I have 26 - Three and 1/2 week old chicks. Well I've been trying to get them to go out in the run for days. Nope too scared, a couple would step out a little then the others would peep and they'd run back in FAST. Finally this morning I had alot of time to sit out there and temp them to come out. Finally they did and they loved it. They discovered plants and bugs!Now they'll never want to come in again. Heres the funny thing. A HUGE butterfly swoops in and I swear they thought it was an aerial assault!!! They all took off heads down running for cover. I guess thats one bug they'll have to be bigger to eat. It was 1/2 their size. I'm still laughing.
LOL! They are hilarious to watch, aren't they? The first 'field trip' my chicks made to the run (they were 1.5wks, but it was 85 outside) they had NO IDEA what was going on and WHY we were making them WALK on that stuff. They all flew/hopped onto me and my children and didn't want to get down. Even the not-so-friendly ones were in our laps or roosted on our legs. Our funniest moment to date involves our chicks and my son's guinea pig. Since they aren't in the run very much, it is still full of grass and very little poop. We've been letting the guinea pig come out with us (she's awesome anyway). Well, the second day out, maybe 1/2 hr into the trip, there was a minor scuffle between Guinea pig and chicks. The guinea pig won, and now the chicks give her plenty of space! I have seen them standing 6 inches in front of her, staring at her. I think they are trying to decide whether or not she's one of them! They will hang out around her sometimes in the coop, and one of them went to sleep a couple of inches away (the other chicks were further down, so she was 'alone'). Love those chicks!