How long (days) did you leave that door closed?
I can't really leave the door closed for days because all of the chickens sleep there at night and the nesting boxes are in there. I suppose when I get a little more money I could build smaller enclosures out in the fields for the free rangers with nesting boxes so they would have a place to lay eggs and sleep at night. Then maybe these lazy chickens would stay out in the grass after they eat the food I throw out.
Perhaps when they've been camping out by the door for a couple hours, you could go out and throw some scratch in the grass to get them going.
That is what i was trying to do by putting the feed out in the grass in the morning and evening but after they eat what is easily grabbed they run back for the coop while the other chickens stay out and scratch for hours.
Are they a different breed from the ones that free range? The ones I am referring to are all Warrens that I bought as pullets at 20 weeks of age. I have other chickens that all free range but I hatched them myself. In other words they have never been locked in a cage like the Warrens had the first 5 months of their lives. When I first got the Warrens none of them would come out of the coop the first day. Used layer pellets and corn to lure them out into the grass. After two months of doing this twice a day i have a little over 100 that will free range and these 50 or so that will follow me out to grab the easy stuff then run back to the coop. They will only stay out as long I am out there throwing feed around. They will also stay pretty close to me instead of scratching though the grass to grab the corn or pellets that I threw in the grass.As soon as I throw a handful out they run and grab what is easily seen then run to the next handful i throw. Within minutes after i run out of feed to throw they run back to the coop. i even tried sitting out with the chickens while they ate to see if they would stay. They do stay longer that way but as soon as they figure out I am not going to throw any more food they run back to the coop.
The more i think about it the more I think I may try the smaller coops even though it will be more work for me watering them and collecting eggs.
If you do cull them, make sure they have enough weight on them that you can put them in your freezer. If you just toss 'em, that would be a big waste.
Yeah I would never just toss them. I started with 190 of them and the ones that have died for one reason or another have gotten chopped, cooked and fed to the other chickens.