Moving chicks outside

[Smccau3]

Hi all! I have 4 7-week old hens that I am getting ready to move outside.

I have read that you need to keep them shut in the coop for a week so they know it's home. Does that mean they can't go into the attached run either?

I have a chicken tractor. It's essentially a big rectangle. If you split it into quarters the top right is the actual coop, and the rest is the run, all fenced in. It's not very large, the perfect size for 4 chickens,

Can I let my chickens out into the run or do I need to keep them in the coop?

 

[OHSpartan]

I'm certainly not the expert of the site, but what I'm doing is letting them 'chicken tractor' during the day, then put them in a safe location at night.

 

[horseshowmomnv]

We left ours in for a day, then for the first couple of days we had to help them go in, but now they go in by themselves. The first time we let them free range they put themselves back... smarter than we think. Mine were 8 weeks, now 10 wks. They figure it out.

 

[7L Farm]

You can let them go into the run. My coops are three sided so I have no choice. They know what to do.