Free-range question for a newbie!

[Cat Thompson]

Very good advice! I'll definitely be posting more questions here soon! We should be getting our chicks around the middle of September. We have a 3D printer and are printing several of the equipment as far as feeders and swings.

 

[azygous]

Would you please post what region you live in so we know what climate you're going to be dealing with?

The easiest thing all around is to brood right in your coop. That way the chicks grow up where they will be living, imprinting on it so it cuts down on the stress of moving them in later.

I advocate training your chicks early on to come to you with verbal and physical cues. I recently trained my two two-week old broody-raised chicks to come to me. It took just a day and a half and they now jump into my hands when I show them the cues. Here's how I did it.

I first got them hooked on meal worms. You may give small, tender meal worms to chicks in the first week after hatch as long as you provide grit. Some chicks are suspicious of these treats at first, but it won't last long.

Sit down on the floor or ground with your baby chicks. It's important to be on their level. Once your chicks know what meal worms are, place the meal worms in your closed hands. When the chicks are paying attention, open your hands to expose the worms inside. Allow the chicks to take them from your hand.

As you repeat this fun activity, speak a verbal cue you've chosen. I just say, "Come here." It doesn't matter what word(s) you use. Very quickly your chicks will associate your closed upturned hands with treats. To get them to come to you, merely stoop down, show them your closed upturned hands and speak the verbal cue. They will immediately assemble in front of you like a platoon of Marines.

 

[Cat Thompson]

I am from East Tennessee!

 

[azygous]

You have a temperate climate. If you're going to be getting your chicks soon, there's no reason not to brood right outside in your coop. There are so many benefits to this, I urge you to read my article on outdoor brooding so I don't need to go over them all. It's linked below.

 

[Cat Thompson]

Thank you! I will!

 

[AuntJamie]

I started out by shaking the treats can and hollering "WHO'S FINGER LICKING GOOOOD!?" Got them into that, then dropped the can shaking. Now they come when I holler. I've only ever tried to get them in the run a couple times as they free range all day until sundown and put themselves to bed.
To get them into the run I still holler to get everyone's attention until they gather then lead them to the door, stand by the door and toss treats in. Success rate is about 92% since Cherlene never wants to cooperate and I have to herd/catch her. Silly Cherlene. Always causing trouble, that one.

 

[andreanar]

I use the same methods as some of the others. Everytime I give a yummy, I shake the can and say "chick chick chick". They come running if they hear it. To begin free ranging I keep them in the coop for a few days, then keep them confined to the coop and run for a month or so while they are growing up. Then I start letting them out around 5 in the evening and I call them back with the can shake if they aren't all back by 8 pm. Usually they start straggling back to the coop on their own about 715pm or so. I only feed and water in the coop. I also start confining them to the coop and run again at about 17 weeks to train them to lay eggs in the nest boxes. I don't want to run around on an egg hunt every day. Once they are consistently laying in boxes, I start free ranging again,

 

[lazy gardener]

CT, I agree with Azygous: brooding right in the coop with heating pad cave is the way to go. Less stress for all concerned. Just make sure you make that coop and run big enough for your starter needs as well as your ongoing needs: 4 s.f in coop, 10 s.f. in run per bird. Even if you plan to free range, you will need a run for safety from predators, training birds to the nest, and any other time you simply need to keep them corralled. Good that you are doing your homework before you get your birds.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

Actually you can teach them to come RUNNING to you by a specific whistle. My dad did this with his chicks and they followed him everywhere. I have never had to chase my chickens anywhere. If they don't come to the whistle it's simply out of their hearing range (plus my whistle is not the strongest). The other thing is they will know to come in when it gets dark. I dont cage them anymore.. they get up basically when i do cause ill feed them then they eat and go off on their own. My birds have always free ranged since they have been young adults and they come in about 30 min to 1 hour prior to dusk into the barn and roost. They have the instinct they will be eaten if they are not off the ground. If they don't come back they most likely have been eaten if you live on acreage.