Lock em out?

[jbtcajun]

My chicks are about 10wk now.
The have been in the tractor since about week four.
For the past week the tractor door has been left open for them to start ranging.
If they leave the coop it is never more than 5 feet or so, then they rush back in.
Should I lock them out to get them to start ranging?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My chicks are about 10wk now.
The have been in the tractor since about week four.
For the past week the tractor door has been left open for them to start ranging.
If they leave the coop it is never more than 5 feet or so, then they rush back in.
Should I lock them out to get them to start ranging?

They are only just gaining confidence, let them alone and they will soon be all over the place as they become more comfortable with being out in the open areas.

 

[Folly's place]

x2. You could place a feeder and/or waterer outside, in the shade, in addition to the ones in the tractor. Mary

 

[donrae]

Your chicks are being very, very smart. They're babies, they're prey animals, and they have no parent to look out for them. They don't know if you've provided a safe place for them to range, they just know it's a big, scary world, they're all alone and they don't want to get eaten

. What they're doing of completely normal and age appropriate. They'll get more adventurous as they get older and on one gets eaten lol. You can scatter grain outside, near the door, to tempt them out a little at a time, but don't push their instincts and let them go at their own pace.