We now officially have free range chickens. Well, semi-free range. Yesterday, since Dakota and I were both in the back yard, we decided to let the chickens out for a little stroll.

At first, they were pretty nervous. They walked up to the open doorway, cautiously stuck their heads over the frame, ran back in the run, considered again, then took a careful step out. This went on for a while, with Jackie and Lisa eventually getting about a foot outside the run, looking around, then running back inside again.

When they finally summoned the courage to venture out for a longer period, they walked practically pressed against each other at first. After stumbling around nervously for about five minutes, they eventually got the hang of the whole free range chicken thing and then began happily exploring the yard.



Here's a video of Jackie and Lisa checking out the yard, eating some grass seeds, scratching in the dirt and generally enjoying the afternoon. I think they had a good time, and we'll probably let them out again this afternoon and most weekends when we're out in the back doing yard work.


Free Range Chickens from Audrey on Vimeo.

The chickens officially moved into their coop on Sunday. Dakota spent most of Saturday making a connecting tube and getting everything set in the ground and attached properly.

Here he is (or part of him) attaching the chicken tube to the chicken run.



The chicken tube was Dakota's elegant way to attach our snazzy coop to the run in a way that looked nice and kept Jackie and Lisa safe. They actually really like the tube, and sometimes hang out inside of it insetad of going into the run.

Dakota put a little door in the top of the tube so we can access the chickens while there in there, and so we can open and close the door to the coop at night.



Here are the chickens taking their coop for a little test drive on Sunday. The hopped up on the perch right away and got comfy. They seem to really like their new home, as they should. It's a pretty beautifully-designed chicken coop, if you ask me. Perhaps it will soon be featured in the pages of Dwell Poultry or Elle Poulet.



They are still getting the hang of their new all-outdoor routine. It's a bit of a struggle to get them to go into the coop at night. (Lisa made a new, more grown-up sound last night when I was pushing her in there. It was something between a peep and a squawk, which I took to mean, "But I don't want to go in there!") And, of course, it's tough to get them out of the coop in the morning. Although they can be bribed with strawberry tops, their favorite treat.

I'm hoping they get the hang of the run in the day, coop at night routine soon. But, you know, they are chickens so I don't expect them to be fast learners. No offense, Jackie and Lisa.