Help! Chicks first day out went down wrong.

[sheilan54]

Hello all, well i spent most of the morning building a small cozy outside run for this perfect day of sunshine and temps in the 70's. My 11 chicks were going out for their first day outside. I had planned on maybe 30 minutes so they wouldn't be traumatized, but boy did that not happen. I have 2 buff opingtons{ 1 roo} 2 silver laced wyandottes,1 red Rhode Island and 6 white leghorns. All of them are very tame and easy going. They are 4 weeks old and look fully feathered. I haven't used a heat lamp on them for the last week, because they are in my sewing room and were getting a bit warm. I am so happy with how healthy and sweet they all are. Well i put the big roo in first and he went balistic trying to get back out the door to me.. I was able to get two of the leghorn girls in, but same thing. My husband actually had to stop work on the hen house and run to come over and give me a hand to get them back out without them charging the door. I gave up on that and brought them back in. when i got the cage back next to the brooder and started putting them back in they immediatly started calming down and tried to sweet talk me. So my husband said lets just forget it until i get the big run and house done so i can get in there with them. Is this a normal reaction, or have i petted the babies to much?

 

[azelgin]

Agoraphobia.
They aren't used to the open space. I put mine in a dog crate, put them in the bigger space, open the crate door and let them venture out on their own.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yes, they are just afraid of a new environment. I use a dog crate too when I first take my youngsters outside and I just let them come out when they are ready. It takes a while at first but after they have done it a few times they are soon breaking down the door to get out!

 

[azelgin]

Yes, they are just afraid of a new environment. I use a dog crate too when I first take my youngsters outside and I just let them come out when they are ready. It takes a while at first but after they have done it a few times they are soon breaking down the door to get out!

Yeah, good luck herding back into the dog crate, when you want to pack them back inside. Hmmm, maybe that's where that saying comes from, when faced with an effort in futility.

 

[sheilan54]

Thanks, i think i will try that tomorrow. It seems like my big orpington Roo is such a cry baby anyway i'm afraid to give it a shot today. When i put them back into the brooder everyone calmed down except him. I had to sit next to the brooder for a minute and talk to him and then he went to sleep. He reminds me so much of my ex husband.

 

[newmarch2014]

Our first trip with my 6 in the front yard was obviously a bit scary for them but I simply took them out in a basket and set them each on the ground. As soon as I then laid on the grass to get pics they ran to me and hid behind the camera and under my chin. They did eventually settle in to scratching around me and the next trip to the fenced in garden area went better till the honery ones time to be recaptured....But they did eventually lose the scared look and started poking around. Mine are only a few weeks old so they are a bit more inclined to stay close but I just sat on the ground with them and they did not run off or try to escape on the run for the most part.

 

[donrae]

Animals don't like change, period. Baby animals, especially prey animals, know they're at the bottom of the food chain and are scared about new things and environments. We're the humans, we know what's best. They'll always fuss when you move them or change stuff too much. It needs to be done anyway and they'll adjust a lot faster than you'd think.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yeah, good luck herding back into the dog crate, when you want to pack them back inside. Hmmm, maybe that's where that saying comes from, when faced with an effort in futility.

Getting them back in the crate has never been a problem for me. I suppose if they were running loose in a large area that would be more difficult, but at that age mine were let out in a small pen during the day so getting them back in was just never a problem.

 

[sheilan54]

Yes they surely did not like the change. I'm afraid with 11 of them if i tried to let them down on the open ground and they got loose i would never catch them. We are completely covered up with chicken hawks and a few eagles. I'm afraid i am a coward so i will have to use a run. I do intend on letting them free range eventually. jeez i never once thought i would become this attached to chickens.

 

[ceceuu]

Thanks, i think i will try that tomorrow. It seems like my big orpington Roo is such a cry baby anyway i'm afraid to give it a shot today. When i put them back into the brooder everyone calmed down except him. I had to sit next to the brooder for a minute and talk to him and then he went to sleep. He reminds me so much of my ex husband.

That's funny!