They're not gonna go AWOL, are they?

[ChickeeNewbie]

I too am worried about letting my hens out. They are already laying, though I've only had them about a month (they are about 9 months and 1 is over a year). I have a completely fenced yard but I keep them in a tractor pen because I'm afraid they will fly out and into the lovely trees in the front yard - or worse - into the lovely trees in my neighbors yard. I have two hens that would come up to me if I had food but the other hen has lived quite a wild life up until now. I do not want to lose them to a neighbor's dog - but at the same time - I want to give them some more freedom.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

If they're anything like mine, they'll stay pretty close to "home" and will not venture too far away the first few times. If you teach them a phrase like, "here chick, chick" or "time to eat" and use that every time you feed them. They will be conditioned to come to you when they hear that phrase. When I call mine - they all just come a running! Older chickens as well as the younger chicks. The older ones seem to reinforce it in the little ones. They learn it really fast. It's just conditioning. Try it...you'll be glad you did. Good luck...enjoy your chickens!

 

[Thomas423]

You mentioned not having electricity in the coop. You could use a long extension cord temporarily but I would probably get some of the battery operated closet lights. They don't put off a lot of light but maybe place it near the door so they can see the light. We have a little nightlight (electric) in our coop that is light sensored. They seem to like it. I like it because I can look in on them in the middle of the night (which I often do LOL)

 

[Crickett]

Mine were happy to go out. They liked the "green stuff" they could see from the coop. I just put some feed in the coop in the morning and leave the door open. They come and go all day at will. At dusk, I put more feed in their pans and they come right home. Sometimes they get a little confused about where the door is, but with a bit of encouragement, they find it ok. Then I close up the coop until morning, and they will all be waiting at the door!

 

[Casey3043]

Well, the little numbskulls stayed out until it was almost pitch dark---9:08 to be exact. The big hens had gone to roost 40 minutes earlier, a fact I kept pointing out to the little ones. I was able to snatch a couple of them and dump them through the door, but the rest ran around in circles under the ramp, crying loudly. The light was on inside the coop, shining brightly through the square of the door. it was supposed to entice them in. NO GO! Finally, the last one was chased up the ramp and in! Lots of exercise for me, not much learning for them. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

 

[m2wandc]

I will be in your shoes soon....so this thread is very interesting to me...

...I am guessing I won't let mine 'free range' until they go in their coop on their own at night...so far they stay outside in the run part and we have to go put them in their coop at night...any suggestions on if that is a good indicator to wait for before letting loose to free range???

 

[GAchick]

I'm wondering when the girls can be considered 'fully grown', as in pretty much full adult size? How many weeks 'til then. Do they pretty much stop growing before they begin laying, around the time they start laying, or later?

 

[Casey3043]

Well, day 2 of the Wild Chicks for Freedom went about the same. This morning I had to put them out through their coop door. They stumbled, tumbled, sort of flapped and ran down their long ramp into the yard, where they said, "Oh, here we are in the fun place from yesterday!" They seemed to have no clue as to how they got there.

Tonight I tried to round them up at about 8:40. They were all in the dog house I had put out there for shelter in case of rain, but it was still too early and too light for me to get my hands on them. They ran out of the dog house and I tipped it up on end so they couldn't go back in. I went back out at 9:10 and it was dark enough that I could capture them easily. I put them halfway up the ramp and sort of herded them in, one by one. I don't think they've learned anything yet.

As I recall with the hens I got two years ago, it took them three or four nights to learn to go in the coop at dusk. We'll see how long it will take these little ones. I think part of the problem is the long ramp. It's going to take a while for them to learn to use it. I think I will remove the dog house at about 8 pm, the same time I bring in their feed. Then, with no other option, maybe they'll try the ramp.

In all the excitement of getting the babies in, I forgot to close the door on the other coop. I suddenly thought of it at 10 pm and rushed out there, afraid I would find something eating my chickens. But no, everything was fine, thank goodness.

 

[Debi214]

Mine have been running around since they were 3 weeks old. They know where to go and where to hide. Except for the blind chick (that one needs help all the time

) I was impressed - thought I would be stuck trying to catch them and put them in at 6pm (yes that is a good baby chick time to go to sleep

)

 

[m2wandc]

Mine are starting to go into the coop at night on their own, but they are roosting on the edges of the nesting boxes rather then on the roosting bar...any tips there?

And how is the Operation Freedom going today?

I am thinking in about a week I'm going to let mine out for a free range, but a little nervous, because the BR seems to want to fly and if she gets over the fence our dog is there waiting to eat her up...(obviously I'll test it with the dog locked up in the house, but the day will come when I can't keep the dog in the house all day everyday...LOL)