- May 24, 2011
- 97
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Okay.
I've had 3 pullets for about three weeks, and they're still reluctant to go outside. I very much want to have good old-fashion free ranging chickens, and I need expert advice!
Here's the backstory: I bought these 3 at 10/11 weeks, from a Chicken Guy who keeps a gazillion birds in a gigantic old horse barn. The birds are kept in large horse stalls, each age and gender separate. I didn't see any perches, and the birds seemed very crowded. The stalls had no windows, and were rather dark, though not dirty or stinky.
So. They're now 13/14 weeks old, and have a small (4 x 7) coop in my own horse barn. This barn is smaller, sunnier and breezier by far, and at first they were afraid of absolutely everything; they tended to huddle in a dark corner of the coop, and it was most distressing. That only lasted a few days, though, and now they're happy to leave the coop in the morning, and dash up and down the barn aisle like madmen. They're no longer afraid of horses, humans or barn cats, and are actually developing a certain amount of 'tude. They even have a self-appointed feline protector named Porridge, who sticks to them like glue. (It's very cute. He looks just like a Buff Orpington.)
Anyhow, in most ways these girls act just like normal, healthy chickens - except that they're afraid to leave the barn on their own. They'll stay out so long as I'm actually sitting there, and eat grass and bags and stuff, but they run back into the barn as soon as I leave. This means that they're in the barn most of the time - and that I have to clean chicken poop off the floor 247 times a day. This is not a good thing! I don't want them pooping in the horses stalls, or pooping on the hay. I want them OUTSIDE!
So, what should I do? Should I close them out of the barn? Should I move their food further from the barn door? Will they get braver over time, or are they too old to learn new ways?
Help!
I've had 3 pullets for about three weeks, and they're still reluctant to go outside. I very much want to have good old-fashion free ranging chickens, and I need expert advice!
Here's the backstory: I bought these 3 at 10/11 weeks, from a Chicken Guy who keeps a gazillion birds in a gigantic old horse barn. The birds are kept in large horse stalls, each age and gender separate. I didn't see any perches, and the birds seemed very crowded. The stalls had no windows, and were rather dark, though not dirty or stinky.
So. They're now 13/14 weeks old, and have a small (4 x 7) coop in my own horse barn. This barn is smaller, sunnier and breezier by far, and at first they were afraid of absolutely everything; they tended to huddle in a dark corner of the coop, and it was most distressing. That only lasted a few days, though, and now they're happy to leave the coop in the morning, and dash up and down the barn aisle like madmen. They're no longer afraid of horses, humans or barn cats, and are actually developing a certain amount of 'tude. They even have a self-appointed feline protector named Porridge, who sticks to them like glue. (It's very cute. He looks just like a Buff Orpington.)
Anyhow, in most ways these girls act just like normal, healthy chickens - except that they're afraid to leave the barn on their own. They'll stay out so long as I'm actually sitting there, and eat grass and bags and stuff, but they run back into the barn as soon as I leave. This means that they're in the barn most of the time - and that I have to clean chicken poop off the floor 247 times a day. This is not a good thing! I don't want them pooping in the horses stalls, or pooping on the hay. I want them OUTSIDE!
So, what should I do? Should I close them out of the barn? Should I move their food further from the barn door? Will they get braver over time, or are they too old to learn new ways?
Help!
