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Racefox

My First Chickens and My First Question!

By Racefox, in Chickens, Eggs and Hatching

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Racefox Chicken Eggspert

Racefox

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Hello Everyone... I'm new in here having just bought my first two chickens on Wednesday last week. Their names are Susan and Wendy, my partner and I have named them after our mums :shameonu: (his mum inspired this I might add)

 

Anyway, I've completely fallen for these two girls, they have such lovely characters and are beginning to become tame. THey are 18 weeks old (no eggs yet). I do have them eating out of my hand but I haven't handled them except when I put them in the coop.

 

I'm wondering how long I should wait before letting them freerange in my garden?

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chick wiggle Golden Egg

chick wiggle

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Mine escaped after we had had them for about 5 days. We stupidly thought we could very carefully move the cube while they were still in it! :doh: They all scurried out under the run skirt and that was that. It was like a scene from Braveheart. 'Freeedommmm' At first I panicked but then i just enjoyed watching them and enticed them back into the run after about 20minutes with some corn. After that i let them out everyday gradually building up the time. Is up to you but after about 5 days in the run I think they should be ok. Just have some treats ready for when you want to get them back in :lol:

 

Good luck and enjoy your new girlies :D

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Torrin Frequent Layer

Torrin

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Hi I am also new to chicken keeping and was worried about letting them out,

 

I did it at first after 5 days about an hour before dusk, as suggested by a more experienced omleteer, and it worked really well.

 

They were quite cautious at first and didn't wander far, no trouble to get them back in.

Since then I've been letting them out for a few hours each evening and their excitement when I go to open the door is so funny and endearing that the occasional fuss getting them in or poo on the grass is forgotten.

 

Go for it, they'll love you forever!

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littleleicesterfox Chicken Eggspert

littleleicesterfox

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HI there

 

Welcome to the forum! Your girls are beautiful :)

 

I started letting mine out after about five days as was suggested to me on the forum here. I let them out for a little while at a time but now they tend to roam the garden most of the time I'm at home (I work from home). I put them back in their (cube blue) about 5pm, tempting them in with their sweetcorn treat bowl to give them a bit of time back in their house to fill up on pellets and water before going bed at about 9 ish when the evening chorus starts and the sun starts to drop below the houses.

 

We went out to the supermarket this morning so they paced up and down in front of the door bok-bokking at me when I didn't let them out at breakfast time!! The most problem I've had since letting them free-range a lot more is that one of my dogs has taken to rolling in their poo :vom::vom::vom::vom: I've washed him down with the hose several times now so you'd have thought he'd got the idea by now but no...

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Racefox Chicken Eggspert

Racefox

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Hi again.. thanks for your help and kind words... As suggested here, I gave it 5 days and let them out - I did this in the evening.. They walked around pecking and scratching as they do and as 9pm arrived they both packed themselves off to bed in their coop! It was amazing and very funny!

 

Now I let them out every day whenever I'm able to kick around outside for a while to watch them. I live out in the sticks and we do have Foxes about albeit you only hear them at night. However, I'm not taking any chances as there are a lot of cats around here too.

 

It seems their biggest nemesis are the blackbirds. They absolutely HATE them landing on the grass if they're out freeranging! Are anyone elses chickens weird about other birds? Mine will bolt across the grass towards the blackbirds using their wings to make them run faster. All the feathers around their necks stand up and when the blackbirds fly off, my two girls end up jumping around on the spot like a pair of roosters having a fight! It's very peculiar and extremely amusing!

 

Oh and most importantly - We got our first egg on Saturday and one yesterday :dance: . And the Bluebell tried to lay one early this morning but it had a a very soft shell and she ended up standing in it. It also looked like she tried to lay it whilst roosting on the perch!

 

 

PS - Sarahjayne - my Bluebell is quite skinny. I can feel her chest bone quite prominently but she seems healthy so I'm putting this down to her being young and possibly being a bit crowded in the coop I got her from. I know when I kept parrots, being able to feel the chest bone is a sign of them being under weight so I'm assuming it's the same with Chickens. I'm feeding them corn and layers pellets with Oyster shell and grit. They also get grass when they freerange and I've found they like porridge and yogurt.

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