will my chickens

[jeremy frenz]

will my chickens run away if i let then run around in my yard?

 

[Orpingtonlover]

Well first of all if there new to you then yes i would recommend keeping them inside for between 2 weeks and a month untill they know where home is in most cases they will return to there coop sometimes you will get some that will try to roost in trees but its usually not a big problem if they have been in there along time i dont see a problem

 

[4H kids and mom]

Well, thats not an easy yes or no. It depends on a few things.

Are they very friendly now, or are they skittish when you approach them? If they are skittish, youll have a Grande Ol' Chicken Chase on your hands if you let them run free and try to gather them back up!

If they're friendly and come to you, they should still come to you and not run off. I've trained my chicks, and they are smart! Don't let anyone tell you they aren't! They DO understand what you say! I taught them "Out Chickens" and they go out into the pen without a fuss. To get them back in I say "Come Chickens" and they come back into the coop! I've been using the same words with them since they were much younger so I suppose that has something to do with it. I don't worry much about mine runnin' off on me.

Do you plan to clip their wings, let them roam free, or keep them in a pen? If you clip their wings and let them run free, they may be more fearful of anything because they wont be able to fly away from it, so they may run from you if they sense danger. If you pen them, they should be less fearful, I'd think.

In either case, confine them to their coop for a few weeks. Let them know where they are safe, warm, and where their food and water are. Then when you let them out, they will be more likely to return to the coop on their own because its familar to them.

 

[Orpingtonlover]

Sorry if i was wrong i was just speaking from my chickens i didnt mean to mis guide anyone

 

[CarriBrown]

When I first started letting mine out, I would let them out a half hour before they would go to roost. They would come out for 20 minutes or so then go back inside. I would go out and "herd" them even though they were really going in on their own.
Now they understand what I'm doing when I herd them back to their coop.

 

[wynedot55]

as long as your chickens know where home is you can let them out.an they will come home to roost late in the evening.

 

[ozark hen]

Well, Jeremy, I will let you know by tomorrowl I have had two guineas in the same pen for several weeks that come and go on their own. Now a week ago I added five chickens and have kept the pen closed up the entire time. Now today while carrying a large bucket of feed into the pen ,the guineas ran out. I tried to get them back in but in the meantime ...the chickens all got out!

Now I am stressing out to see if they return tonight. the guineas ran into the brush with the chickens following them. Now the guineas use to come back to their pen a couple times per day. So I will now find out if I kept the chickens in long enough.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

[ozark hen]

I am so happy to report that I went out to the pen at noon and all chickens were back in their pen roosting. The guineas were in there as well. so it is safe to say if you keep them in at least a week they will know where their "home" is. I am so relieved to find them all back.