How to Catch a Chicken....

[Scrambled Egg]

If anyone needs a money winner for Americas' Funniest Home videos, be at my house when I am trying to get 12 chickens back into their pen after I have let them free range in my yard (under supervision and protection from the lag mix that would eat them!). Never have you seen so much running, wing-flapping and squawking -- and that's just me, the chickens are even more wild, haha! Just kidding, but they do run like wild things wanting to keep searching for that one more bug outside their pen.
They aren't too tempted with treats at this time as they have scratched aroundin the whole back corner of my yard so that isn't much of a lure to catch them.
Does anyone have any suggestions for getting my wild hooligans back into their pen after they have had "free-range" time?

 

[PurpleChicken]

That is an art.

We:
1-wait till sundown and they go back themselves
2-circle them with 2 or 3 people and close in until they go in
their run.
3-Set the coon hound loose on them. This can be done by walking
a perimeter with the dog on a leash or just letting her go. She
never hurts the chickens but LOVES the chase.

4-Bribe them with scratch. They will follow you in.


Careful using the dog. Freiking out chickens doesn't make them
very friendly or calm.

 

[Zenbirder]

If the treats are good enough they will probably come in. Try cooked rice, works for me.

 

[joanm]

All I have to do is walk out the back door and they come running. They follow me even if I don't have treats. You might try a little dry cat food - mine go nuts over it.

 

[Ocala]

Funny Im a noobie and my first time my chicken got out this morning LOL now that was funny.. They are all ok now and back in the run

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Quote:
All good ideas purple, we try to let then stay til sundown and they all go back in on their own. If for some reason we have to get them in early. treats help and hearding with long white
sticks( arm extensions) helps.

Uhhhh can I borrow that coon dog purple?

 

[Rocket Raley]

1

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Hilarious!!! I am so glad it's not just me that has trouble getting them back in the coop!! The Coon dog sounds like a life saver! My Dachshund helps me some, in fact, she loves to be in the coop with them until they peck her nose and then she can't get under my feet fast enough! (She eats start n grow like it was a special treat! She isn't clucking yet, but who knows!!) I can't leave my chickens out without supervision because of the yard dog we have. She's an old lab mix who has always killed rats, birds, cats, whatever came into "her" yard. I had a Houdini chicken several months ago too, probably about 2 months old - she dug and crawled under and out of the pen (still have trouble figuring how she did it) but the dog got her and killed her so I really have to watch them when they are out for their own protection. I'll try the treats though --especially since the butterfly net didn't work (LOL --you should have seen that fiasco!!). Thanks for the input

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Haha! I guess I've trained mine well! They come for treats! All geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, etc, come running for bread or veggies!

 

[wegotchickens]

We dump the household treats (leftovers, peels, etcetera) into the tractor just befper we start to herd them. Either of us can do it on our own, since we only have 7. The key is to get 3 or 4 headed in the right direction. Once they get in they do the treat cluck and the others come running. Only one hen tried to resist going into the tractor.