It's been a slow and careful process, letting the flock out of the coop for a few minutes, then about half an hour, an hour, half day, but they are now officially "Free Range Chickens"! As entertaining as they were in their coop, they are just fascinating to watch as they navigate the big backyard. Before the chickens, we had only had the pleasure of owning dogs and sometimes a cat (but not for a while as I have developed a raging cat allergy). Dogs hang out together sometimes but for the most part, at least the dogs in our family, they do their own thing. They get together to bark at the neighbor's dog through the fence or if one of them finds something interesting, or treats are being passed out, but they usually prefer to chill in different areas of the yard. Gladys loves to be outside and Lola would just stay inside all day if we didn't make her go out.
Chickens, on the other hand, hang out in a tight group all day. Maybe you are saying to yourself, "Duh. They are a FLOCK of chickens." and I get that, but they never break from the flock, at least not that I've seen. Occasionally, Bev gets left behind somewhere, since she is practically blinded by her enormous crest, and she cries and cries till one of the others, usually Shirley, comes to guide her back to the flock. It's so sad and kind of cute. She sounds like a kitten.
The flock is getting a little more adventurous each day, although they still hang out pretty close to the house which really annoys my husband, since they poop on the patio. As the days pass, they go a little further out and there is less poop on the patio so I think it will be ok.
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