How to get free range birds in coop

[Outta Here]

Luring with treats tossed inside used to work, but then I had the back-out-the-door problem, too. It got to be a frustrating rodeo.
They will all go to bed on their own at night, but I often have to put them in the coop for a midday nap to give their guardian German Shepherd (and them) a break from the heat. I have a designated call, "Shooo, Shooo, Shooo" as I walk behind them and herd them in. Once they are all in and the coop locked, I change my call to the snack one, "Here chickchickchickchick!" and give them some dried black soldier fly worms. Sometimes a few don't want to go for a nap inside, so I circle behind them, take the hose and make it rain to either side of them to funnel them in the right direction. They don't get wet and they don't know I'm the cause since I also shoo them in when there are thunderstorms and rain.
But after a week or so, they knew about when naptime is and started heading that way by themselves. I just have to encourage the stragglers a bit.

 

[JaeG]

Our birds get a snack when let out first thing, and their big meal at night with enough left over that they can eat in the morning until I go and let them out. Everyone is always eager to have dinner so they aren't too bad to round up and get into bed at night, as long as I don't try and put them to bed too early. It's a delicate balance - too early and the rebels don't want to go in, a bit too late and the earlybirds have already hopped up on the roosts to go to bed.

 

[DragonBearMomma]

I guess I'm lucky mine gladly trade their freedom for grapes. Toss a few into a coop, and even the most reluctant hen jumps right in.

Of course, there is a down side. They know I have grapes in the house, and often I have to wade through a flock of hungry chickens, positioned at the back door, waiting for their bribes.

This is no lie! Mine all know WHERE the treats come from, so even if I've already brought their evening pan of goodies out to them, if the back door opens, they go running for it and try to get in.

 

[Outta Here]

Gotta add a story: I went away for a week and left my granddaughter in charge of the chickens. She would read on the porch while they free ranged an hour or two, then try to get them back in with treats, which up to then had been working for me. For her it turned into a frustrating rodeo. (I hadn't come up with the hose idea yet.) But I had made a dog silhouette to scare the hawks which just scared the chickens instead, so it was abandoned in my garden. My desperate granddaughter got it and planted it in the yard. Zoom, all chickens back in coop! It worked just long enough for us to get back home (no decoys ever work for long--they'd probably perch on it now).
I wouldn't want to scare my chickens back into their coop as an everyday method, but I did think that was a resourceful emergency tactic on her part to get my flock safely locked in when she left.

 

[3KillerBs]

So last night I waited until 8:20 (sunset was supposed to be 8:35). My lead hen front runner (sunny) led them out to the coop, and after a few minutes she jumped in... the others wanted to poke around for a bit. Sunny just wanted to jump on my shoulder or head, I think she just wanted somewhere really tall to roost. About 15 minutes after I started this process (standing at the coop, lightly calling to them and shaking a bag of mealworms - sunny going in and out a few times) three of them decided to perch on my daughters play set instead. Once I grabbed one, the rest fell in line and jumped in after her. When sunny first jumped in and the ladies were just hanging out in front of the coop, I said, “holy $h!t I can’t believe this is working”.
tonight goes a bit faster, I was very happy for it being the first night of our new process and wasn’t hot, mad, and questioning my life decisions while chasing them . Thanks for all the advice!

When I sit out in the run at dusk I find that they don't really want to go to roost until it's getting fairly dim and the bats are out.

So 10-15 minutes AFTER sunset rather than before.

 

[Outta Here]

And really, we don't have to lure or chase or cajole them in at night. If we just wait late enough, they will all go to roost. But twilight or dusk is a particularly dangerous time from ground predators, so I like your habit, 3KillerBs, of reading in the chicken pen while the bats come out. I get impatient so I just leave my dog out on patrol until I come lock the door.

 

[3KillerBs]

And really, we don't have to lure or chase or cajole them in at night. If we just wait late enough, they will all go to roost. But twilight or dusk is a particularly dangerous time from ground predators, so I like your habit, 3KillerBs, of reading in the chicken pen while the bats come out. I get impatient so I just leave my dog out on patrol until I come lock the door.

A lot of mine are in that teenage, won't go to roost stage. They want to sleep in the run so I have to put them in.

They'll learn.

And since we got the roof and some of the hardware cloth up on the Chicken Palace today it will soon cease to be a problem.

 

[Outta Here]

Oh, I guess I meant free ranging chickens will go into their run/coop at night. Not that they necessarily will get up on the roost. I have some teenagers that will try to sleep on the nest box platform, so I go out every night and place them on the roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

Oh, I guess I meant free ranging chickens will go into their run/coop at night. Not that they necessarily will get up on the roost. I have some teenagers that will try to sleep on the nest box platform, so I go out every night and place them on the roost.

My teenagers won't go into the coop.

This is only the third batch of chicks I've raised, but it seems that there's a stage where they just want to rebel.

It will all be moot in a few weeks because we've made great progress on the Chicken Palace.

 

[Outta Here]

My teenagers won't go into the coop.

This is only the third batch of chicks I've raised, but it seems that there's a stage where they just want to rebel.

It will all be moot in a few weeks because we've made great progress on the Chicken Palace.

They want to roost in the trees or settle under a bush? I guess I used the wrong word when I said, "go to roost." I meant free-ranging chickens that are used to a run or coop will eventually go into it rather than stay out in the open night and roost in the trees--unless they were not used to their run/coop.