Naughty chickens

[MrDerek]

So after getting my girls home 2 weeks ago, they've been brilliantly behaved up until last night. I even managed to get them to start laying. They're usually so good at staying round the back - I didn't think they could even get round the front of the house, I was wrong:

I let them out at my lunch-break at 12pm and then come home to the 3 of them on the main road. Luckily the street I live on is a quiet one so none of them were harmed but still, it's rather annoying/embarrassing/stressful. I tried to coax them into a dog crate with grain in the back but they knew exactly what was going on and were having none of it. My neighbour came out to give me a hand and we managed to get them into his garden but then the real fun began. I caught Wilma (the white one) and put her in the crate, leaving the other 2 out. Gladys (the grey one) jumped through the hedge into my front garden so that helped a bit. Just needed to convince her to go round the back. Betty (the black one - can you see a theme with the names?) kept running about for another 30mins before I managed to catch her. When I finally got all 3 of them back into my garden, they were acting like nothing happened. They were all over me, looking for grain like the usually do. SO, they're grounded today.

Didn't think they could get round the front of the house. We have a gate that I didn't think they could squeeze through but obviously I'm wrong. Chicken wire has been bought and will be installed on the gate this evening. Until then, run only!

Naughty chickens!!

 

[sourland]

"Once they've seen the world, how you gonna keep them on the farm?" They are adventurous not naughty.

 

[azygous]

Don't underestimate the abilities of chickens to find a way out of their yard. If you put poultry mesh over the gate, they will simply hop up to the top and then pop over to the outside.

But just as chickens can find a way out of your yard, so can predators find a way in. And the heart break of discovering a raccoon or weasel or owl or coyote or dog (all urban predators) has taken one of your flock is one no one should have to experience.

I urge you to take the time to assess your predator situation and prepare a secure run for your feathered family.

 

[MrDerek]

I have quite a large run for them but I don't like the idea of them being stuck in it all day. Starting to think about fencing to go round the outside of it. High fencing so they can't "hop" on over it.

I've let them out again today but barricaded the gate with bins and logs so I'll see when I get home in the next 15 mins if they've escaped again or not. Fingers crossed they havent.

 

[phryan]

If it makes you feel better mine like to do the same time thing. They have about 1000ft of pasture with spuradic brush and trees behind the coop. Even with the coop in sight they only go back 100ft. They will readily travel twice as far to the house, then into the front yard and across the street. The reason why chickens cross the road is because they want to.

My normal method was to find the leader put her under my arm and take her back to the coop, most of the others would follow.

I ended up fencing in the pasture. When escapes happen they don't go past the house, they aren't as brave without the entire flock.