Can you train chickens to stay in your yard?

[VTChicky]

I have some new chicks, approx. 4 weeks old at this point. They have a coop and run all ready for them, but ideally, we want to free range them. We live in a small neighborhood, on approx .3 acres and have lots of neighbors close by. Many of our neighbors have chickens, some even free range them in their yard. I was told that you can train them to not wander too far. Is this the case and if it is, how do you go about doing that? I don't really want to build a fence.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Free range chickens will go where they please. They seem to have a range of 100-300 feet or so that they will go away from the coop if there's enough cover to safely do so. I have had no luck training them. If you want them to stay somewhere in particular than they must be confined.

 

[CannedMonster]

I don’t think that would ever work. Chickens want to range as far as they can to find as much good stuff as they can.
My friend has 6 chickens and a 4’ chain link fence and they are always wandering the neighborhood.
Our city ordinance doesn’t allow for that and anyone can take chickens found “at large”.
We also have a 4’ fence but we clipped one wing on each of ours so they wouldn’t jump it.
Some breeds are excellent fliers and can easily go over a 6’ fence.
You need to consider the issue of predators as well as dogs in the neighborhood.
Many chickens are killed by dogs.
You may want to look at electric poultry netting as an option.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Not that I'm aware of. I've had chickens travel out in the middle of cornfields. They go wherever they want, as far as they want.

 

[Folly's place]

You will need fencing, and a predator proof coop and run.
Mary

 

[The Moonshiner]

No way on .3 acres
Mine wouldn't even stay on over 3 acres

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I have 6 acres and my chickens wander farther every day. They started out staying close to the coop, but by 3 weeks they were all over the acre around our house. They just follow a trail of plants and keep going as long as they find something to nibble on.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

I wouldn't free range outside of the protection of their electric poultry fence. You are going to lose them to all kinds of predators if you chose the open free range; local dogs, raccoons, fox, hawks etc.

 

[Kat C]

I don’t think that would ever work. Chickens want to range as far as they can to find as much good stuff as they can.
My friend has 6 chickens and a 4’ chain link fence and they are always wandering the neighborhood.
Our city ordinance doesn’t allow for that and anyone can take chickens found “at large”.
We also have a 4’ fence but we clipped one wing on each of ours so they wouldn’t jump it.
Some breeds are excellent fliers and can easily go over a 6’ fence.
You need to consider the issue of predators as well as dogs in the neighborhood.
Many chickens are killed by dogs.
You may want to look at electric poultry netting as an option.

We have 4 foot electric poultry netting confining 1/4 acre. Its pricey but it protects from dogs, foxes coyotes and most cats. Got it after two dogs massacred 30 chickens. Its 4 foot and most our birds could fly out, but they don't. If they do get out they are usually frantic to get back in and can't remember how they got out . Occasionally a hen has flown out to hide a nest somewhere or some hen just gets into being out. Vigorous noisy chasing them back in when they are out usually breaks them of that. Finding a hidden nest is much harder

 

[Toothpick]

I had some free range at one time and they always came back at night to the coop. I’d see them in the neighbors yard all the time. I could get them back by feeding them though, yelling “chick chick chick!”. Funny watching them run across the yard