Any tricks to get them in their pens?

[Miss Lydia]

Mine stand outside their house at night waiting for me to put them to bed, it's so precious. course I had to train them to do this, but it's so nice now to be able to just open the door and they all march in.

 

[zzGypsy]

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yeah, that's nice, isn't it? sweet.
my ducks do too, but they didn't always.
for those I rasied from hatchlings, this is a really easy process. not so easy with those that were raised by someone else... my 3 brown chinese geese were 4 or 5 months old when I got them and either had never been herded or pen-trained, or had learned that they can stay out all night if they just scoot away from the gate at the last moment. that, or maybe it's just adolescent rebellion.
anyway, a couple of weeks of herding them here and there, and calling when I feed, and feeding in the pen in the evening and they're much more compliant about going in. every once in a while they still try to ditch at the last moment, but usually only if I'm in a hurry... because I'm rushing them. if I take my time, they'll try to curve off the path, but a tiny adjustment brings them back on course. they're learning there's no real point in avoiding it, I'll herd them up as many times as it takes, so they're slowly giving in.
I figure in a couple of months it'll be so much a habit that it'll be automatic.

my last set of ducklings in california reliably put themselves back in the pen at night, every night. all you'd have to do was walk out there and close the gate. they went into the shelter pen as soon as they were out of the brooder, and stayed there a couple of weeks. once they were a little bigger, I'd open the gate and wait until the whole lot got bold and stepped out side, then herd them back in. every day they'd get a little bolder, come out a little quicker, and I'd let them get a little further, then herd them back in. that way they had time to learn the location, how to find their house, and how to be herded all at once.
within a month they were all over the 2 acres, but we'd always herd them back in by dusk. pretty automatic for them to always back in the night pen by dusk, on their own. since we never let them do any different, they never really challenged it.

my adopted teen geese though... they'll challenge the house rules. it won't make any difference in the long run, but they still try!

 

[Yetti]

I have been having great luck with the "feed only at bed time" rule. they squawk at me the whole time I am filling the feeder. then push me out of the way to get in. they free range all day and have a mud wallow to dig in. they tend to be a bit hungry by morning and get right to grazing.
I even use this for my Pekin ducks and even as obstinate as they are they get under my feet at feeding time. they hit the feeder like hobo on a ham sandwich.

 

[NYRIR]

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Nice thinking! I got my ducks to herd well into the hut at night. But the geese were a bit tougher...I finally did "corral" them in a way with 3 of us. Now you can usually do it with one person after they got used to it!

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
you're welcome. if I'd known you were going to print it, I'd have spellchecked!

I know what you mean about doing it naturally, I did too. then I started working with herding dogs and I had to externalize what I did internally by instinct... I had to coach / control the dog to do what I did without thinking. it made me decompose what I was actually doing so I could give the dog clear instructions. I got very lucky with my first herding pup, she's an exceptionally talented dog... kinda like learning to drive on a ferrari... anyway to work with her I have to really be able to understand and see what the herd animals are telling me.

we use sheep for most training, but use ducks and geese for fine tuning because they're so much more sensitve and require such precise dog handling.

what do you do that your employees need to know how to herd?

Our farm does mostly veggies, but sometimes we use the farmhands to help with the cattle. The geese and ducks free range and are often in the way, or sometimes I need someone else to put them up at night. Both the waterfowl and the cattle move the same way, though like you said, the fowl are more sensitive.

We worked with a dog for a while, but decided it just didn't fit how we did things. We move things fairly slowly. Much too slow for the dog.

 

[echix]

Ours weren't hard to herd at all - geese don't run like goats BUT... they're sneaky and see you coming! They know what's going on and eventually will catch on after they play tricks with you for a while.... a month or a week who knows!

I use a long stick like a sheppard's hook. I don't touch them EVER with the stick but hold it out left or right whichever direction I want them to go.

Walk slow -- geese are slow and have to THINK about what you're doing. When you get to the opening, do not rush them like chickens! They hate that. STand there and let them realize they need to go in there.

Put water and some treats in there for a while for them. Eventually they will catch on.

No problem.

 

[chickenlady08]

My kids and I use our flashlights to help them go into their coop at night. They usually stay in between light beams and go in pretty easy and then they get their feed and water. I don't know if this is something that may work for you but it makes it easy for us. And actually my son and my daughter have no effort at all getting them in, I on the other hand have more issues.

Good Luck!