They didn't...they got scared by traffic and ran back into the yard. Luckily.
The experiment in letting the chickens free-range is going (mostly) well. They are most active first thing in the morning - they have a few favorite spots under some trees where there are lots of ants and other bugs. They scratch around and do their chicken thing.
By noon time, they are hot and tired. The younger chickens rest under the cedar trees that line the east side of the run/coop area. The older ones hang out in the run or the coop itself. Then by late afternoon/early evening, everyone is ready for another bug run.
Here's where the experiment is failing me - or rather, the chickens are starting to make a nuisance of themselves in the neighborhood.
There is a line of trees on the south side of the property. lots of shade, most ground, dead leaves, etc for them to scratch around in. They love it under there. However, it is also right next to the street. Granted, I lived on a dead end so the only traffic are the people that live up the street. With the decreased traffic, the kids in the neighborhood tend to come off of Robert St pretty fast and start barrelling down the road. If they are coming south, they can round the corner and plow into a chicken pretty easily. Chickens are pretty dumb.
Yesterday (Sunday), this almost happened - except it wasn't a kid. The car slowed down and the startled chickens ran back up into the yard. After a few seconds, they didn't know what happened and went back to doing their chicken thing. But it gave me one more thing to worry about.
I hope I don't see dead chickens when I get home tonight (other than the ones in the freezer, of course).
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