needing help with homebody hens!

[ChickNanny13]

Got similar "problem"....My "coop" is an enclosed table (3 x 8) in my patio, I let my girls out in the mornings to their run where I feed them & they stay until afternoons. I then let them "free range" which they do but not wondering off too far. However they spend more time in the patio laying around & bathing on the concrete! I have a dust bath for them which they've used on occasion, no idea why they spend so much time in the patio? They're 9wks & on FF, freeze dried mealworms for treats & got a mealworm farm started too. Mealworms thrown in the yard, gets them out there but they return to the patio.....Think they're spoiled

 

[BlackBriars]

Those are cute chicks! I think you'll see an uptick in foraging over the next ten weeks as your chicks mature a little.

If your yard is mostly open space, lack of overhead cover can deter foraging.

 

[ChickNanny13]

That's probably the problem, yard is "open".....Living in the city has it's drawn backs I'm good with them keeping the patio and surrounding area bug free My birds are more pets than producing layers....Thanks for feed back, makes sense now.