The chickens have been outside for almost 3 weeks (I'm writing this on the 27th) and have actually been "roaming free" for about 2 weeks. After a quick search on the interwebs, you will find that there really is no correct amount of time to keep your chickens in their coop before letting them out daily. Everyone has a different suggestion based on their personal experience and even which breed you may have. The answers I found from others who have raised chickens ranged from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks! (Note: In case you're wondering, if you raise chicks inside instead of in the coop to begin with, this is why you need to keep them "locked up" for awhile when you first put them in their coop, so that they establish where "home" is. Then learn that that's where they need to go in the evening once you do start letting them out during the day.)
So, we went with our gut and only kept ours "locked up" for 6 days. Instead of shying away from me when I opened their door to check on them that day, they were all crowded next to the door and acted like they wanted out, so let them out I did. Our biggest concern (and probably that of a lot of other chicken owners) was "Are they going to go back in their coop willingly in the evening?" I'm happy to report that they did and were patiently waiting for us to close the door when we got home that evening. lol
A more recent pic of the chickies. Getting big, huh? It was almost "bedtime" so one of them was inside already. I have a bad habit of personifying animals and I imagined the one inside thinking, "Get your butts in here, girls! It's time for bed!" lol
This Easter was the first time we had an egg hunt for Myka since, well, she was only 5/6 months old last year. ha ha This was made even more interesting since the chickens live in the backyard. Myka LOVES the chickens and was more interested in them and pretty much anything else except finding eggs. Oh well. She's 1 1/2. What can you expect? :)
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