Okay, my chickens are about 10-11 weeks old now. They can go in and out of the coop when they want on to the attached run. Of course, as you probably know, they have picked their run clean of grass, so it's just dirt. What I was wanting to know...when can I reliably let them out on the acerage to roam around? Will they get too far away or get lost because they're young?
My chicks are right now 6 weeks old, and they have been free ranging on their own for a few days now. You will have to make sure that they all get in safely at night tho, as I have a couple who insist on napping outside. so I have go around and collect the "strays" But other than that they do great. They wont stray too far from the coop at first. but as they get older, they will get bolder and stray further.
Mine have been free ranging in an acre field since they were 5 1/2 weeks. No problems with them coming back at the end of the day. They make regular trips back to the coop for a drink and snack during the day. You might want to check on them during the day for the first few days to see which ones are sticking together--easier to make a quick check in the evening to see if there are any stragglers.
Mine are around 6 weeks, and I'll let them out to freerange but keep an eye on them. They are doing just fine. Once they get a little bigger, I'll feel more comfortable letting them out without my supervision.
Thanks everyone! We have 25 acres and alot of it is in corn and soybeans most of the time, so that's why I was concerned about them getting lost.