This reminded me of the first time I raised my chicks in the coop. We separate out a nice section for them that has indoor and outdoor enclosure space when they are old enough. For us it's perfect. There is even a separate door on that side of the coop. But after the first batch had grown a couple weeks, and they were wandering more and more beyond the sweeter heater, I opened the door and 5 chicks fell out onto the ground!!! They were fine, but we were all quite startled. They had been "roosting" on the little wooden edging that keeps the straw in.Of course I never let that happen again.
I love raising chicks this way, not having them in my house or the rabbit hole (room in garage). But, it is not possible to create strong bonds with them, as when they are inside and handled all the time. They hide under their heater when we come to freshen food, water and space. It works okay for us, as we enjoy watching our chickens create their own society and friendships. We love sitting out there and watching them. Our interactions are mainly maintenance, feeding and treats, and of course keeping an eye on their health. But when the berries and blueberries are in bloom, they all come running to me and say, "hey old buddy old pal...how's about some of your berries?"They get the lion's share of them.
I know that is very different than the sort of interaction you all have with your chickens. Can we still be friends?
That's awesome
We all have different ways of raising our chooks, there's no wrong way. I would love to have a self sustaining tribe of chooks someday and I know that means as little involvement as possible with the babies. But knowing me I'll probably still try to be friends with them
I'm so sorry. I would have been devastated.
