free range part time?

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
We do exactly the same thing and so do they. Even just an hour or two a day seems to be good for their mental health. We had a picking problem recently and this was part of the cure.

A few weeks ago I got home from work about an hour after sundown; my kids and husband totoally forgot about the girls. When I went outside they were huddled by the run door, prepared to spend the night there in 15 degree cold!

Phyllis

 

[1mommahen]

Mine free range part time also. I usually let them out in the afternoon and anytime I want them back in I shake a bag of shredded cheese and they come runnin"! Works everytime!

 

[digitS']

Quote:
I stash leftovers beside the sink or in the fridge thru the day. Most of the bowl goes out after dark since those hours run on so long and I'm trying to keep them entertained in the coop. When I want something for a treat, there's usually leftover breakfast cereal, the heel of a loaf of bread, noodles, something like that.

They've got 20% protein feed free choice so I feel a high-calorie treat is fine. The hens appreciate them, greatly!

If nothing else, there's a 25 lb. bag of scratch that has been around for the last 6 or 8 months on the deck. I give some to the "yard squirrel" once in awhile, also. Nothing wrong with the scratch but I'm economizing

.

Steve