I want to put a collar on my hen, what type should I use?

[Emma6wag]

I want to put a collar on my hen, what type should I use?

 

[HappyClucker7]

I don't think that's a good idea. If you put the collar on too tight, she could suffocate or choke on something. If it's too loose, it could get caught on something and strangle her, or allow her to be taken by a predator.
Maybe you could train your chickens to come to you when you call or blow a whistle instead? It works every time for me

 

[3KillerBs]

This is the type of fencing we have around the coop

If you can put a few rows of string or flagging tape above the fence it might help deter them. Don't pull the string/tape tight, but let it sag and flop around.

 

[NatJ]

I have tried but they still dont respond to it

I have had chickens that came when I whistled.

What worked for me:
bring out some food they like, whistle, give them the food.
They learned that whistle = food.

For the food, sometimes it was scraps from the kitchen, but sometimes it was just their normal chicken food with water added. I don't know why chicken food would taste better when wet, but they sure seem to think it does!

If I would whistle and not have food, they learned very quickly to ignore it.

I think sometimes they would hear the whistle, look to see if the food was really there, and then come if they saw the food. (Hmm, maybe that was smart of them?)

If I wanted them inside their pen, I would sit the food in the pen. Something like bread crust does not work well, because the first chicken picks it up and runs back out, and all the other chickens follow They cannot carry wet chicken food, so they have to stay there to eat it, which gives enough time for the slowpokes to come in and me to shut the door. Wet chicken food quickly became my favorite bribe for luring chickens into pens

 

[3KillerBs]

What do I do in the mean time tho. I have already lost two chickens because they got out and another one is missing right now. We have tried so hard to keep them safe and in the pan but its so hot so we have to let them out of their coop. Today is a high of 97°

Cover their pen. Or, at least, cover a smaller section that you can confine them to.

 

[Judy Todd]

I have tried but they still dont respond to it

You have to start when they are young, just giving them some cracked corn while you talk to them. My new batch , 11 weeks come running now when they hear my voice and then get a small treat. It really works, I can call all my hens out of the 2 acre orchard at any time of day, to get them into the coop. And I have 17 hens, various ages, sure comes in handy when you want to shut them up early for whatever reason.

I re-read this and realize that you are not leting them free-range, but they are flying out, I had 4 chicks, 3months oldwho decided it was way to much fun tto get out, so after losing one, I clipped the remaining ones one wing, no problem again. They are now at POL, and stay at home.

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens' anatomy doesn't really lend itself to using a collar. Sometimes people put "no-crow collars" on roosters but sometimes the rooster ends up strangling to death from it.

Securing their enclosure against escape is probably a better use of the money, time, and energy.

If she's flying out of an open-topped run you can clip a wing to see if that keeps her in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wing-clipping.76982/

 

[NatJ]

I would like to put a tracker on it so if they get out again I can find them. We have 15 acres so when they get out its impossible to find them.

How big is the tracker?
Maybe you could put a strap around the base of each wing, so the chicken wears the tracker like a backpack.

(Of course there is always the chance of the chicken getting it tangled on something and being trapped, and there is also a chance of the chicken losing it. That would be true with almost anything you attach to a chicken.)

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

Get a chiken harness (you can getvthem on Amazon) and connect a tracker to it

 

[3KillerBs]

They are about 14 weeks old

That's a prime age for flying.

They'll have one more juvenile molt and then should start settling down.

I would definitely not try to fit a collar on them because they're still growing rapidly. I have some pullets about this age and I'm checking their leg bands twice a week to make sure they're not getting too tight.