i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[RoyalChick]

i have been giving them a treat in the morning because in the beginning, they would try to hop the wall to eat the crow's bread someone puts in the green. so if i gave them something, they would stay in the yard. now it seems expected.
i also give them something to get them to go in the run in the evening.
should i try no more morning treat?

I try to stick to giving treats mainly when they are not around so they have to come running when I call.
Even if I don’t actually need them in it sort of cements the ‘call > come running > treat’ sequence that helps me get them in when I need to.
This routine is getting a bit disrupted right now because of the rat issue which means no treats in the coop or run.
Need to figure that out.

 

[pollipazzi]

the other thing is... they are afraid of my husband. and just about everyone else but me. so it's always me on the job. i tried to get my husband to get them in tonight, and he's absolutely the worst! lol! he just put the treat in the run, sat on a chair on the other side of the yard watching videos on his phone. said he was just waiting for them to go in and he would close the door. lol! um. thanks for all the help, husband don't ever ask him to babysit!

 

[pollipazzi]

I try to stick to giving treats mainly when they are not around so they have to come running when I call.
Even if I don’t actually need them in it sort of cements the ‘call > come running > treat’ sequence that helps me get them in when I need to.
This routine is getting a bit disrupted right now because of the rat issue which means no treats in the coop or run.
Need to figure that out.

so you ONLY give the treat in the run? and call them to it?

 

[pollipazzi]

I try to stick to giving treats mainly when they are not around so they have to come running when I call.
Even if I don’t actually need them in it sort of cements the ‘call > come running > treat’ sequence that helps me get them in when I need to.
This routine is getting a bit disrupted right now because of the rat issue which means no treats in the coop or run.
Need to figure that out.

is the rat problem any better at all?
i'm hoping all these foxes are eating rats and too full for chickens.

 

[pollipazzi]

I try to stick to giving treats mainly when they are not around so they have to come running when I call.
Even if I don’t actually need them in it sort of cements the ‘call > come running > treat’ sequence that helps me get them in when I need to.
This routine is getting a bit disrupted right now because of the rat issue which means no treats in the coop or run.
Need to figure that out.

this is probably a stupid question, but do you throw the treat in before they get there or wait until they can see you do it? and if they don't come when you call, would you take the treat away?
if i bring a treat out and they don't come when i call (ignore me) i take it back. but they'd have me in and out a hundred times until they felt like coming.

 

[pollipazzi]

and this is another example of not having normal chickens. lol! everything i have read or any suggestions are call them with treats and these guys are like "meh. maybe later."

 

[pollipazzi]

Normally I keep them inside the large run until noon - 14.pm. The auto pop door to the run opens sometime after dusk, around sunrise. When I go to work or have an appointment they stay in inside until MDH or I come home. We dont free range if nobody is at home.

When we are at home in the morning but have to lock them up in the afternoon, the chickens often free range from 9. or 10pm. I give treats (grain and seed mix) and I call them, clap my hands. Normally they return within 5 minutes. Sometimes 1 or 2 stay behind. If I go out to call them a second time after 10 minutes more they are always complete (8)..
I rather not let the chickens free range if they have less then 2 hours to free range. Bc its difficult to get them inside after just 1 hour.

I ‘trained’ them with mixed grains and a few meal worms to go back to the run. I give the treats every day. Even if they returned to the coop by themselves around sunset.

also. sorry. another stupid question...
if a few come when you call the first time and the rest come after the second call, have you closed the first ones that came in the run so they don't go back out before the others arrive?

if i get one in and close the door, the other is going in the opposite direction saying "i'm no sucker. you're not getting me to go in there too!"

 

[BDutch]

i have been giving them a treat in the morning because in the beginning, they would try to hop the wall to eat the crow's bread someone puts in the green. so if i gave them something, they would stay in the yard. now it seems expected.
i also give them something to get them to go in the run in the evening.
should i try no more morning treat?

I give enough wet chick feed in the morning for a few hours. There isa container with pellets too. No treats.
When I let them feee range there is no more /not much left of the chick feed.

When I give treats in the afternoon/evening some time before roost time, the chickens gat a second small bowl with wet chick feed beside the mixed grains.

It works for mine but it doesn’t work with your chickens.

Maybe it helps if you add a few fences at tge entrance to herd your chickens jnside? I started to use an old rabbit fence to herd the 2 young chickens through the door, in to the run. These 2 enjoy being out and about when the other chickens return.

 

[BDutch]

this is probably a stupid question, but do you throw the treat in before they get there or wait until they can see you do it? and if they don't come when you call, would you take the treat away?
if i bring a treat out and they don't come when i call (ignore me) i take it back. but they'd have me in and out a hundred times until they felt like coming.

I throw one hand with mixed grains/seeds in the run and start calling them. Start clapping if don’t see them.
Soon a few come to take a look. A second handful and more chickens follow. (Repeat) Until they are all inside.

Maybe you need better treats? What do you give them to lure them?

 

[pollipazzi]

I give enough wet chick feed in the morning for a few hours. There isa container with pellets too. No treats.
When I let them feee range there is no more /not much left of the chick feed.

When I give treats in the afternoon/evening some time before roost time, the chickens gat a second small bowl with wet chick feed beside the mixed grains.

It works for mine but it doesn’t work with your chickens.

Maybe it helps if you add a few fences at tge entrance to herd your chickens jnside? I started to use an old rabbit fence to herd the 2 young chickens through the door, in to the run. These 2 enjoy being out and about when the other chickens return.

i can try this! thank you! this is not what i have been doing.
before i got the automatic door, i would let them right out into the yard and they would bypass the pellets and look for their morning treat. now when they come out when the door opens and i am not there, they will go to their feed. i would still give them the treat though. if i keep them in until after the crows have eaten all the bread in the green, and they have eaten feed, maybe they won't be looking to jump the wall. i will try it.

i keep thinking about some kind of fence leading to the run or even to make the run bigger, but the shed where the lawnmower is would have blocked access. there has to be a way. i just haven't thought of it yet.