Moving Chickens

[chickenpook]

I have a good chicken run, but I'd like to start moving the chickens (4 of them) to areas in my front yard (about 50 feet away). I can build a temp coop to put them in, but that isn't the issue. The question is, HOW to move them from their run into the temporary coop. They're very hard to catch and pick up, etc. and I'd rather not do that. And then at the end of the day, will need a method to bring them back to their evening coop. Any ideas?

 

[Hokum Coco]

They're very hard to catch and pick up, etc. and I'd rather not do that. And then at the end of the day, will need a method to bring them back to their evening coop. Any ideas?

Rattling a feed dish and calling chook chook chook and tossing a bit of scratch grain works.

I use my cross country ski poles to round up my chickens and drive them from one place to another. Just hold them in your extend arms and walk towards your flock and tap the ground and maybe the odd bird when they begin to run astray. Works for my flock of 24 hens. Any thing about 3 feet or longer you can hold in one hand from canes, small alder poles, dowels, hockey stick handles. should serve the purpose (I used 2 poles to drive my birds.) The first time is the hardest but it gets easier each time. After some time you can just use your out streached arms.

 

[Sessie]

Oooh. I am emptying out my old house; we downsized dramatically. I was gonna leave behind our cross-country skis (barely ever used - maybe twice, mine & 5 or 6 times, hubby's), as we now live in a mountainous area, and can't cross-country ski any more anyhow, due to both terrain and aging/health issues. Maybe I should keep 'em and store them up in our new (smaller) house's attic?

Thanks, Hokum Coco.

 

[chickenpook]

Thank you....I've tried this method (when they escape) and it's been very difficult to get them back in the coop because they run so fast and have a wide expansive area for them to dodge and run around bushes and things. In this situation I'm essentially moving them from the back yard to the front yard, and then trying to get them inside a tiny gate, etc.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Well, can you make your daytime coop mobile? If so, you could create a short fenced corridor from your back run to the door of the mobile coop and use treats to encourage exploration of the interior. Once they get used to being fed treats in the mobile coop, it should be fairly easy to convince them to go directly from the evening coop into the mobile coop. You can then close the door and move it to the front yard. You can have the run in the front yard separate from the mobile coop, attaching together with little latches or whatnot. Attach the mobile coop to the run, open the door, then let them spend the day there. You can either use treats again to convince them to go back into the coop or wait until they will naturally tend to seek roosts at sunset. Unhook the run, move the coop to the backyard, attach the corridor or whatever, and shoo them out of the mobile coop.

Kinda a pain in the rear, but requires no direct handling.

 

[chickenpook]

Yes, this is what I was thinking, but I guess I wondered if there was another way. But this makes perfect sense, thank you!

 

[Jensownzoo]

If they weren't flighty I'd say build them a temporary fencing "chute" from front yard to backyard and do a pied piper routine with treats, but I'd be afraid that one of them might go over the fencing...

 

[Hokum Coco]

Thank you....I've tried this method (when they escape) and it's been very difficult to get them back in the coop because they run so fast and have a wide expansive area for them to dodge and run around bushes and things. In this situation I'm essentially moving them from the back yard to the front yard, and then trying to get them inside a tiny gate, etc.

My chickens are Golden Comets and are fairly docile and tame birds that could be the reason it works well for me. No two flocks of chickens have the same dynamics either. it was worth a try too bad it did not work well for your flock.

 

[chickenpook]

Yes Jensownzoo, I had a similar idea using those 6 Foot Children's Exploration Pop-Up Tunnels.... I would need about 5 or 6 tho...but once they got into the tunnel, I'd block one side, they couldn't fly out and would have to end up on the other side.....

 

[chickenpook]

Thank you Hokum, your birds are gorgeous! Yes, mine are all pretty wild and crazy ladies! Ha!