grannys gone and done it

[prostar]

Haha granny just got a pt job at Kmart as a cashier.

Extra spending money, some extra funds for hubs' toterhome project, and no massive commute. Works for me!

(Yeah I could be doing something "better" but meah.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I shovel chicken crap and dont even get paid . I do it because i want to. Wish i had Kmart here. soo sick of wal-mart. small town living calls for many sacrifices and shopping s a big one. driving to the stores you dont want to go to is next. followed by no food deliveries.

 

[busyteach]

He is gorgeous! What registries is he registered with? What about his eyes and hips ?

Swagger is registered ASDR, NSDR and AKC. His eyes are CERF clear, PRA normal and MDR1 normal. All my girls have hips OFA clear including his dam which I own and also his sire.

 

[busyteach]

Okay, remember I am a new chicken owner and green as can be. My chicks were hatched late March and a I decided it is time to let them roam a bit outside their fenced area. Last evening I opened the gate and it made me smile as they flapped their wings and dashed out into the woods and field that back up their area. That was about 6 pm. For awhile I stood over them like a schoolmaster and then made myself walk away for a couple of hours so they could enjoy their freedom.

Well, dusk came and they were still out worming around, then it started to get dark and they were like teenagers with no curfew. I got nervous and tried to round them up, welllll...that didn't work because we don't have a fenced yard and they had the world to explore. Finally, after one smart chick went back to the coop and started clucking to her friends to come home, I had to catch each one and put them in. So, should I have just waited for them to find their own way? It seemed like they didn't know where the gate was and were trying to get in but were clueless. I'm debating if I should let them out again tonight.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

busyteach, they'll do anything for treats, so easy to train them to come when you call if they know they're going to get a little scratch tossed in the pen. The downside is, they come to expect it, so will mob you and be underfoot looking for the goodies.

 

[busyteach]

busyteach, they'll do anything for treats, so easy to train them to come when you call if they know they're going to get a little scratch tossed in the pen.  The downside is, they come to expect it, so will mob you and be underfoot looking for the goodies.

I did have treats but perhaps not what they wanted or they had filled up on popcorn while they were out at the movies. I read someone uses a red cup for their treats to signal them to go in. WE just need more practice I suppose or yummier treats. I will get some scratch.

 

[campingshaws]

I use gallon pitchers, bowls, pans, whatever for treats and scraps. So now mine are underfoot if I'm carrying ANYTHING through the yard.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

I use gallon pitchers, bowls, pans, whatever for treats and scraps. So now mine are underfoot if I'm carrying ANYTHING through the yard.

Haha I second that. I keep almost standing on Babs because she is so eager she runs under my feet and if I crouch down, she will try to jump into the bowl.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I did have treats but perhaps not what they wanted or they had filled up on popcorn while they were out at the movies. I read someone uses a red cup for their treats to signal them to go in. WE just need more practice I suppose or yummier treats. I will get some scratch.

Ditto to those who can't carry *anything* outside w/out bringing out the chicken mob, lol. For getting their attention I like to use a shaker bottle - simple empty water bottle with a handful of grit tossed in it and the lid put back on. I use it as an attention getter - early training is shake, toss scratch, repeat. Then I move away from them, let them get distracted and shake - as soon as they look up I toss scratch which they come running to snatch up - from there , any time they hear the shake they'll come from far and wide. I use this because we have a fairly heavily wooded area that they are able to wander in when out of the run and this is the easiest way to get them to come up out of it and put themselves back in the run vs. me having to go back and forth (opening and closing the gate due to the horses) to try to herd them out of the woods and back to the run and playing hide-and-seek with the ones that don't want to go in just yet. I can stand in middle of the pasture and give that thing a good shake and it's absolute glorious chaos as they come running and flying from every direction.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote: Trick is to have them come when you call them. Mine will come whether or not I am carrying the scratch can. I call Chick-chick-chikie! and they hoof it on over regardless of how far away they are, just in the HOPE of getting a yummy. Just start using your call whenever you treat them, especially when they are penned up, so they are not distracted and can learn what you are doing. Start calling before you toss the treat and while they are eating. The association will happen very quickly. It only takes one to get it and the other will learn from her. The first few times you call them from the woods, have a treat/reward. After that, you only need treats intermittently. Works better when the treat is yummy. Scratch is like crack for chickens. Very addictive.

Mine love cantaloupe guts, kale, any kind of meat, Quaker oats, and wild bird food/seed.



Edit to add:
Posted before I read it, but Ol Grey Mare's shaker bottle is same idea, but better in that you won't look like a crazy chicken lady calling your chickens home. I know my neighbors are snickering at me from the other side of the fence. All my chickens are named and I talk to them like they understand me a crazy chicken lady.