My flock keeps roaming further away

Navahogirl

Songster
May 7, 2020
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Not sure what to do, my flock keeps roaming further and further away from property. Yesterday I had to come home from work to get them from neighbors yard . I have almost 7 acres of land and they like to Go down into woods off property. I'm thinking of keeping them in run until I get home from work? Putting up fence to deter them is a HUGE job. Will they be ok in Run? My chickens get bored.
 
You can add toys with treats for when they are in the run.
You can hang apples for them to eat, or lettuce/cabbage. You can add a pumpkin. In the winter, my flock isn't allowed to roam because the trees have no leaves to help protect them, and predators are overly hunger in the winter. I have taken a plastic water bottle, drilled a couple holes in the side, filled it with treats (scratch, sunflower seeds, etc.) and the chickens peck and roll the bottle to get the treats to come out of the hole. I have made my own scratch blocks also.
I would keep them in the run also during the day. I haven't had a problem with roaming because all my trees are near my coop and my 1/2 acre of perennials are around the same area, they stay close to be by shelter. Plus the rooster keeps them close to the coop to protect them from a predator.
 
Not sure what to do, my flock keeps roaming further and further away from property. Yesterday I had to come home from work to get them from neighbors yard . I have almost 7 acres of land and they like to Go down into woods off property. I'm thinking of keeping them in run until I get home from work? Putting up fence to deter them is a HUGE job. Will they be ok in Run? My chickens get bored.
I have the same problem. Chickens are curious animals who like to search out new food hunting sources. They especially love the woods because there are tons of creepy crawlers and some overhead protection. What I have done with mine is keep them in my run and only let them out 1 hour before dark. It limits how far they will go. I also tripled the size of my run with a cheap fence and t posts for sides and arborist netting for top. The extension isn’t predator proof but I’m not concerned with that because they sleep closed up in the coop.
Blessings to you-
 
I had thia problem one time. I put up new fence and added some new feed. Put in toys and stuff and kept them in for about 2 weeks and then let out havent had a problem with them wondering since
 
You can add toys with treats for when they are in the run.
You can hang apples for them to eat, or lettuce/cabbage. You can add a pumpkin. In the winter, my flock isn't allowed to roam because the trees have no leaves to help protect them, and predators are overly hunger in the winter. I have taken a plastic water bottle, drilled a couple holes in the side, filled it with treats (scratch, sunflower seeds, etc.) and the chickens peck and roll the bottle to get the treats to come out of the hole. I have made my own scratch blocks also.
I would keep them in the run also during the day. I haven't had a problem with roaming because all my trees are near my coop and my 1/2 acre of perennials are around the same area, they stay close to be by shelter. Plus the rooster keeps them close to the coop to protect them from a predator.
I have a rooster and he seems to bring them further and further away I don't understand and there's plenty to do here I hung a Seedbell up - they are spoiled
 
I have a rooster and he seems to bring them further and further away I don't understand and there's plenty to do here I hung a Seedbell up - they are spoiled
I once had a Lakenvelder rooster that would take his five hens on adventures up to a 1/2 mile radius from their coop but he always brought them back at roosting time. It is amazing they all died of old age and not predation.
 
Your chickens aren’t safe if they are off your property and also on your property if not fenced in when you are away. Neighbors have dogs and even shotguns. And there are other predators.
I wouldn’t mind someone’s chickens coming into my property but I have three big dogs that I don’t allow unsupervised with MY birds.
Some folks don’t like that.
 
The more you let them out, the farther they will go. I have had roosters that would keep a flock close to the coop, but I have also had Roosters that would lead them farther afield. But the more you let them out, the farther they go.

As for your run, add clutter to it, platforms, hideouts, and roosts inside the run. Just boxes, pallets, chairs, ladders, anything they can get behind, or on top of or underneath makes for much happier chickens.

Mrs K
 

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