Tara123 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I have had my girls for over a month now and I'll admit I have been terrified of letting them out of there run in to the garden, free ranging. After getting them some lovely large tree branches today, to give them something to climb up and over in the run, as I think they have been getting a bit bored, I finally let the out OK its was only for 5 minutes but it was such a relief to find out that they were actually quite placid, just pottering around close to there run nibbling grass. Now I can't wait to let them out again tomorrow and I may even stretch to a whole hour before bed time It may sound silly but I have had so many 'what ifs' running through my head about what might happen to them its unbeleivable. Now I realise that its not as bad as I thought it would be, I have grown in confidence ten fold. So roll on tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah B Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 That's brilliant Tara, mine are having their first venture on Saturday. Just out of interest how did you get them back in? With treats or did you do it just before dusk and they went back in? Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara123 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Just out of interest how did you get them back in? With treats or did you do it just before dusk and they went back in? Hi Sarah, I did both, just to make double sure they would go back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah B Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Just out of interest how did you get them back in? With treats or did you do it just before dusk and they went back in? Hi Sarah, I did both, just to make double sure they would go back in Tee Hee, will bare that in mind on Sat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirkwood Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 i have the same dilema....what to IF??????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 It may sound silly but I have had so many 'what ifs' running through my head about what might happen to them its unbeleivable. Now I realise that its not as bad as I thought it would be, I have grown in confidence ten fold. So roll on tomorrow I think we have all been the same and its quite good that they dont run away and not come back - they do go back to their "home". We are just worried mums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 My new ones ran back to the run as soon as anyone even so much as looked at them, let alone went towards them. Hopefully they'll be braver soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 It will be second nature soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckbok Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 We worried they may just fly and land on our 6ft fence and go over into the neighbours who has a dog and they don't seem very enthusiastic about our hens. We gonna let ours out sunday just for half an hour. It's a bit more comforting reading your posts, so hopefully we shall be ok. We shall get some nice tasty mealworms for them, bet they will come back in then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara123 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 We shall get some nice tasty mealworms for them, bet they will come back in then. Yep, mealworms certainly did the trick for my girls today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 We worried they may just fly and land on our 6ft fence and go over into the neighbours Most chickens aren't that adventurous, to be honest. There are a few flighty breeds, but the standard hybrids usually don't flap higher than three or four feet. Even my flightiest bantam has yet to attempt our 5-6ft fences Large fowl just don't have the power-to-weight ratio to get themselves very high off the ground for long. Much more common is for them to take flapping leaps when they are in a hurry to get to treats! My Speckledy never went higher than the top of the eglu run, though I did have to make sure that the Omlet netting (which is about the same height) was a good distance away so that she couldn't flap over it from her vantage point! So I think you're safe unless you have to put a taller run such a cube close to your neighbour's fence. Have fun, and try not to worry too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Tara, glad to hear you've had fun letting them out and about. The "what if's" and the "am I doing it right's" carry on for months. It's a bit like the feeling of having kids all over again and letting them go further and then a bit further. I make sure mine are back in the run well before dusk though. We worried they may just fly and land on our 6ft fence My Omlet girls will scale 3/4 foot fences to get in the veg patch, but can't be bothered to get over the 4 ft Omlet fencing without a launch pad of some sort. But Stella will get over 4ft if she puts her mind to it but rarely does as they seem to go round the garden in a pack. So I'm sure 6ft will be fine depending on what sort of chooks you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strepsy Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Aww, I can sympathise, I'm worrying more and more as our due date's coming. Maybe I should stay out of the chicken clinic until I need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Probably a good idea! Obviously people only post there when their chickens are ill, so it makes it seem like there are a lot of sick chooks out there! Apart from one old hen who died recently, I haven't had any sickness at all in the last eighteen months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara123 Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 (edited) Oops, posted on the wrong message EDIT: Oops, no i didn't Try again! Thank you for all the lovely replies Let the girls out for well over an hour today and they loved every minute of it. Still worried about the neighbours cats jumping over the fence and startling the girls. Should I let one of my cats out to see how their react first? As they're have to get used to the cats eventually. Edited March 5, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I haven't got a cat. However there's a few mooching around my back garden (I know as I have to clear up cat mess in my flower bed which seems much worse than chook poo). My lot sometimes stand stock still and give evil stares to any cats sitting on the fence or completely ignore them. Mind you I did once get a 4am wake up call when they all started to make a racket when a duck flew into the garden. I had to start shutting their eglu door at night after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
