I gotta admit that I'm getting a bit cocky with the free range thing... last Saturday morning I just said the heck with it and opened the door, without having the temp fencing actually fully blocking off the back yard... it took them a couple hours to wander over to that side and by then I had my mickey mouse fencing in place... No problems so far (crossing fingers)...
One of my fears in all this was that the chickens would scatter whenever I approached them... at this point - I almost wish they would!! ;)
I've been spoiling them w/ treats (grain and whole wheat bread, etc.)... At first I scattered it near them on the ground, then tossed it in places I wanted them to go... I used it to lure them back into the coop, or to come near me when I wanted to get a closer look at them and/or take some pictures...
Then I got bolder and tried hand feeding them and it took a day or two for them to get the hang of things... then it was hand feeding them on my foot, then getting them walking on my leg, then into my lap...
Now I can't go outside without being swarmed and if I sit down I instantly have three chickens in my lap... the other night Stella (Chicken Butt) roosted on my arm for 45 minutes while I was reading a book...
Any time I walk around I gots 6 damn chickens under foot...
A couple nights ago Nic left the back door open and one of them (Buffy) followed me into the house... of course she then immediately crapped on the kitchen floor which was a big hit... ;)
And sometimes, the girls just want to be fickle and can't decide WHAT they want to do... what's it gonna be girls - in or out??
Personality traits... the lap-dancers are Buffy, Mae West and Stella... from time to time Elvira gets in on the act...
Also noticed that Buffy is the most playful, in the sense of being the most aggressive about making contact with me... Polka Dot (formerly Pocahontas) is often times a loner and wanders around by herself, though when in the group everyone seems to be getting along fine...
Feed Observations: Last weekend the girls spent most of the daylight hours out and about so assuming they were munching on goodies in the yard, I'm not surprised to see that they aren't hitting their feed mash so much... but during the week we've only let them roam a couple hours each night, and once didn't let them out at all... when I check their big feeder it almost seems like they aren't even touching it, yet they all seem healthy, energetic, alert... Maybe since that big feeder is new I'm just not used to how much bigger it is than the original chick feeder (which they consumed a full load twice a day)... I'll be keeping a close eye on that...
Construction changes: reworked the 'emergency door release' thingy - turns out w/ the door latch fitting so tightly that it was nearly impossible to actually open the door with it... turns out the leverage angle was all wrong and the cable was digging into the top of the post it was mounted on... I snagged one of Nic's cold frame clamps and screwed it onto the top of the post and routed the cable over it - works like a champ now...
Also the original ramp failed in two ways: the Elmers glue idea for the steps was just a bad idea, and one of the "hinges" we put on there broke... found a rather stout piece of wood and this time screwed in some molding strips and the thing seems to be holding up rather well...
Checking the coop/run a couple times a week for signs of predators - so far nothing...
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