New fence for hens??

[PoPo76]

I have about an acre of fenced in property. I let my hens roam around where ever they want. However, lately its becoming a problem because in the morning they sit outside my back door. That isn't so bad but one of them relentlessly tries to get in the house (See this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/976430/this-chicken-is-crazy ) and them pooping all over my patio is the real issue. Twice everyday I have to hose the patio down to get rid of the poop. Then comes a new problem, flies everywhere.

So my question is if I fence off an area that is away from the house and just for them would they stay in that area or will the learned behavior of coming to the door stay with them and they'll come to the door anyway?

The fence is only 4 feet tall so they could jump over it.

 

[aart]

Predators and Poop are the main reasons I keep my chooks confined to a mesh covered run.

If you add a foot or so of floppy chicken wire to the top that 4' fence, that may keep them from going over it.
They usually land on the top before going over and if that top is unstable they'll stay off it.

 

[TickinChicken]

my chook would crap all over our backyard patio and we put a fence up and after a week we took it down then every time the chook walked on the patio we moved her away and after about 4 weeks she got into the habit of not going into that area! so try that out.

 

[PoPo76]

I don't have much of a predator problem. My dogs don't let anything into the yard that isn't supposed to be there. And for some reason they are vigilant around the hens. Nothing comes near them.

Also, everyday I try to shoo them away from the patio but they don't seem to want to take the hint. lol Marisol, the one that tries to come in the house, sqwuaks and pecks at the door. She wants in!!

The other thing I forgot to mention is that I was feeding them in the morning from the patio. So perhaps if I fed them from another part of the yard they would start to expect food from there and wait in that spot in the morning?

 

[aart]

I don't have much of a predator problem. My dogs don't let anything into the yard that isn't supposed to be there. And for some reason they are vigilant around the hens. Nothing comes near them.

Also, everyday I try to shoo them away from the patio but they don't seem to want to take the hint. lol Marisol, the one that tries to come in the house, sqwuaks and pecks at the door. She wants in!!

The other thing I forgot to mention is that I was feeding them in the morning from the patio. So perhaps if I fed them from another part of the yard they would start to expect food from there and wait in that spot in the morning?

Absolutely feed them as far away from the patio as possible.

Have read several threads this morning where the garden hose aimed very near chickens on the porch works wonders,
but has to be applied diligently every time they even think about it for a few days. Aversion Therapy.

 

[Mrs. K]

Don't hose the patio off, hose the chickens off the patio. It won't hurt them, but they won't like it and if you do it every time you catch them there, they will sool leave that area off. It might work best if you exit from a different door, sneak up on them and scare them good.

Also, don't feed them there. I have found that the more often I let mine out, the farther away from base they get. If you keep them locked up for a while, they tend to stay closer to the base.

I would do the hose a few times, it imprint that in their minds that this is not a good idea.

Mrs K

 

[PoPo76]

Great info. I will have to implement all of these practices. Thanks.