Help!! How do I catch my chickens without going nuts!?!?

[lil_chick_chick]

We have the hardest time gathering are 19 chickens almost every night, last night was the worse yet, we were late for church, me and hubby plus a 4 year old and 7 year old were all trying to gather them for the night and it took like half an hour or more to do. They are so hard to catch,

we also tried just driving them down to their coop and that took forever, they kept running under stuff and we'd have to scare them out from under things and try and catch them, it was very stressful, alomost to the point i thought about not letting them free range anymore just so we dont have to do this every night but then again, id feel bad making them stay in a coop all day every day since were out in huge open land. What do i do? Whats the best and easiest way to put them up for the night without me loosing my mind????

 

[karen71]

You may want to attach a run and keep them locked in there for a couple of weeks until they realize thats where they sleep
I also read that when you first let them out to do so at almost dark so they don;t go to far

then when you free range they will come to the coop all on their own

mine free range and go in the coop all by theirselves

it sounds like your getting lots of exercise the way you are doing it

 

[CallyB57]

h'mmmm - I just bend over and pick mine up...their little feet go limp and hang down, then I just walk to the pen (about 50' away) and gently set them down inside the pen door. I have to hold them and pet them almost daily for them to be calm enough for me to pick them up like that. BEFORE they got this relaxed, I would slowly and easy-does-it shoo them into one corner of the fence, then pick them up one at a time. It's easy for me, as I only deal with 6 chickens.

 

[Emzyyy]

I use a broom to kind of guide them my dog helps too he chases them and they head to the coop for safety. He knows not to hurt them though.

 

[Judy]

Use a light and bribery.

Turn a light on in the coop late in the day, and go back out at or just before dark. Go in the coop, bring a good treat, and call them. Give the treat in the coop. Do the same thing every evening, using the same call each time. It won't be long before they go in on their own.

If the coop does not have electricity, one or two of those battery operated closet lights from WalMart will do, or even a flashlight.

 

[lil_chick_chick]

Thanks for the tips! The coop has a light in it, I think i will try the treat in the coop every night, I noticed this morning however since we were in such a rush last night putting them up, when i got up this morning, there was one chicken in the yard, the rest were still locked up in their coop, so apparently we didnt realize there was still one chicken that hadnt been caught last night, so i was shocked to see she made it through the night outside of the coop, im wondering where she slept.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Quote:
I totally agree. We started bribing with bread and they will come running from everywhere when we shake the bag now. I also use scratch, and all I have to do is shake the bowl and they run into the coop. It won't take them long to figure it out.

 

[Lollipop]

If they`ve been roosting in the coop, they should return to their roost just before dark on their own.......Pop

 

[Heather J]

I know trying to get mine all into the coop before dark is almost impossible so if I'm not going to be home to lock them in at dusk I usually just leave them in their run that day. I tried corralling them into the cop a few times before dusk when I first had chickens, but soon learned it was much easier to let them got to bed on their own. lol

 

[lil_chick_chick]

Im scared to have mine out after dark, just 3 nights ago we had 21 chickens killed, we had them in a pin at the time, now those 21 are replaced and their all in a chicken house now. we been having a coon problem latley. Still trying to catch him.