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

[1acrefarm]

If you figure it out then let me know. My chickens hop my 6 foot dog kennel run then hop the 4 foot fence two houses over. They then go to that houses back porch and terrorize the neighbors cat. Good thing the neighbors claim they want them in their yard.

 

[teach1rusl]

You definitely want to train them to come when called. Get a jar or can that will rattle nicely when shook (with scratch in it). Start when they are young with your call (mine is "here chicky-chicky-chicky!) while shaking that can or jar, and toss down just a little treat (like I said, I use scratch). Do that a few times a day (just give a tiny bit of treat so they don't become junk food junkies) for about two weeks and they'll start coming when you either shake the can or just give your call. I call mine that way now when I find worms and they come a running! Or I can bring a few scraps out to the porch and give the call...they come a running. You can use the call each evening (I would give a tiny bit of scratch with your evening call even past the learning phase, just so it's reinforced).

As others have said, your birds won't stay in your yard, and will be at a fairly high risk from predators. But they are easy to train to come home.

 

[SoNNeR79]

New to byc and the joy of raising them. My wife and i picked up 6 rir from tsc. We bought a coop (says houses up to 8) but our goal is to add a small run to the coop but when we are home we will let them run free. We live in the middle of know where with few neighbors. We have no fence around our yard currently so we were wondering a way to keep them on our property without a fence also. Didnt know if they could be trained. Any help would be great.

 

[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.

 

[SoNNeR79]

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.  

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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[SoNNeR79]

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.

Hello it is possible that i misinterpreted the context of her advice. For that i am sorry. But without knowing all details i ask questions to gain them before giving advice. Again my apologies and i believe the only feathers that should be ruffled are that of the chicks. We do welcome all advice so our apologies again for our response but outside of this forum we have had several battles about our chickens including our township so i guess we are used to being on the defensive. Our humblest apologies