yes i let them out before i head to work and lock them up when i get home. i don't think i let them out unsupervised until they were around 4 months old and even then they were still small enough for a hawk to get. now they are to big for one to swoop down and fly off. the only one i have lost was due to a neighborhood dog.
I started letting mine out all day when they were about 5 months old. I open the coop in the morning early (they want out when the sun comes up and make a BIG fuss if they are in the coop for much after it comes up) and close it at dusk when they put themselves in the coop for the night. They make another BIG fuss if I try to coop them before almost dark. They have a large fenced area that has a big oak tree in the middle and also their coop is open during the day and under a canopy so I think they're safe. I recently planted some bushes and another tree in there with some large ginger that can serve as cover. We have a lot of hawks and even eagles. My bunnies are in a completely enclosed run during the day protected from rain, they're too little to be loose (they only sleep in the hutch and they love running around in the run). No problems so far. At this point the girls would probably peck each other to death in frustration if I kept them in the coop. Also, the coop is really hot during the day in the summer.
Cute!Introducing the 3 stooges.
Now that is tempting, except I swore I would never build again after I built the one I'm in now. Phew! That was a pain!Hey PrimroseMom,
There is a lot next door to me for sale...not in the city limits and we are rural hereyou can have all the chickens you want!
If you build it...they will come
What does B.R. ordinance say about having turkeys?
So, when are you going to start kissing up?
Me 2 Terri. Every evening I check their palace last since they lay late in the evening but nothing. I open the aviary door and they look at me as to say, "She's back again. What does she want this time"? I WANT EGGS!!!! That's what I want!!!!
Congrats ! Are these the ones in the picture that were inside the Incubator? How are the others?Introducing the 3 stooges.
I know it's going to be a 3 ring circus out there because any time I get new "blood" in the yard, all of the animals have to circle the pen and lay claims to their "territory". The drama never stops. :/ I think I'm starting to notice larger snoods for the Toms and smaller snoods for the hens, well, at least I'm hoping. The two lighter ones are still light and they look like hens. 
I think I want to try to hatch out maybe 30 - 40 more before laying season is over. We'll see. We'll have to get together on a time frame for our swap, so that I can have the number and size that you want.
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