Chickens crossing the road

[Skye727]

Two of my chickens go up the long driveway and across the road to the neighbors yard. We chase them back every time we see them. I have even put them in time out when they kept doing it. Will they eventually learn it's not ok if we chase then back every time?

 

[Kelsie2290]

They will probably keep trying to do it again and again, even if they quit for a little while, sooner or later one will wander over that way, especially if you don't see them every single time they go over and they get away with it enough to make it worth the trouble for them. You generally have to fence chickens in or out of where you do or don't want them. If they only go the driveway (is it fenced on the sides or something?) something like a motion activated sprinkler may work.
Electric poultry netting works quite well also, it is movable.

 

[Coralietg]

They will not learn. We put a fence up, and they still found a way over it into the road. After a neighbour hit and killed one, then tried to sue us for bumper damage, we clipped their wings.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Your chickens don't associate being put in "time out" or being chased home with the fact that they went where they did. All they know is that at the moment you are chasing them or penning them up. Build them a run or put up moveable fencing to keep them where they belong.

 

[Blooie]

Your chickens don't associate being put in "time out" or being chased home with the fact that they went where they did. All they know is that at the moment you are chasing them or penning them up. Build them a run or put up moveable fencing to keep them where they belong.

x2 I'm sorry you're having so much trouble, and that you lost a chicken. I don't know what your situation and set-up is like so it's hard to advise you what to do. But if you think it's cruel to keep them confined to a run of some kind, think of how much worse it was to get hit by a car, or perhaps to be taken by a stray dog or other predator. If you think it's too expensive to invest in some kind of confinement, weigh that against the investment you already have in them - buying them, housing them, feeding them, and of course your emotional attachment to them. You've already learned that clipping wings doesn't always prevent determined feathered explorers.

Our run wasn't expensive, but it's effective and safe. It keeps our chickens happy, keeps our neighbors happy, and since I live in town it keeps the town happy. It's simply 8 steel posts - 4 on each side - driven into the ground with 3 cattle panels arched between them. Chicken wire covers to the top to deter overhead predators and visits from wild birds and squirrels. and hardware cloth runs about 2 feet up the sides and is bent into an apron outward about 2 more feet. Predators can't reach in and grab or dig under, (my dog tried and ended up with a broken and bloody toenail...she decided they weren't worth it), possible access by rodents is cut back dramatically, and there is no chance of the chickens escaping to annoy neighbors or meet a worse fate. I do agree with cafarmgirl - they don't learn by time-outs or treat deprivation or taking away their video games..you have to be proactive rather than reactive. I hope that helps a little bit. I wish you nothing but the best in your efforts to keep them safe, and that you can find peace of mind with the notion that ultimately you will have to find a way to keep them contained.