Does anyone else herd their chickens?

[Wilynn]

I let my chickens and ducks out 3 - 4x per week to free range. They are usually let out late morning until just before dusk. Their ranging territory is about 2 - 3 acres around my house, pond, barn, and part of the pasture area. When it's time to go back in their chicken yard, they aren't always ready to call it a day... I used to walk around clapping my hands as the "signal" that it's time to go back to the coop area. About 2 years ago, I started herding them with my 4 wheeler instead... Now when it's dusk and they hear the 4 wheeler start up, they automatically start heading for the chicken yard... I inevitability get that one maverick on occasion who decides to go rogue and I need to go chase them down to remind them who's boss.

Curious to know who else herds their flock and how you do it?

I'm starting to think it's much easier to herd cats at this point lol.

 

[BDutch]

I let my chickens free range too. When I want them to return to the coop /run I only have to walk outside with a can filled with scratch and shake it.
It’s very easy to train chickens with treats. Don’t know about ducks.

PS It always works, It makes is easy to set them free for just an hour too. I always lock them up again if nobody is downstairs to keep an eye on what’s going on outside.

BTW This is true during Autumn and Winter. Not the whole year round. In spring they tend to go further away from their coop. Sometimes I cant find them immediately and if I want to lock the chickens up in the coop I need to herd them too.

To herd them I go behind the chickens. Make sure they are between the coop/run and me, clap my hands and move slowly forward.

Only the chicks I had last summer were a pain in the ass. But a broom would make it worse. Patience was golden.

 

[Kmaria187]

i just call my girls and they come running

 

[Ellie76]

I let my chickens and ducks out 3 - 4x per week to free range. They are usually let out late morning until just before dusk. Their ranging territory is about 2 - 3 acres around my house, pond, barn, and part of the pasture area. When it's time to go back in their chicken yard, they aren't always ready to call it a day... I used to walk around clapping my hands as the "signal" that it's time to go back to the coop area. About 2 years ago, I started herding them with my 4 wheeler instead... Now when it's dusk and they hear the 4 wheeler start up, they automatically start heading for the chicken yard... I inevitability get that one maverick on occasion who decides to go rogue and I need to go chase them down to remind them who's boss.

Curious to know who else herds their flock and how you do it?

I herd them all on foot, they free range every morning until 30 mins before sundown and they all know the drill, so they see me and start heading to the barn.. that geese, chickens and ducks

 

[fowltemptress]

The geese have to be herded in; otherwise they'd sleep in the open. It involves calmly walking behind them until they're all in the coop. They're never opposed to going in, but it's not something that occurs to them to do on their own.

My muscovies go in on their own. I keep a dog crate in the coop for my drake, to keep him from bothering the girls until I let them out in the mornings, and he'll wait in his crate until I go in and close him up. Muscovies are like horses in that respect: once they know their own stall, they naturally go to it in the evenings. The chickens also wander in to their coop on their own. If I need them to go in earlier, they're trained to come to a chicken song.

Sung to the tune of "Chick Chick" by Rollin Wang Rong:
Chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken boo, chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken boo (repeat)
Lyrics by me, because I'm just that creative and original.

The guineas are the fun ones! I keep young guineas confined to the coop until they're 20 weeks old to get them good and used to sleeping in there. I've tried letting them out at younger ages, but the allure of the trees is too much for them. By 20 weeks, it's like they've become slave to habit, and they'd probably go in on their own if I ever let them. Unfortunately, they like to stay out until the last dregs of sunlight are left, and by then there's a good chance the lower visibility will cause a few to get confused near the coop entrance and wind up in the trees at night. So about 30 minutes before sunset, I walk out with a scoop of feed singing the guinea song.

Sung to the tune of the breakdown part of "My Lovin'" by En Vogue:
Guinea guinea guinea guinea guinea guinea, guinea guinea guinea guinea guinea guinea. Guinea guinea guinea, guinea guinea.

. . . and repeat until the coop is reached. Lyrics by my husband, who's clearly a gifted and talented song writer.

The guineas come running from all corners of the property when they hear that song. I pour food into the troughs in their coop, and the dominant half will go in. For the rest, my husband has to herd them in from behind while I stand to one side of the coop so they'll go inside instead of endlessly circling the coop. Where larger gestures hinder, little, royalty style hand waves help with guiding; I don't know how or why, but they do. My husband and I have tried switching roles here, but the guineas are too comfortable with me to move when I try herding them. Almost always there's one who veers off last second. I've found that cussing and yelling at the guinea about its stupidity and utter uselessness, while it doesn't phase it in the least or shame it into going inside any sooner, certainly relieves my frustration over the whole process. And once that last guinea goes in he always gets a nice handful of grain as a reward, mostly because I know his hesitation has more to do with his place in the hierarchy and nothing to do with any failure of intelligence on his part. Come to think of it, he's got me well trained into giving him that grain every night. Crafty stinker.