Girls are finally starting to get with the routine - sooo excited.

[CrazyPetunias]

I have 10 chicks about 12 weeks old now. Their coop is next to the garden and has a 6x12 covered run attached. On nice days when I am home, I bring them up to the fenced in backyard of my house. The fenced in area is ~ 40x60 and surrounded by a chain link fence. There the girls can forage through the grass and flower beds next to the house and hang out under the deck. I have been carrying the girls from the coop to the fenced in area for the past month.

Well for the past 2 days, as I start movinging them I will leave the door to the coop open and once I get 1 or 2 chickens over to the yard, the rest of the chickens start running/jumping on their own to get there too.

I am sooo happy. It makes moving them so much easier. Now if only they would run back to their coop after.......

 

[nbenevento]

When do you bring them back to the coop? If you do it at dusk, they probably will take themselves back and put themselves to bed.

 

[CrazyPetunias]

I have been putting the girls back after dinner (around 6-7pm). With 10 of them running around it takes a bit of time to catch them all

Last night we put them back at 5 because a storm was coming.

Once summer is fully here it doesn't get dark until 10pm (we are close to the time change for EST and CST) I would like to train the chickens to go back to the coop when asked...got my fingers crossed that its possible.

 

[nbenevento]

Good luck with that! If there is an ounce of daylight left when I am closing up the coop, mine WILL NOT go back in the coop. The second the sun has set, they are in there.