Chickens in control

[NatJ]

That works, if they are already fairly close to their destination. From far away, no.

Depends on what you mean by "far away." I've never lived anywhere much larger than an acre, but I could herd chickens home from anywhere on that property.

 

[Peppercorngal]

If you give your chickens treats they should start to follow you anywhere you go. I don't even have to have treats with me anymore, as soon as I go into the free range area they follow me like I'm the pied piper! They know all good treats come from me and I don't even have to have anything and they follow me into the run! Of course our run is tall so people can go into it easily. Just practice with them by holding some grain treat and dropping one grain at a time, like it's accidental. When you get to the run, throw the handful in. Most of them should go in as well. Do this a few times without closing the door and locking them in. That way they think of you as the TREAT GIVER, not the LOCKER-INNER!! You got to out-smart them! If you really want them to love you give them meal worms!!! Good Luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

You can herd chickens, it is a case where slow is fast. Put a small pile of treats just inside the door of the coop and a bigger pile outside of the coop. Then with a broom handle or stick walk out away from the coop until you are beyond the farthest chicken. At this point the chickens should be between you and the coop. Spread you arms wide, tap the ground and say, "hut, hut" or some other similar word. Take a step or two toward the coop slowly. The moment the chickens move away from you, you stop. When they stop, you call out again, tap the ground and take a step or two to get them just drifting toward the coop. If one gets behind you, ignore that bird and work on the others. step, step, stop, wait.

Eventually they will be quite close to the coop, one will spy the treat, and go in, the rest will follow. If one got by you, leave the gate, walk out briskly again, so that you are well behind the errant chicken, and then tap and walk. Usually they will make a beline for the coop.

Do not rush, move slow.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Chasing them will make things worse, and without a big long handled fish net, and luck, you won't succeed anyway.
I only feed in the coop and run, treats included. Having bits of food outside encourages visitors at night, a bad thing.
Once outside, there's not a lot of incentive to come back to the run! When they are in the run, start calling them (I use 'chickchickchick" in a higher tone) with treats on the ground in front of you. They will come for treats then, for sure! Try this when they are coming in anyway at dusk, always positive, always in the run/ coop.
You MIGHT get most or all of them to decide to come in when called, eventually.
If you are going to be gone, just don't let them out that day!
Mary

Good points. I know it has been stressing me out to have to get them in the run if I have an appointment or something. I need to get over "feeling guilty" for keeping them in the run. We just added new roost branches and fun things for them so they should be occupied in there.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Can you herd them? Not crazy chasing and running, just walk calmly toward them and they walk away from you. A stick helps, too--they move away from the stick or away from you, which makes it easier to steer them.

I found a youtube video that shows the sort of thing I have in mind:

I kind of do this already but its tricky with all of the thick bushes lining the property. They tend to scoot into them to hide from me in those situations. It does work for a few of them though. Thank you!

 

[The Happster]

I rarely herd mine. It usually just isn't necessary. And I agree it doesn't really work from far away. If I walk over to the coop, my chickens at least follow, if not walk in front of me and reach the coop first. Smart birds.
Why would I herd when it's so much easier (and it makes me feel good ) to have them follow me?

 

[Folly's place]

We have too much space and too many chickens to make herding all of them practical. Methods as described will be possible in smaller areas, and with fewer birds.
Running around after them is a fail, for sure!
Mary

 

[Marie2020]

I had the snatched treat and not going in problem too. Then I found an old oval shaped tent window and gently guided them back in for a few weeks. Recently they started to just go in for me now.

 

[The Happster]

Also none of my birds run away from me as they are all tame.... So herding is kind of ineffective. They don't move and I'd just end up walking into them. I can just pick them up and put them in. But I do love calling them for treats and seeing the little legs going like the clappers.

 

[Folly's place]

Very old episode here, should have been on video:
Very hot humid summer day, rotten bantam rooster attacked one last time. Me, in shorts and tank top, with big fish net, sweating and swearing, and chasing the little SOB around the barn area, until he got tired before I did. In the net, in the back of our pickup, and off to the neighbor's. They had a few chickens and ducks at their old barn, and no children. I said, "he's a jerk, he's yours, or he's dead!"
They took him, and he fit into their little flock, and avoided humans after that...
Mary