How do I get my darn chickens into their portable run?

[ScoobyRoo]

Right, Always fresh water and a little bit of food should be in there with them. If you don't mind them scratching your yard up (they will leave bare spots, good for dust bathing, too) I would scatter a little bit of their feed on the ground. JMO

 

[elmo]

I've been doing this with our five chickens for several weeks now, and yes, they do get used to the routine of moving from their coop/run to their tractor in the morning, then back to their coop/run at night.

From time to time I'll have a problem with one chicken or the other (usually it's Billina, our d'Uccle, who'll decide to make a break for it), but I've been really surprised at how easily they've figured out what they're supposed to do.

The problem comes when I break the routine. My tractor isn't roofed, so several times I've run out midday to transfer them into their roofed coop/run. This isn't their routine, so they aren't quite sure what they're supposed to do, and I have ended up chasing them all over the yard.

Then, again, if I can get at least two chickens into the coop, the rest will usually follow. Fortunately, two of my birds are hand trained (they'll step up onto your arm), so I can easily nab these two.

 

[2txmedics]

I was using a net to catch fish with a long handle...I can use it with my bigger chickens but not with my babies that are 25 days old...they stick there head through the holes and they move and jump around, that they can get caught in two holes and choke...so careful on that....or you can replace that net with a cloth....like sew a sheet onto it....