I have 17 Runners, about 5 months old. When I'm not around they have a large pen with a pond, food/water, shade, a large duck (dog) house, etc. When I am around I turn them loose to free range. If given a choice though, they don't/won't. When I go to let them out I use my dog to get them out of the pen, they won't leave voluntarily, and shut the gate. Sometimes we'll do a little herding practice right then, usually I just push them out of the pen, close the gate, and head off to do other chores. If we are going to do some herding, we do it later, before I put them back in the pen.
If I don't close the gate, they will be back in the pen within 10 minutes of me walking away. Even with the gate closed they rarely go more than 30 feet from the pen, they have a little narrow area they have eaten down the vegetation on that's about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, and they stay there 90% of the time. If I set up a kiddy pool 100 feet away and use my dog to push them into that area they will stay there as long as they are playing in the pool, then it's back to the area near their pen.
Is this typical? Are they not good free rangers?
If I don't close the gate, they will be back in the pen within 10 minutes of me walking away. Even with the gate closed they rarely go more than 30 feet from the pen, they have a little narrow area they have eaten down the vegetation on that's about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, and they stay there 90% of the time. If I set up a kiddy pool 100 feet away and use my dog to push them into that area they will stay there as long as they are playing in the pool, then it's back to the area near their pen.
Is this typical? Are they not good free rangers?