (after we clip their wings to make it a bit tougher for them to fly over the existing 4' chain link fence that surrounds the back yard). As you can see we've got lots of trees and leaves in the back, but no grass. And not much in the way of weeds either, since we haul all the leaves from the front yard and pile them out back.
The front yard is turf, however, and I'd love to let them eat grass and whatever else they'd find there. I was thinking I could confine them with either temporary fencing or a lightweight mini-run that I could haul around the lawn. But, my big question is what are these gals going to think about me grabbing them and carrying them out front and then later hauling them back to the back yard. Will they be totally confused and not know where they live? And is it worth the extra hassle to give them the chance to eat grass? Or should I just bag the clippings and throw them in the back yard for some extra green stuff.
This is only the first of what I'm sure will be many posts with questions. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.
