Keeping free range chickens away from the road

[4 the Birds]

I can't resist......just ask them, why do you want to cross the road?....ba dut du

To get to the other side!

Unless you live way way out in "the sticks" and have little or no predators, you need to have your free range birds within a perimeter fence. It will not ensure that they stay in but it will set boundaries and improve you odds.

 

[centrarchid]

To get to the other side!

Unless you live way way out in "the sticks" and have little or no predators, you need to have your free range birds within a perimeter fence. It will not ensure that they stay in but it will set boundaries and improve you odds.

If fencing used to confine birds and keep ground predators out, then go electrified poultry netting route. Such netting can be moved with minimal effort making so birds operate closer to free-range ideal as they exhaust a given piece of ground's forage.

 

[Daisy8s]

I had a similar situation. For the first year my flock never went near the road. Then, in their second summer they seemed braver and started crossing the road.

This was unacceptable because my neighbor didn't want them on his land and because we live on a busy road and I couldn't stand the thought of someone swerving to avoid one of my chickens and causing an accident.

First, I tried deterring them. As soon as they crossed I chased after them and made them panic and run back hoping they'd associate being over there with danger. Next, I just called them back each time they headed that way by offering treats. They'd come for the treats, but when that was cleaned up they'd head back for the road. Both of these strategies "worked" in the sense that they got the chickens back home but they weren't workable because they required intensive intervention by me all day long.

There was nothing great my neighbor's land had that I didn't (they liked his pine trees but I had the same on my side). And, so, I gave up and built a bigger fence. It wasn't too expensive--I used 4 ft tall wire and a bunch of stakes I already had. They don't fly over it (because the rooster is too fat to get over? because they can't perch on its thin and flimsy top? I dunno, but it works).

Incidentally, if you ever have to herd chickens it's very easy if you pick up two long sticks to make your arms appear about twice as long as they are. You can raise and lower these to guide the chickens quietly. The trick is to not panic them because then their instinct is to scatter.

Good luck!