Hi from New Hampshire!

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Yes, gate duty went to my oldest and she ran away haha. I resorted to creating a blockade with the feed bin, and a 55 gallon rain bucket as well as a Little Tikes water table, my garden cart, and the shed... once I got her in the corner, going IN to the run was the easy way

I was running around chasing chickens thinking "this is a moment that we should have a video camera rolling"

You have quite the system! 5 out of 9 are treat driven, but keeping them in while wrangling the younger 4 is another chore. I am smart and usually don't free range without extra bodies available to recruit.

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

You have quite the system! 5 out of 9 are treat driven, but keeping them in while wrangling the younger 4 is another chore. I am smart and usually don't free range without extra bodies available to recruit.

I DO NOW!! bahahahahaaaa I've left the blockade up for now until I sort out their permanent home (or until my hubby gets annoyed and puts it all back to where it belongs).

Maybe in the near future I'll gain enough of their trust to be able to get them to go for the treats! I think my free-ranging will basically be at night time and I won't be trying to "coop them up" until their instincts tell them it's time for bed. That's the plan, anyways. My "dream" is that they'll just do their own thing and take as much care of themselves as possible... I'm sure Murphy's Law will come in and rain on my parade but at least my kids will gather good memories of mom chicken-chasing

 

[FortCluck]

If you are going to free range them I would not even move them from their coop area so that they know that is home. Allow them to be in that area for 2 to 3 days.

Then after those 2 to 3 days, let them out and they will go back into the coop by themselves when it is dusk. You shouldn't have to chase them around to go back into their coop at night if they've established that as their home, they might need a bit more time with just their coop to know that its home since they were at somebody else's house.

You can also wait until dusk and go out with a flashlight and grab the ones that won't go back in their coop. They won't run away because chickens really cannot see well at night and won't move.

If you have 5 acres I would just let them go at it once they established where their coop is. They won't stray too far from their coop because that is their safe house.

 

[FortCluck]

I have a Polish chicken that I got from someone else who can fly over an 8 ft fence. She will go wherever she pleases on our property and once night time comes it doesn't matter where she is she always returns to her coop.

I never have to chase her down or try to catch her because she knows where her home is. She's pretty much like a wild chicken, I don't think she was handled very much by the previous owners. The two I got are very cool to look at and that's about it because I don't even know if they'll lay eggs, I honestly don't even know how old they are but I think they are about 4-6 months old right now.

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

If you are going to free range them I would not even move them from their coop area so that they know that is home. Allow them to be in that area for 2 to 3 days.

Then after those 2 to 3 days, let them out and they will go back into the coop by themselves when it is dusk. You shouldn't have to chase them around to go back into their coop at night if they've established that as their home, they might need a bit more time with just their coop to know that its home since they were at somebody else's house.

You can also wait until dusk and go out with a flashlight and grab the ones that won't go back in their coop. They won't run away because chickens really cannot see well at night and won't move.

If you have 5 acres I would just let them go at it once they established where their coop is. They won't stray too far from their coop because that is their safe house.

Perfect. Yeah, they've already kind of settled in to the fact that their coop is their nighttime spot I believe, last night was night #2. I guess I'll give letting them out a try tomorrow afternoon and see how it goes... and round 'em up if they aren't all in there after dark when I go to close up shop!

Most of the 5 acres is wooded, it's a narrow lot (only about 150 yds wide!) but the closer neighbors have already told me they are happy with us getting some chickens, so the ladies occasionally ranging in to their yard shouldn't pose any problems... except they have cats. Their cats don't wander in to my yard that I have seen yet. We have a good wood stand in between us. And their kids brought one of their cats over and the poor cat hid under my couch, absolutely petrified, so I expect at least that one will avoid my property like the plague

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

I have a Polish chicken that I got from someone else who can fly over an 8 ft fence. She will go wherever she pleases on our property and once night time comes it doesn't matter where she is she always returns to her coop.

I never have to chase her down or try to catch her because she knows where her home is. She's pretty much like a wild chicken, I don't think she was handled very much by the previous owners. The two I got are very cool to look at and that's about it because I don't even know if they'll lay eggs, I honestly don't even know how old they are but I think they are about 4-6 months old right now.

Wow, that's impressive. 8 feet!

Yeah, I have no idea how old my chickens are, either. I was led to believe that the two younger ones were about two years old.

 

[FortCluck]

Perfect. Yeah, they've already kind of settled in to the fact that their coop is their nighttime spot I believe, last night was night #2. I guess I'll give letting them out a try tomorrow afternoon and see how it goes... and round 'em up if they aren't all in there after dark when I go to close up shop!

Most of the 5 acres is wooded, it's a narrow lot (only about 150 yds wide!) but the closer neighbors have already told me they are happy with us getting some chickens, so the ladies occasionally ranging in to their yard shouldn't pose any problems... except they have cats. Their cats don't wander in to my yard that I have seen yet. We have a good wood stand in between us. And their kids brought one of their cats over and the poor cat hid under my couch, absolutely petrified, so I expect at least that one will avoid my property like the plague

I have lots of feral cats that wander into my yard and they have never posed a threat to my chickens or ducks. We unfortunately live next to a place that is known for people to dump animals so they come into our yard and I fees them because I feel so bad.

 

[FortCluck]

Wow, that's impressive. 8 feet!

Yeah, I have no idea how old my chickens are, either. I was led to believe that the two younger ones were about two years old.

Polish chickens are very small and I didn't realize they could fly so well. I also didn't know that Jersey Giants could jump pretty high, My rooster and I got into a little tiff this morning He wasn't happy that I touched his brother and decided that he would kick me in my right knee ripping my pants... He is so big he almost knocked me down because I didn't see it coming. We cleared up his issue with me and are now on good terms.

Chickens amaze me with all that they can do.

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

Polish chickens are very small and I didn't realize they could fly so well. I also didn't know that Jersey Giants could jump pretty high, My rooster and I got into a little tiff this morning He wasn't happy that I touched his brother and decided that he would kick me in my left knee ripping my pants... He is so big he almost knocked me down because I didn't see it coming. We cleared up his issue with me and are now on good terms.

Chickens amaze me with all that they can do.

I guess it's fortunate you were wearing pants and not shorts. The idea of roosters in my flock make me nervous lol. Maybe some day when I'm more comfortable with chicken keeping in general ha

 

[FortCluck]

I guess it's fortunate you were wearing pants and not shorts. The idea of roosters in my flock make me nervous lol. Maybe some day when I'm more comfortable with chicken keeping in general ha

He's actually really nice and his brother is even nicer, it's just some things set him off. His brother sounded the warning alarm when I pet him even though he knows who I am because I've raised them since they were a week old.

He's double the size of a 9 month old pullet and he's only 4 months. I've had many roosters in the past that I rehomed because of their temperament, but usually roosters are great if you handle them daily.