Mulch in the coop

[aim0620]

thanks for the reply..I wound up putting mulch at the bottom and I had a TON of extra dirt from gardens out front so i put that over the mulch. Seems to be working ok for now. I was trying to start a new thread today and I have no idea why I couldn't figure it out since obviously I've done it before, lol. At any rate, quick question for anyone who can help, they seem to be very skittish when I go in the run, darting everywhere. I would like to let them in the yard (we're only 50x100) to wander around and check things out but I'm terrified I won't be able to get them back in. My daughter would be devastated. They're only eight weeks old so I'm not sure. I haven't introduced meal worms yet but they liked the strawberries I chopped for them yesterday. I thought maybe shaking some meal worms would entice them back in

 

[Cuccismith]

how long have they lived in the run / coop? if it's over a week they should know it's their home.
bring a chair in the run with you and shut the door, hold them tough them, hand feed them with treats like oatmeal and they will become less skittish and love you. mine are so tame it's over the top at times! Hope this helps! All I do is yell "bok bok" and shake the oatmeal box and they all come running. Yours will too!

 

[Cuccismith]

Meant to say "touch" not tough
oh and you could make a little temporary chicken wire run in the grass for them - they will love that if you are worried about them leaving. but they wont : )

 

[vehve]

Here are my experiences on herding them back in.

Firstly, chickens tend to not wander off that far, and once they're accustomed to their lodgings they should return a bit before sunset. However, if you need to get them in before that, treats are a good way to go. Our chickens don't respond that well to this though. Here's what we do. (For authenticity, it might be a good idea to have a boombox playing the Benny Hill theme in the background for this).

You need another person and a rake or brush (and the Benny Hill music in the background). One of you is on run door duty, holding the rake so that they can make as big an obstacle as possible. The other one will herd the chickens towards the door. Once you've gotten the first two out of nine chickens in, you take another lap around the run with the remaining seven. Again, two more go in. Of course your assistant hasn't been up to his/her task with the door, so one has gotten out, leaving you with six to get back in. Keep repeating this, at various stages most and none of your chickens will be in the run. After about 20 minutes, you should have all nine in there, and you can close the door to the run. If you don't have an assistant, reserve 40 minutes for this, or if your flock is considerably larger, don't even try.

 

[Cuccismith]

hysterical!!!

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

 

[aim0620]

LOL, amazing. Sounds like I wouldn't even need to go to the gym that day. We only have three and we did let them out last night. My eleven year old daughter was the hero and got them all back in. They really haven't had many treats yet only a couple of strawberries that I chopped very very small. I don't have any chicken scratch so I don't want to give them too many treats, as I read it aids in digestion. Ok, so no one thinks eight weeks is too early to let them out? Thanks again for everyones help and for the laugh

 

[aim0620]

I've thought about making just a small run in the grass (temporary, yes). So we'll try that too. I have to pick up meal worms. I know I read, I think on the chicken chick, that they should be used sparingly. They have just gotten so big in the week we've had them. We decided to go with seven week old chicks since I don't really have the room or time to raise them in the house. So far it's worked out great. I'll have to post a pic of the finished coop. Again, we are so short on room here and I was surprised that my hubby even thought this was possible.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[drumstick diva]