Newbie - Need some information

[erinks]

Hello,

I recently got my first batch of baby chicks. What I would like to know is, once I move them outside, how much care do they require? Is it basically that I let them out in the morning and collect the eggs, and gather them back in the coop at night? Or do we need to be interacting with them more often than this?

Any advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

You can interact as much as you want. My flock is livestock to me, so there's no cuddling, but I handle them enough so they are used to it and I'm their flock leader.

 

[aart]

You can interact as much as you want. My flock is livestock to me, so there's no cuddling, but I handle them enough so they are used to it and I'm their flock leader.

Ditto Dat^^^

I like to observe them enough to be able to know when something is wrong, especially when I first got chickens and was less familiar with their behaviors and unsure if my coop and run were secure and functional for their needs, and when you make some kind of change to their enclosures or population it's good to keep a closer eye on things.

 

[Cacique500]

You can interact as much as you want. My flock is livestock to me, so there's no cuddling, but I handle them enough so they are used to it and I'm their flock leader.

We're on the opposite end of this (although it's absolutely correct). Ours are pets and we interact with them several hours everyday (unless it's raining). We'll let ours out for supervised free range in the afternoons. They follow us around like puppies when we're out and are extremely friendly...hopping up in your lap and taking a nap, etc. I like this way because you'll quickly learn each chickens behavior and quirks...and I think that has helped me notice very quickly if anything is "off" with a particular chicken. Also easier to manage them in terms of getting them back in the run when they need to go in (and the can of raisins helps that as well), or when you need to catch one of them for whatever reason.