Help! Going out of town and need advice please

[txredchick]

Hahaha!

My husband is the same, he'll build anything I ask.....but I do the taking care of. We spent a good 6 months in the coop building section & other online sources and stole many ideas.
It was a fun project to work on together, once it cools down some we plan to build a structure on an open fenced in 8 acre area for goats & pigs. Can't get enough critters.

Very new to free ranging , but I read here where someone used a guiding stick. Which really works, I just guide them in the direction I want them to go & away from much of what you mentioned tanks, cactus, etc.

I'm nervous the whole time, I found that right before sunset is when we have witnessed very little prey. I also wanted to do it at that hr, so I can get them on their own to go back to their run to roost.

 

[smcottrell]

The stick is a great idea. I can just out stretch my arms for my guineas and they herd well. Isn't the farm life just grand? We had to wait until we were 50, but well worth the wait!

 

[txredchick]

I am in love with the country life, and I'm from NYC - married a true hunting fishing Texan.

We lived in N Dallas for 8 yrs & the company I worked for was offering early retirements. We knew we wanted a ranch / property - so timing worked. We are in our early 40's and have never been happier. I say I'm a farm girl in training every day, my family laughs at me - but they totally enjoy the fruits of my labor from our acre garden & eggs. Egg production is huge now, I give away each day.

Don't think I could ever live anywhere else - I love my neighbors have to drive a mule to visit & the stars are indeed bright.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The stick is a great idea. I can just out stretch my arms for my guineas and they herd well. Isn't the farm life just grand? We had to wait until we were 50, but well worth the wait!

It really works - I just use a lunge whip, since that is what I have readily available - anything that can be an extension of your arm is a good tool, and if your husband is anything like mine if you can make something a "tool" it's the bees knees, lol.

My husband is a work in progress city slicker conversion project - I was born and raised on a farm, but he's had to come around to it animal by animal, lol.....must be working, though, because the mere thought of having to go back to "city life" is enough to send him into a rant.

 

[Peeps61]

As far as free ranging goes, I started my flock last year by letting them out for a few hours supervised. They tended to stick around me as I was their "Rooster" figure since I provided food and water for them. However, they were very uncooperative about going back into the run if it wasn't bedtime and I had to catch them. So! I let them out about 5:30 PM and they would go back to roost by themselves when it got dark. They had been in the coop for about 3 months by the time I started free ranging them, so they definitely knew where home was! Make life easy for yourself and let them out about and hour before it gets dark and set up a lawn chair. Keep some treats with you to keep them in the general area. When they start going into the run/coop, you can herd the others in and lock them up. Just suggestions on my part - that's what worked for me. When I found I had a surprise rooster and he matured enough to be in charge of the flock, he did a pretty good job of keeping them all together and safe, so I relaxed a bit.

 

[smcottrell]

Omg! Thank you for the sticks! They went in like a charm. My arms just weren't enough to do the trick. My son is a natural and even though I could see his hands shake a bit he was a natural. He loves animals, but these are different and anything different to him is scary. Plus, he's used to thinking that birds bite because of our parrots. Thank you everyone! I just needed a little hand holding since I have no one in the family to teach me these things.

We could never think of going back to the city! Hubby has always been an outdoorsman and I love creatures. The bigger the better! Hahahaha, that's not true because I love them all. But, we've never had this country perspective and it is different indeed.

 

[bobbi-j]

I think your hubby and adult son will be just fine - I'm assuming they're not stupid people (after all, one was smart enough to marry you

, and no mother has a stupid son - I know this because I have three of them). They may not do things exactly as you do them, but as long as they keep them alive, fed and watered, the chickens will be fine. May I ask why you have to herd them in at night? If they've been in that setup (which looks very nice, by the way) for any length of time, they should be putting themselves in around dusk. That would make chores even easier.

 

[smcottrell]

I think your hubby and adult son will be just fine - I'm assuming they're not stupid people (after all, one was smart enough to marry you , and no mother has a stupid son - I know this because I have three of them). They may not do things exactly as you do them, but as long as they keep them alive, fed and watered, the chickens will be fine. May I ask why you have to herd them in at night? If they've been in that setup (which looks very nice, by the way) for any length of time, they should be putting themselves in around dusk. That would make chores even easier. 

Thank you. That's just the thing. They've been in the coop for 5 weeks, but I think my problem is that I only kept them confined in it for a week before I let them come out into the run in the mornings. I put them in the coop around 7:30 because it seems like that is when they start to hunker down. Problem with that is that it is in the run where they do that. I've observed them while they're in the coop and they get on their roost, so I think they like it. With that said, hubby is making them a better one with 2x4s so they can tuck in better. I have noticed it is difficult for them to move on it, but it doesn't keep them from getting on it. I really try to read them and what they seem to like. They still like to huddle even in this heat. (They're 8 weeks old) if that means anything. It just seems like they like it better outside in the afternoon after its cooled down some. Otherwise they stay in the coop during the hottest part of the day or under it. I had no problem getting them to go in at night when I'm feeding them until about 4 days ago and now they just aren't motivated like they were. I use my call and shake a bag of treats like always too. Could they be tired of the same freeze dried worms? I've tried other packaged treats for this purpose, but they didn't like them. I like to give them fresh goodies when I'm hanging out with them, but I don't always have them for a regular bedtime/cooping routine if I were to switch how I do it. They're feed time is usually all it takes and the treat was for the stragglers. I don't know understand, because from what I've read, chickens usually head inside to roost for the night. Maybe I should wait until it's almost dark, but then I've read that they can't see very well, so I thought I was doing them a favor to give them about 30 minutes inside with a little light left in the sky to see. (There are 2 windows in the coop) I'm sorry for going all over the place with my thoughts. I'm happy to have folks to discuss this with.

-Susan

 

[bobbi-j]

If they went in willingly before and suddenly stopped, it's possible that they got scared for some reason while they were in there. At 8 weeks, they may still just want to huddle together. I usually let my birds figure out for themselves when they're ready to roost.

 

[smcottrell]

I wondered that too, but they like to hang out in there so I don't know. Speaking of scared, hubby built a new roost for them with bigger sitting area. It's much nicer, but all the noise scared them when he put it in there. Oh dear. I wasn't there either so who knows how noisy it was. Noisy enough for them all to disappear under the coop. That startled him because for a moment he thought they'd all run off. Hahahaha! I hope this new thing in their coop isn't a problem for long.