4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Vix_Chicks]

Hello again!

 

Well, it's now been 9 days that we have had the girls!! Currently they are in their home made run (it was slightly bigger than the standard one supplied, and we wanted to make good use of the space available in the old vegetable patch!)

Now, me and my OH are having a debate. I'm desperate to let the girls out to free-range on this beautiful sunday afternoon , but he says they haven't been in their coop long enough to know that it is where they have to go back to roost.

 

Any comments please?!?!

[K-F-C]

Most things you read say 5 days... I did 5 days... mine went home no probs... well, were tempted with a few meal worms.

[Vix_Chicks]

That's what I had read, but my OH seems to think he knows better!!!

 

Thank you

[Chickvic]

I let mine out after 2 days I still use a bit of corn or mealworms to tempt them back in, works every time

[Raina]

I let mine out after 7 days

 

But i have to have a can of sweetcorn on hand otherwise they won't go back in the eglu run

[K-F-C]

Mine usually go back no problems... only once did my garden turn into a scene from Benny Hill with me chasing MiMi round the garden...

 

Every time she went in the others escaped and vice versa...

 

In the end I had to catch the others one at a time and post them through the egg port into the cube and then entice MiMi with mealworms!

[Vix_Chicks]

Thank you everybody!! Guess where i'm off to.....!!!

[Gelbel]

I got mine yesterday and the lovely lady that supplied them said I could let them out of their run after a few days. "Oh, ignore all the one week stuff you read about", she said.

 

So I figure that Tuesday or Wednesday after work (dependant on the weather - I got drenched watching them for hours yesterday pm) and before their bed time will be a good time - especially if I have tasty bribes to hand back in the run.

[Chucky Mama]

Have to confess to letting mine free range from day 1, didn't have a problem, they just went to bed at dusk, on the second night one did try to roost in a hedge but we put it to bed and that was it.

[WarrensWorld]

3 days here. No problems.

[chick wiggle]

LET THEM OUT, LET THEM OUT Or have you already done so? It was three days I lasted until I let them out and they were fine, and a handful of corn always does the trick if they are a bit reluctant

[simone]

let ours out after a week

 

go back in the WIR no problem i just go and stand in there pottering about and they r so nosy all pop in and see what im doing then shut them in

[vikpow]

Let ours out after 1 day never had any probs ( touches wood ) with them going to bed, normally in their house 9-9.30pm dependant on the weather.

[Scramble]

I let mine out on Day 1 too

They went to bed themselves though

[teri]

my first two were free ranging before we got their coop! we were not very organised and managed to get our chucks 2 days before their accomodation! they spent all day in the garden and bedded down in the garage at night. i think they were relieved to finally get their propper home and have gone to bed themselves every night since with no problem at all!

[Vix_Chicks]

Ahh, thank you everybody!!

Well I showed my OH the lovely messages you had left, and whilst he was off washing the car, I decided to let them out!!

They were a little hesitant at first and didn't venture very far. But as the afternoon wore on, they had free-range of the whole garden . They were very cute to watch- great entertainment whilst sat in the garden enjoying the lovely summer weather (finally!)

They weren't fazed by the cats (and vice versa) which was another hurdle to overcome, and to top it off nicely, they went back to their run all by themselves!!!

 

I think at times I under estimate my feathery friends! They don't let me down...now just the wait for our first egg

[Gelbel]

Hello! I have just let mine out of the run for the first time. I am lucky that I work from home so I am sat in the conversatory with my work laptop and mobile trying to get some work done but I am totally distracted by my girls.

 

While I would NEVER free range them when I am not at home; will they be OK if I go back to my bedroom office tomorrow when I open the run? As much as I love them I do not want to be given my P45 from not doing any work and, therefore, permanently be able to watch them

 

The team leader of my girls will make a racket for England when she is totally spooked so if they were in trouble I'd know about it and I could be with them in seconds.

 

We have made the garden as secure as we can (I know they may find things we have not thought of as a means of escape).

 

While I have written this they have gone out of my sight and I have jumped out to find them in a mad panic (them not me).

 

Am I being too over protective? Can I let them get on with it? How often is reasonable to check them. I've never had kids either so I've nothing to guage anything by.

 

Thanks for your help.

[chick wiggle]

Im so glad everything went well Vix-Chicks and the photo is lovely, they look gorgeous

 

Gelbel, Im glad your girls are enjoying their free ranging. Its a tough question to answer about letting them out of your sight even for a few minutes as Mr Foxy is very clever and disgustingly quick However, you have to weigh up the risk against the pleasure for the birds. i must admit, whilst mine are only let out whilst I am at home, i do continue life inside the house too, which means they too are unsupervised for very short times.

They do kick up a racket if something spooks them but whether that would be enough time to scare of any intruders only you can answer.

[Gelbel]

They do kick up a racket if something spooks them but whether that would be enough time to scare of any intruders only you can answer.

Thanks chick wiggle

 

I think then I will have to work out of the conservatory each afternoon for a couple of hours and watch the telly from here in the evenings while the weather is nice - let them FR as much as poss before it gets too dark in the early evenings.

 

I guess I'll find out of they like rain in due course.......might get a whole day's work done then

[Gelbel]

 

I think then I will have to work out of the conservatory each afternoon for a couple of hours and watch the telly from here in the evenings

Telly's been on since 6pm and I have not seen one iota of it - I am mesmerised by the girls. The DH has been trying to get a shower for the past 90 minutes but keeps running back to watch when they get up to a new activity.

 

The girls are trying to be more and more daring but anything new suddenly spooks them and is making them scurry back to a couple of feet from their run.

 

I hope I don't have to get them into bed tonight - they were just beginning to tuck themselves in this time last night

[Vix_Chicks]

Hope all went well today Gelbel . I'm exactly the same - I stood and watched them all afternoon!! I get a little protective over them lol. But, as I said before, they never let me down and went back to their coop all by themselves again. They are so clever!!

I posted another thread on here earlier...about my cat!! He is more of a worry than Mr Fox, but he came up trumps today. Well done Mac

 

 

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