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wjessary

wjessary

In the Brooder
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My family just got 13 chickens and 2 ducks about 3 weeks ago. I finally got the chicks into a coop with a run. We plan on allowing them to free roam when we are home. We are not sure home many roosters we have since the we're from TSC and nobody knew the best method to sex them. I am guessing they are about 6-7 weeks old. When would it be safe to allow them to free roam? Best way to round them back up after a free roam?
 
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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! When you can let them free range depends on what predators you have to worry about and your setup. If you have a big hawk problem you probably want to wait until they are older and bigger. Otherwise if you have a fenced secure yard etc and just letting them out in there and are watching them, pretty much anytime. Most chickens are pretty trainable using treats / food to get them to come back in to a run or coop. If they know scratch, that will usually work well as a bribe, if they don't, just toss some out for a few days, they will probably decide they like it pretty fast. Just have a can that you shake and call them somehow, they will get used to the noise / your call meaning scratch is going to be available and will come running.
If you want to figure out if you have roos or pullets you could post pictures in the What Breed/Gender forum www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this
 
Thanks for the help. What exactly is scratch?
 
Scratch is just a mix of grains used as a treat for chickens, you usually want to limit it to about 10% of their diet if it is the commercial kind, you can get it at any farm store. Some people who like to feed whole grains make their own out of grains they buy and make a higher/better quality one.
 
Welcome to BYC! Easiest way to train chickens to go back into the coop is to keep them in there for a week or so, that way they will be used to roosting inside the coop. Treats work well too. Best of luck to you.
 

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