My flock is nearly four months old and doing really well (21 birds). I have 2 1/2 acres and would like to let them run around the yard during the day. I was thinking of letting them out of the run shortly before dark, just to see if they'll return to the run/coop when it got really dark. My yard is surrounded by pine trees on three sides. I live near a pretty busy road. Is it likely the flock will return to the coop at night? Will they wander way away from the coop? I'd have to go down there each night to close it up and turn on the fence since I have a lot of predators around, but that's no problem. I just want to let them run around more.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?