do the chickens need to be trained to free range, or do i just start to let them out? someone said to scatter their feed... and does anyone know if it's alright to free range quail?
Well, no, free ranging comes natural to chickens. Once they are comfortable in their coop (I'd say after about 5 days), you let them out and they will really enjoy that. Just make sure your yard is clear of predators. Then when it starts to get dark, they will go back to their coop. No training needed. Quail will just fly away if you release them.
Over on the quail board we say that quail will only free range once. (I think Dh wants me to give it a try with the buttons ) I don't train mine, but I do keep them in an enclosed run the first few days after they are old enough to be outside. Then into a cage inside the coop at night. That's more to get them used to the big chooks first. When I think they're all going to get along, I let them out together and the little ones just sort of follow the big guys routine.
