lost chickens....

[Hwlchickmama]

my girls are very spoiled they have a nice coop, awesome run that they have spent 95% of their lives in... when the weather is nice i let them out of the run into the yard but i feel they dont know how to get back to the house. when chased they run in all diff. directions i see video's of other peoples chickens running strait back to the door of the run/coop... how do i get them to do that i am worried that if there was a predator they would just act stupid and run around and not seek shelter!!!! HELP!!

 

[Judy]

Mine have always returned to the coop at dusk. I doubt very much they would return to it in running from a predator; I don't think they ever did when they were unfenced and had access to woods. If I wanted them back there during the day I'd try bribing with treats -- which might or might not work.

 

[gryeyes]

Mine have always returned to the coop at dusk. I doubt very much they would return to it in running from a predator; I don't think they ever did when they were unfenced and had access to woods. If I wanted them back there during the day I'd try bribing with treats -- which might or might not work.

X2 They all go in AT DUSK in their own leisurely fashion; if they were chased, they would run every which way.

 

[Hwlchickmama]

i guess i was mistaken... guess i will just have to let them do their own thing!! hahahahaha

 

[Den in Penn]

I can see the flock of near-proto-chickens running from their proto-predator, all lining up to get to their safe spot. The slowest of course is the one taken the first time. The next time the proto-predator sees the direction they are heading and turns sooner and gets the slowest two. Now with a full belly the proto-predator has time to think and so the next is near the safe spot. Now the are no more near-proto-chickens.
Now the proto-predator is hungry again and she comes across a flock of proto-chickens. When she attacks they scatter leaving her still hungry. She thinks "Why didn't they line up like the other birds? Next time I'll get one." And she did.
And so we still have predators with us today. But she didn't get them all cause we still have chickens that scatter.

The other people's chickens you see have been trained to return to their home by some method usually by treats and genital herding. But they won't do it consistently while being run after.