Help! How to make it stop: My two hens sit on our back patio and watch us through the back door ...

[ALPTX]

Our 6.5 month old hens, Weeds and Daffodil, wander freely during the day, and sleep in their chicken tractor at night. I want to continue to let them wander freely, BUT, half the time, they park themselves on the back patio to watch us through the glass and sit. The poop on the back step/patio is out of hand! I know they want to be with us (we feed them treats and snuggle them), but something has to change. I hose down everything, and within a couple of hours, they have made the area gross again. How can I keep them interested in staying in the yard? I put their food/water in the yard ... there is a large, open, buggy vegetable garden in the yard ... there are shade trees in the yard ... why do they want to look at us and sit on concrete instead play in the yard?

If I do need to use some sort of chicken playpen, does anyone have a suggestion? It needs to be large enough for two pet hens, portable, and somewhat attractive.

I am very open to suggestions
Thank you!

 

[Judy]

They're probably begging for treats. the only way to keep them out of an area is to fence it off.

 

[aart]

One of the downsides to free ranging and the second most important reason, next to predators, that I keep mine confined to a run.

You could try to 'train' them not to come onto the patio by squirting them with the hose before they poop there, every time they step onto it. Never, ever feed them treats there...always take the treats out to another area. I've read that it can be done but takes time and persistence and more time.

I used about a 20-30 foot length of 6 foot high 2x4 welded wire set in a rough 'circle', ends overlapped by a foot or so. It stood alone fairly well with a couple garden stakes and was also able to wedge a 1x3 in the holes across one end for a roost. Used this for my junior flock when they were still in brooder and before their coop was done.

 

[ALPTX]

You may be right! - thank you!

 

[ALPTX]

Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[JAZsMom]

HA! My hens have started 'begging' at our back door over the past week or two. They got on a schedule of morning treats, and we changed it up. They dont seem happy about this. When I'm ready I bring them their treats and more food to the coop area and they follow me around...which I have to admit I love.

Your girls are spoiled like mine. Try to get them on a schedule, get cheap plastic 'fencing' (like for your veggie garden) for your patio, feed them in one place...you get the idea. Theyre stubborn children and need to be treated as such.

 

[fieldarcher]

I am lucky as the pevious house owner bred small dogs so the house is fenced off from the garden, that way the girls can range and go into their coop at night.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Meet the CTD ( chicken training device ) . My chickens were camping in on my verandah and like you I was hosing down twice a day. Once I introduced the CTD
It took about a week of me sneaking up on them and making shoo shoo shoo noises as I fired the super soaker for them to get the gist.