Do chickens have rehoming instincs?

[007Dawn]

Ok we have a guy that we know that at his property he has chickens running like mad. I mean we are talking about 40 chickens. They are laying eggs everywhere and happy as can be. Problem he has no idea where they came from only more and more are showing up. There is nothing in the area and no one wants to claim them.

So we told him we would help gather them up, or as many as we can and take them to our property, five acres and 25 miles away.

But we are wondering will they make their way back to his property and if they are capable how do we show them a good time here?

They are not in a coupe where they are now and that is part of the problem. He said nearly every week he finds a half eaten chicken and they are now trying to break into his house and are tearing things up.

Thoughts?

 

[007Dawn]

Any idea? Anyone?

 

[Rootball]

40 chickens show up uninvited at his property....The only thing I can think of is a wormhole near a hatchery somewhere. Its precisely the same phenomenon which will produce seagulls in a mall parking lot in suburban nebraska.

 

[EweSheep]

In most cases, no. They dont have the same mental thing like homing pigeons.

If they were confined in the coop for a week or so, they will stay within sight of coop or boundary lines. They normally dont stray too far.

 

[007Dawn]

Quote:
Interesting but the only thing near him is a Publix Warehouse. And a few trailors.....very strange.

 

[csbarber]

I don't know about homing so much, but my chicken wander freely between our yard and our neighbors. Sometimes I don't see them for several weeks at a time - I have no ideas where they are (all the fences around are chain link so I can see through all the yards - no chickens). Then all of a sudden there they are again, hanging out with some grackles in the the front yard. I live on a very busy street, so sometimes when they are gone I fear they may have ben hit by a car, but no - they always return. I call them "chicken walkabouts".

 

[007Dawn]

Quote:
That is funny! Strange they disappear for two weeks at a time.

We have ours trained which took several weeks not to leave the backyard and they do really well. We have one that likes to hide under the house? And will only come out to roost when she thinks we are in the house for the night. It sure makes her mad when I come out to put her up! LOL

But it is for her own good but that is the only disappearing act our girls do!

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens!

Thank you, everyone!

 

[DTchickens]

Chickens will go where other chickens are, so they could have been a wild flock or a flock someone had that ran off. Or a flock that was dropped off and left. Once you relocate them to you're property they will stay there and not even care as it is still land and they will be around other chickens.

 

[007Dawn]

Very cool and that makes perfect sense. Thank you!

We plan on Friday evening being our day to start gathering them up.

Do you have any suggestions on collecting them easily? We are going to go at dusk!

Nice to see somenoe up with the chickens this morning. Thank you again!

 

[DTchickens]

Quote:
Well, if they aren't too smart/scared of people.. you can get a pen/cage and toss some feed under it. Maybe even put one of you're hens in there as a decoy (wouldn't try it though, incase they could have diseases.. And even then just touching them you can transmit it to you're birds if you don't change clothes/wash up before going around them) but before that set the pen up with a stick (or something you can balance the pen on. and a string/rope however long you want. they go in.. Yank the string. Other than that best way is to climb a tree at dark and grab em.. Wear gloves and a longsleeve in case they are mean, have spurs, and for protection from branches etc.

-Daniel