How do I keep my chickens in the yard???

[eggsellent]

We do not have a fence, nor do any neighbors. The neighbors do not mind the chickens so far but I still want to keep them in my yard when free ranging without buying a fence. Any Ideas?

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: I certainly didn't intend to be rude, or condescending. And, you are right, I did not have all of the details, because you did not supply them. My apology.

 

[FluffyChic]

We let our chickens free range different parts of the day, generally if I'm out and around the yard already. The only way I've been able to keep them around our yard is to give them a few treats to get them back in. Once they realize when I call them they get a treat, sometimes I don't have to give them one it just re-directs them to the backyard instead of the front or by the neighbors. I will be putting a fence up soon though, as they really are escape artists and LOVE my neigbor's compost pile

. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[eggsellent]

I guess I do not have to, I really did not think of it that way! I am a total newbie at this! I just want to make sure when I put the chickens up I don't have to run all over the neighborhood to gather them up!

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Let them out an hour or two before dark, and they tend to put themselves to bed. Works great!!!

Or, some people bribe them back into the run with scratch or treats.

 

[lazy gardener]

Welcome to BYC. You can kind of train them. When ever they wander too far, use a bit of scratch in a container to call them back. Shake the container while you call them. They will come running for a few grains of scratch. The big issue I see is your yard is very open. They will be prime targets for predation from both land and air. They will have no where to hide. An other concern is that, unfortunately, manufacturers of pre-fab coops misrepresent their product. "They say this coop will hold 8 birds." While the most common recommendation is for 4 s.f./bird in the coop and 10 s.f./bird in the run. (the coop is the closed in portion where they sleep at night. You could increase your coop space by closing in the upper level all the way across. Many of these pre-fab coops also lack adequate ventilation, and the perch size is on the small side for good foot support. Less than space that most often leads to behavior problems, aggression, birds being more prone to disease due to stress from being crowded.

 

[rosemarythyme]

There was nothing rude or condescending in lazy gardener's response. Since you said you were new chicken owners he/she just gave out general information to be helpful, that's all.

 

[bobbi-j]

Hello at lazy gardener. I just wanna say that the pic your looking at is the eastern side of my yard. The coops will be at the northern end near the woods and facing south for more heat and sun in the colder months. I have 2 coops identical for my birds (since we intended on 3 to 4 chicks but were forced to buy 6). Also i am installing a 15x20x8 fenced in section off the coops for a safe space to play while everyone is at school and work. I understand a need to help and i signed up for these forums for that reason. But until you know all details implying things is not needed. As us and we will give you details but the way you stated your comment you made it seem like we were dummies who dont deserve to have chickens. A touch rude or misconstrued through wording.

Not rude at all. You asked for suggestions, LG is a respected member of the BYC community and was trying to help. When posting, giving ALL the details is helpful so those responding know how to respond appropriately. BYC is a great place to come for information, or sometimes just moral support when things aren't going right. Sometimes, when people try to help, the best response is just smile and say thank you.

 

[TalkALittle]

I didn't read anything rude or condescending in LG's post either. My guess is that LG probably went back and reviewed some of your other threads and saw these comments you made.

"Any advice sharing would be awesome."

"I am all ears and accepting of any and all advice."

"Any and all advice is welcomed."

And this one from this thread:
"Any help would be great."

The advice given was spot on. While some might not apply to your specific situation it is applicable in general to many of the posts made by folks new to chicken keeping and by those asking for "any and all advice".

As for keeping your birds in your yard, if you live "in the middle of nowhere with few neighbors" then you will find that you need to worry less about your birds wandering away than you will need to worry about predators carrying them away.

 

[dawg53]

I'm sorry to say that you'll need a fence. Even then, depending on the breed they can sometimes fly over fences. Chickens are escape artists too,but I think more importantly you would want a fence to keep predators from going after your chickens. Chickens are a favorite food for all predators!