'Free Ranging' With The Flock?

KikiDeAnime

Spooky
6 Years
Dec 29, 2017
4,270
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Battle Ground, WA
First of all, I'll get a picture of the chicks later!

Our 3 five/almost six week old chicks have begun to get really anxious about being let out of their coop & run to 'free range' with the others. Both chick coop and flock coop are within a secure 'free ranging' yard.

As long as I watch them, can I let them out for a few minutes a day until they're big enough?

The last batch of chicks from April were raised by our hen, Mouse, which is why I wasn't too worried about them being attacked by anything as she protected them well enough.
I'm mostly worried about our 4 month old cockerel attacking them.
 
Problem might getting them back in when you want ;)
Can they get back into the 'safe place' of their coop/run?
Can they get out of the 'secure yard'?

They seemed to be attached to me because when I try to put new food/water in, they jump onto my arm and sit there. That's why I asked as they seem to want to be near me.
 
They seemed to be attached to me because when I try to put new food/water in, they jump onto my arm and sit there. That's why I asked as they seem to want to be near me.
Well, they probably are bonded to you, I've had this happen, you're the 'safe place'....so that means they may be easy to catch, once they aren't easy to catch they may be more comfortable in the environment and with the other birds.

This is how I integrate chicks into the flock.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
 
Well, they probably are bonded to you, I've had this happen, you're the 'safe place'....so that means they may be easy to catch, once they aren't easy to catch they may be more comfortable in the environment and with the other birds.

This is how I integrate chicks into the flock.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
It was easier at the beginning of the year when our Silkie mix had gone broody. Gave her 2 batches of chicks, 5 chicks in March and 7 chicks in April, and she helped them become part of the flock.
So would I be able to let them out for a few minutes as long as they stayed close to me or should I just wait until they're bigger?
 
So would I be able to let them out for a few minutes as long as they stayed close to me or should I just wait until they're bigger?
You can only be 'mama hen' to an extent, 'staying close to you' is for a hen, not a human.
It's time to break that bond..a hen would do that too.
Prop open the door to the brooder just far enough for the chicks to get in and out but no full grown bird can get in. Have hiding places for the chicks in the run.
Post pics of your set up for more specific suggestions.

@blackdog043 and I think @rosemarythyme have good chick integration set ups,
maybe they'll chime in here with pics of theirs too.
 
You can only be 'mama hen' to an extent, 'staying close to you' is for a hen, not a human.
It's time to break that bond..a hen would do that too.
Prop open the door to the brooder just far enough for the chicks to get in and out but no full grown bird can get in. Have hiding places for the chicks in the run.
Post pics of your set up for more specific suggestions.

Our 'brooder' isn't really a brooder. It's just a small triangle coop.
I was thinking of getting video of their first time out of the coop, should I go ahead and post it here when I'm done? It's currently 6:02am here so I'll have to wait until it's lighter out to get a better shot of them.
 

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