How to ensure chickens will come back to their coop when let out?

[drdrew]

I have this flock consisting of 10 hens and 2 roosters
I have never let them out of the coop before because they were still young now that they have started laying i wanna let them out to forage and graze in the field but i’m not sure how to ensure they will come back to their coop and if they refuse to go back in on their own and i chase them i’m afraid they might get scared and run away

 

[Penpal]

If they sleep in the coop every night, then they will come back when it is bed time. There is a saying: chickens come home to roost. This means you find librarians in libraries, gamblers at the track, scientists in a lab, and chickens on their roost in the coop (or favorite tree branch).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you have a run fenced in around the coop or is it just a coop with no run? I'm wondering what happens now at bedtime and what your set-up looks like.

Typically chickens want to return to their sleeping spot once they are in the habit of sleeping in a certain spot. When it starts getting dark they naturally head for bed. As long as it sounds like your chickens have been sleeping there they should consider it home and automatically head there when it is time.

When I let mine out for the first time they may all be out within 15 minutes or it may take them into the third day before they venture out. You never know how they will react.

When many people start them free ranging they open the gate an hour or so before bedtime so they don't go that far before it is time to sleep. That can make it easier to round them up if you need to. I don't do that myself but I see it all the time on this forum. I start in the morning.

I have had chickens not be able to find their own way back to the coop. They know where the coop is and try to get to it but they do not understand what a gate is. Even if they go in and out of that gate a few times during the day the urge to get back to their roost is so strong they come up against a fence and cannot get through. They don't understand if they walk 15 feet (5 meters) along the fence they will come to the gate and be able to go to the roost. A few times I've had to herd some of them to the gate because they can't find it on their own. I only have to do this once or twice before they catch on but I consider it a great idea to be out there at bedtime to make sure they make it.

 

[perkolator]

Buy one of those 11lb bags of dried black soldier fly grubs, and they'll start coming whenever they see you go anywhere near where you store it

 

[BDutch]

They come home before dark. Works almost always without having to interfere. But… there exceptions. Some chickens prefer trees or bushes, especially when its getting warm at night.

Buy one of those 11lb bags of dried black soldier fly grubs, and they'll start coming whenever they see you go anywhere near where you store it

You can give a few mealworms or some scratch in the coop/run before roost time. Most chickens love it and you can use mealworms or scratch, to train them to come home. Scattering some scratch/mealworms inside is an easy way to lock them up. This way you can lock them in on another moment too.

I have a few chickens who like to sleep in the pear tree in summer. Scattering some scratch in the run in time, prevented them to fly in the tree at sunset.