I'm afraid to let them freerange...Please help

[kagedgoddess]

my chickens dont like treats.... theres something wrong with them, can i return them? jk, i have tried scrambled eggs, yogurt, grapes, lettuce, worms, lots of stuff, so now i just throw down some chick starter, and once they realize it wont bite, they eat it. every night i have had to go down and put them in theyre coop. but it hasnt been a week yet, so i m hopeful. my question is, how Far do they roam? i m only on 2acres, half of which is wooded.

 

[noitulover]

they will start out by sticking around the coop. then, as they get more comfortable (took a couple of weeks for mine), they will start branching out.

mine move about an acre around their coop/run.

 

[noitulover]

also depends ont he breed. my big fat layers don't go as far as the exploratory bantams.

flighty breed i can imagine will go further. especially chickens known to be good foragers.

 

[valentinebaby]

Shelly - I buy rolled oats in 50 lb bags from my local feed store - about $10/bag. I read in an old book that you should avoid giving birds too many grains with the husk still on - harder for them to grind up.

 

[briana1975]

If they are going into the coop to roost each night they should be fine. I don't let mine out till after dinner time that way I can be outside with them. I thought the same thing, that I would be running around chasing chickens in, but they go in by themselves. If I want them in early I bring a piece of bread out to bribe them back in. That works too.

 

[desertgirl]

Quote:
Must be nice....

My dumb girls all cuddle up at the bottom of the ramp and we have to put them inside the coop "manually". They go quietly, but I wish they would just get it together and go in by themselves!!

 

[koryan]

As long as they have been in the coop for several days they will put themselves to bed as dusk falls. All I ever have to do it close the chicken door at night.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
Mine go back in the henhouse on their own as the sun goes down. If it's the first time, you might have to help some of them back in, but they should go back in on theri own. Chickens like to go back home for the night. If they get a little disoriented, you can shake a container of food or something.

I would leave food inside their coop only, this will also encourage them to come home. I would leave water outside the coop, especially in this heat, so they always have access to it. I leave multiple water sources for my chickens.

If they've been going in their coop at night, they should return there even while free ranging.

 

[Shellyb]

Well I got up the courage thanks to all of your posts and decided to let them out to "play". Well, they did really well. They stayed close to the run and checked out all the dirt, grass, and leaves that are out by the rock wall near their run. They even climbed up a large turned over tree stump that we haven't been able to move. They came over to see me a few times and with a little encouragement even followed me out a little further into the yard. They each kinda made it back into the run one at a time but then would come back out on their own. Then 7 out of the 9 went into the run and it was good timing for me so I picked up the other two and closed the run for now. Hubby is out cutting the grass right now and after he's done I'll probably let them out again. It was fun to watch them for sure. Thanks again for helping out a nervous first timer.

 

[Sjisty]

I let mine all free range. The Brahmas are so big they don't jump the fence, so they stay in the back yard all day and go home to their coops at night.

I just let my littles out of their coop today. They are about six weeks old. I raked their coop, DE'd it and put in new shavings. When I was finished, I couldn't find them anywhere. I finally found them (all 16 of them) under our pump tank. It is held off the ground on cinder blocks and I guess it is nice and dark and cool under there. I looked under there and there were 16 heads looking back at me!