Time to come home

[sjholmes]

I am new to the joy of chickens. If you let chickens out to enjoy ranging in the yard...how do they know to return to the coop to roost in the evening? I am afraid they will all get lost!

 

[Wyandottes7]

I am new to the joy of chickens. If you let chickens out to enjoy ranging in the yard...how do they know to return to the coop to roost in the evening? I am afraid they will all get lost!

Chickens will usually come home once they realize that the coop is their home. If you get new chickens, it is always a good idea to keep them in their coop or run for a few days. This way they learn their surroundings and associate the coop with home.

 

[sjholmes]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[ShockValue]

I too was worried about this, but it turns out they are very good at getting themselves back to bed before dark.

I locked mine in the coop for a week. Then I let them out of the coop into an attached run for about another week.

After that I just opened the door and let em go. They've never failed to be on the roost before the sun is gone.

Except once when the door accidentally closed while they were out. I went down to close it, and they were all roosting on the gang-plank leading up to their coop. OOPS!