I have the tiniest of flocks: just two Rhode Island Reds. One is 15-16 weeks old and the other probably 16-17 weeks old. Their run is 32 square feet and is 4 feet tall so they can spread their wings and hop onto various roosts. It also has a mirror that they love, and they have both shade and sun, so I think it's pretty comfortable for them. But I let them out daily, or at least I try to. Janet, the older one, took a while to really start exploring much beyond the run door, but now she'll come out onto the lawn, and she dug herself a little dirt bath outside the run, seemingly very comfortable outside the safety of the run. Once in a while, she seems a little shy so I'll go out to the lawn and then she'll come running to me. She also enjoys having her back scratched, but since I got them at about 4 or 5 weeks, neither likes to be picked up. If I want her to go back into the run, I merely have to pretend I want to pick her and she runs back in.
Penny, the younger one, dips as low as she can when I try to pet her, and while she does run to the door when I open it and will eat out of my hand, she's not nearly as comfortable with me. As far as free ranging, she will only come so far before she runs back into the run. When I first let them free range, she was the first to explore the lawn, but only did that once. She used to come out onto the patio that's near the run, but she seems to be getting less confident instead of more. Sometimes, it's Janet who chases her back into the run. I don't know if she's picking on her or being protective. They get along really well since there's just two of them, and that's the only sign of any dominance by Janet.
We have three dogs, but they're never outside when the chickens are loose, and other than when we first got them, the dogs ignore them. Could Penny be anxious about the dogs? Our neighbors have dogs too, but we have a 6-foot privacy fence. Sometimes, you can hear that the dogs are out, but it doesn't seem like the girls notice the dogs, but maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't want to stress Penny by making her leave the run, so I'm not sure what to do. In the picture below, Janet is in the front (she tries to give me a close up every time I take a picture of her. She's quite the ham.). Penny is in the back and that's about as far as she gets from the run, just right at the open door where there's nothing to eat or explore.
I've tried enticing her with treats and that will draw her out a bit, but she always dashes back to the run. Is there anything I can do to get her to stay out more? Or does it matter that she rather be in the run?
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Penny, the younger one, dips as low as she can when I try to pet her, and while she does run to the door when I open it and will eat out of my hand, she's not nearly as comfortable with me. As far as free ranging, she will only come so far before she runs back into the run. When I first let them free range, she was the first to explore the lawn, but only did that once. She used to come out onto the patio that's near the run, but she seems to be getting less confident instead of more. Sometimes, it's Janet who chases her back into the run. I don't know if she's picking on her or being protective. They get along really well since there's just two of them, and that's the only sign of any dominance by Janet.
We have three dogs, but they're never outside when the chickens are loose, and other than when we first got them, the dogs ignore them. Could Penny be anxious about the dogs? Our neighbors have dogs too, but we have a 6-foot privacy fence. Sometimes, you can hear that the dogs are out, but it doesn't seem like the girls notice the dogs, but maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't want to stress Penny by making her leave the run, so I'm not sure what to do. In the picture below, Janet is in the front (she tries to give me a close up every time I take a picture of her. She's quite the ham.). Penny is in the back and that's about as far as she gets from the run, just right at the open door where there's nothing to eat or explore.
I've tried enticing her with treats and that will draw her out a bit, but she always dashes back to the run. Is there anything I can do to get her to stay out more? Or does it matter that she rather be in the run?
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