New Chickens, won't go outside?

[Jay13]

So I got to pick myself up some new chickens, I am *hoping* they are mostly hens. I guess they are teenagers in chicken terms around 16-18weeks. So I went to the trouble to build a nice big shed with a yard for them and now they won't spend any time outside. Its nice here during the day weather wise (50s-60s) the sun is shining and i thought, what a perfect day to be a chicken. I even threw some scratch grains out there to encourage them to explore.... about half of them came out for a few min, ate the grass immediately in front of the door, and then scurried back inside.

Do i have defective chickens? Or will it take sometime for them to realize that there is a great big world out there just for them. We fenced and chicken wired our entire orchard in just for them ( about an acre ) that is adjacent to where we build their shed. They have had picking issues, most of them have bald spots around the top of their tail feathers, but no bleeding thank goodness.

 

[devobrew]

Cheers Jay;
I'm sure your chooks will figure out that they have a big world out there. I recently got 3 hens from a battery cage life and they where <1 yr. old. For the 1st 3-days 2Ba's would only stay/stand on this one spot in my coop/tractor that is raised off the ground and covered w/hardware clothe. The ground, hay, straw, and grass were totally alien to them. They now free range happily.

 

[A.J.'s]

I had this same problem with 7 chicks that came out of their brooder.. they would not go out of the little house I had for them in a 8x10 dog fence.
I was so irritated that they were missing out on the sunshine and grass when cold weahter was expected, but they did go out. It took them a few days, but they figured it out.