i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[McChooky]

pot layers unite!
i hope you’re having the same weather as we are today! it’s like summer! amazing.

i had a good think this morning and i think i am going to take your advice. maybe it would be different if i was starting off with chicks or something, but i don’t feel right about locking them up in there. they are so happy wandering around and doing their thing. they were not happy locked up.
i mean…they survived storm eowyn! they are warriors! lol!
i’m going to leave the run open and give them options.
i appreciate all the other advice i was given here, but because they have been free for so long, i want to work with them. not against them. they should be having their best little chicken lives. i will still build a better run and make some adjustments in case they want to stay in the coop at night. and who knows, maybe i’ll have future chickens and i’ll be more prepared and knowledgeable.
i appreciate your different point of view, perris. and i feel a huge sense of relief that there was some advice offered that wasn’t having to lock them up. i did not want to do that again. i mean. i get that’s what people do, but in this case i’m not so sure it would be the best thing for them.
louise came back first thing this morning and they are both out there sunbathing

Free range chickens don't necessarily live a long time because they roost in trees. If a chicken has a secure coop and run and is free ranged during the day the only thing you're depriving that chicken of is a tree. A coop and run with an open door is a trap.Everything eats a prey animal (chickens)

 

[pollipazzi]

welp. there was just a snail fight so i guess it's not over

 

[pollipazzi]

Free range chickens don't necessarily live a long time because they roost in trees. If a chicken has a secure coop and run and is free ranged during the day the only thing you're depriving that chicken of is a tree. A coop and run with an open door is a trap.Everything eats a prey animal (chickens)

everything is different now.

 

[tlcmurphy]

welp. there was just a snail fight so i guess it's not over

Poor snail
Mine go after butterflies in flight, they look like complete morons!

 

[pollipazzi]

Poor snail
Mine go after butterflies in flight, they look like complete morons!

louise actually caught a butterfly in flight this morning and ate it. i think she thought it would have tasted better than it did.
greedy though

 

[Iluveggers]

I have one older hen I have to separate in the morning when I put food out. The younger flock members seem to notice she is moving a bit slower, and were attacking her first thing every day. Now I have a section for her, I put her in there to eat and drink for about an hour when they come out, and she goes back w everyone the rest of the day with very little issue. They occasionally chase her if I throw treats in, but now I throw treats in the large open area and she is smart and stays in the section by the coop and I hook her up w treats when they are distracted running amok in the open area lol.

 

[RoyalChick]

she's still in the coop all angsty. now a storm is coming and i dont know if i should stick thelma in the run now too. really great timing, storm.

i really am not sure i am any good at chickening. it's never just normal. is it normal to never be normal?

Why do you think we are all here - we all suffer that. It is normal!

 

[RoyalChick]

i really need an instruction manual.

Trouble is, the chickens never read the instructions.
Never.

 

[RoyalChick]

she just ran over to thelma like "hello, long lost friend!" what a nutcase.

i have 2 feeders not because of that. but because before when they were being broody, i read they shouldn't have layer feed if they are not laying. so i got some chick crumb. there's always oyster shell in the run, but i put layer feed in one feeder and chick crumb in the other. so they can choose. they don't touch the layer feed much now.
she seems to share just fine with the food and water. and if i give them a treat in a container. like scrambled egg or something. but if it’s a scattered treat, it's like she rushes around trying to get it all before thelma can have any.

if i feed them by hand, she forces her way to the front and tries not to let thelma get any. so i close my hand and open it for thelma to get some before i let her have more.
she's been eating like a pig.
usually it's thelma that's the hungry one

Many of us develop tricks to ensure fair sharing of treats. I use the two-handed closed fist approach (one hand in front of me and one behind).
I find also that rapidly tossing treats over a wide area means they are too busy chasing after the latest windfall to notice that the smaller ones are calmly cleaning up behind them.

 

[alinas2010]

Poor snail
Mine go after butterflies in flight, they look like complete morons!

Grasshoppers. Mine look so hilarious chasing grasshoppers. They think they have it, go in for the kill, it hops away, they run after it to the next spot, same thing. It’s so funny