Getting the chickens to the chicken yard

[Rise722]

I'm thinking of building my coop in a more shaded area, and have about 20' to reach the chicken yard - any suggestions on a way to make a "tunnel" or other run from the chicken house to the secured area? Otherwise, I might just build out over the chicken yard and plant some fast-growing trees....

 

[4 ever Orpington]

I'm thinking of building my coop in a more shaded area, and have about 20' to reach the chicken yard - any suggestions on a way to make a "tunnel" or other run from the chicken house to the secured area? Otherwise, I might just build out over the chicken yard and plant some fast-growing trees....

 

[ChickNanny13]

My brooder is in my covered patio, the mobile run is in the yard about 30' away. I raise the chicks in the brooder & when they're about 4wks I transport them in plastic bins to the MR. In the mean time I'm training them to respond to the sound of freeze dried mealworms in a plastic container, they LOVE MWs. Then comes the fun part ... At 8wks allow them out of the brooder, shake the MW container & they follow. Yes, they get distracted but they will follow, stragglers find their way to the rest in the MR.

Depending how many you need to "move" may help to get some help to herd the strays. You could try get some chicken wire, shape a tunnel from point A to point B. Not sure they'll walk thru one of those agility trial tunnels for dogs.

 

[squadleader]

Welcome!

Mine love scratch. There's only one place in the whole world they can get served scratch, and that's in their tractor, so when I shake that gallon plastic jug with scratch in it, they run straight to the chicken tractor and jump inside. They know no scratch will ever hit the earth outside that tractor, and they want their scratch NOW!!!

So make a habit of only serving their treats in places you want them to run to, never just thrown randomly on the ground. If you just throw it anywhere, you just gave up the best training trick I know of.

If I have to leave before it's time for them to go to roost, I'm very glad I have a fast, reliable way to get 13 little dinosaurs, back in the tractor, or in your case, maybe a run, or coop.

By the way, if you wanted to make a chicken tunnel, say for example 50 feet long, and yes, chickens use them with no problem, here's what you do.

Roll out a 50 foot section of 4 foot by 50 foot of half inch hardware cloth. Then roll it the short direction, lap it about 4 inches, and using zip ties, every foot or so, zip tie the lap. For a picture in your mind, think of it as rolling a 50 foot long cigarette, with the empty air of the tunnel where the tobacco would be. By the way, you can also buy 4 foot hardware cloth in 100 foot rolls.

Watch out for Home Depot, I don't know what's wrong with them. They're selling a 25 foot roll of 4 foot hardware cloth for $58, you can get a 50 foot roll with free delivery from Walmart or Amazon for $61.

What the heck! Home Depot is trying to sell half the wire for the same price?!!! Pays to shop around!

Easy trick on zip ties, when you're trying to zip tie something you can't get to both sides of, like the lap of this 50 foot cigarette, is take pliers, put a crimp in the last inch of the zip tie, so it's forming a V, shove the V into the 4 inch lap in the hardwood cloth, then pull back on the zip tie, which brings the end back out of the hardware cloth, naturally, make sure not to bring the end out the same hole you pushed it into, then zip it.

You've now got a great tunnel, with no sharp edges, because you rolled it the long way, and your lap edges are smooth, because you didn't have to cut them.

If you need an elbow, make one with the wire, then insert it between two straight lengths, and you've got a curve or elbow, whatever you want.

Don't over think it, zip tie it to the pens on either end. Don't bother with staking it or anything else, it's not necessary, it's really that simple. The chickens are quite comfortable with exploring a hardware cloth tunnel, they want fresh ground to forage, they will use it.

Here's another thread on tunnels. There's a very cute video with it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/build-a-chunnel.915854/

 

[pennyJo1960]

I'm thinking of building my coop in a more shaded area, and have about 20' to reach the chicken yard - any suggestions on a way to make a "tunnel" or other run from the chicken house to the secured area? Otherwise, I might just build out over the chicken yard and plant some fast-growing trees....

Welcome to Backyard Chickens not too far from you here in Mossyrock Washington
hardware cloth would be the only safe way

 

[ChickNanny13]

Must agree, welded wire or hardware cloth safer & better than chicken wire. Here in HI we don't have the predators you all do.

 

[aart]

I'm thinking of building my coop in a more shaded area, and have about 20' to reach the chicken yard - any suggestions on a way to make a "tunnel" or other run from the chicken house to the secured area? Otherwise, I might just build out over the chicken yard and plant some fast-growing trees....

Welcome to BYC!
Yes, there are chicken tunnels....chunnels!

Click the link below to see a bunch of threads about them:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/search/18607811/?q=chunnel&t=post&o=relevance&c[title_only]=1

 

[Rise722]

Thank you everyone...I'm probably going to do the hardward cloth....cheaper and "seems" easier for my area....and I lived in Hawaii for years - and there aren't the same predators as here in Oregon, that's for sure....again - THANKS!