WOHOO got our first egg now about free ranging?

[bkreugar]

Okay so we got these guys the 3rd week of March.They were in the house for the first 6 weeks, then moved to their coop for 2 weeks then had a coop and a run.Wasn't long before they found ways to escape.The run is 6 ft chainlink attached to the coop.They were scooting UNDER the coop to get out.As I don't mind them free ranging that was okay. We then put up wire so they couldn't get out there.

Now they are jumping to the top of the coop and getting out that way.Again I don't mind them free ranging and obviously they I need to put wire on the top so they can't escape.

But how long do I keep them in the coop/run to ensure I collect the eggs?We came home from a horse show yesterday to our first egg.I have been trying to get them to stay in the coop until about noon as I knew laying time was coming.

They are not even interested in their layer crumble as all they want is to free range.

So what is the morning routine? Open the coop door and put out crumble and fresh water? How long before I let them free range?

Thanks

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

My welsummers were laying at 10 PM so that made it hard for me to free range them too. I HOPE my other hens will lay in the morning

I got two welsummers from a friend of mine and they are a year old. My others are all 12 weeks.

 

[Gindee77]

Well, mine don't exactly free-range, but they go out in their tractor everyday. Since three of them have started to lay everyday, I don't put them out in their tractor until the afternoon. Most of our eggs have come in the later morning. So I just leave them in so they will lay in the nest boxes. Today I put a nest box in the tractor tho, just in case, since we have a bunch more that could start to lay any minute now. It's a pain to lift up the tractor to get eggs out (we made it kind of heavy and it's not so much a tractor as a bulldozer...

). I don't mind losing an egg or two, but I don't want the hens to get the idea that they can peck at or eat the eggs, so it's important to me to get them all picked up everyday.