The fence is fixed and so the flock was free to range! We let them out about an hour before dusk last night so they had a little more time to explore. We're trying to ease them into the notion of free-ranging because our yard is so big and crazy. It's a quarter of an acre, but it's not a nice flat rectangle of a yard. We live on a hill, so the yard slopes back to front and also left to right, and it's terraced so there are four levels. There are trees and shrubs everywhere. It's pretty cool, but it would be fairly easy for a chicken to get lost back there. The first night we let them out they stayed right close to their coop. Last night, they must have felt a little braver so they expanded their circle a bit. I brought out a colander full of spinach and tried to get them to sit on my lap and let me feed them, but only Nickie was into that. The others sat there and took some bites, but they weren't really enjoying it.
After a few minutes outside, they got a little more daring. They were running around and goofing off like kids on a playground. There were a few minor scuffles as they challenged each other for position in the pecking order. I'm still not sure if they've got that figured out yet. There is no clear order as far as I can tell.
Nickie was the only chicken to figure out where the spinach was coming from. Alas, Darling Nickie prefers to nibble her spinach like a lady whilst you hold it for her, so this was not working out in her favor. She mostly just flung spinach everywhere to the delight of her flock-mates awaiting on the ground below.
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