My 4.5 wk old chicks spent their 1st day in the grass. I use an old baby play yard with a sheet of styrofoam tied over it. At early eve, I moved them back into their rabbit cage inside the coop. For the next few weeks, I'll be carrying them back & forth. Once I decide to integrate them, it gets quite silly. The chicks eventually use my chicken tractor and get into the habit of going back & forth. But, when I 1st stop carrying them, I must herd them across the yard. It's only 200-400' , but DD & I must hold long poles in each hand - like brooms & shovels - to kind of sweep them along. Then one decides to turn around & they all run back like lemmings to their starting point. Those funny scenes last for about a week & afterwards we only have to open the doors & tell them where to run. They run together as a group to put themselves into the tractor or back into the coop. At some point when they get to be about adult size & I simply stop closing the doors. They run to their destination & spend most of their time there, but they have the option to venture outside & free range and return for safety when needed.
So this is what I will be doing over the next few months as new chicks are added.
So this is what I will be doing over the next few months as new chicks are added.
