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

[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.)

 

[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.

 

[Okydoky]

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.

i have never heard of this. why dont the Hens come home, my Moms did but they never traveled more than a mi ? good luck

 

[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

 

[Emma6wag]

I will try training them! Thank you

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

 

[Emma6wag]

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

Hmmm very interesting! Thank you for the advice! I will try doing that with some treats!

 

[Emma6wag]

i have never heard of this. why dont the Hens come home, my Moms did but they never traveled more than a mi ? good luck

Im not sure, but when they get out they dont usually come home

 

[Emma6wag]

It is about quarter or so size

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.)

 

[NatJ]

It is about quarter or so size

At that size, you might be able to attach it at the base of one wing, or on a leg.

Or on the neck, use a slender strap of something, (leather, nylon webbing, ribbon, velcro, etc.) and make sure to nestle it under the feathers at the base of the neck. Try to have is snug enough to stay a bit under the feathers (so it does not slide up and off), but loose enough that the neck itself is not squished at all. I don't remember whether chicken necks expand as they swallow things, but if they do, you don't want the collar interfering. Maybe a collar meant for tiny puppies or kittens? A chicken's neck is not very big around.

 

[perkolator]

We had those fabric apron/saddle things on our chickens in the past, for months. They went on with elastic straps around the wings, held pretty well but one or two did somehow manage to get them off, I think by getting it caught on something. I could see this being an easy way to secure your tracking device on a chicken like a backpack.