The skies we're clear of hawks (or appeared to be) so I decided to bring three of my 25- 4wk olds out to weed the garden (I'm not bringing them all out, lol), they stuck by my side the whole time and enjoyed every minute of it. It's a pain to put up four cats but I feel so much better knowing that they're safely put up. Maybe I'll try more than three next time. bigrey
I havnt dared let my 4wk olds out yet. The cats wont bother them but they are still scared of me. I would never get 'em back in. I would like to see pics of them following you around and tips on how you accomplished taming them. I tried with mine and they were just not going to let it happen. They don't like me.
I am so jealous of all of ya'll that can free range your chickens. We have 3 free range dogs and several others in the neighborhood. Not a good idea here.
I tried taking my chicks out one at a time when I first decided to let them test the backyard. They were so miserable without each other (I had 3... which is now 4) that I decided to take all 3 out at once. They're much happier. I found that if I pick up 2 chicks, the 3rd one will follow me back to the brooder on her own. My bantam cochin doens't much care if she's by herself or with her flock-mates. Once the coop is done & they're all sleeping together, I think that'll help them bond better. I did learn - nearly the hard way - not to let them go unsupervised. If I go into the house for short periods, they're likely to hang out on the back porch. But leaving the property nearly proved tragic: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=68293