New to raising chickens...

[stugie333]

I wasn't real sure what category to put this question under...we got our chickens (2 months old) a couple days ago and I already made my first rookie mistake by not closing the gate securely and assuming I'd be fast enough if needed. I wasn't. We caught our hen and hopefully I'm smarter going forward. But I'm wondering if chickens associate certain noises with treats. I was thinking that if I used a bell that my folks had for their sheep collars whenever I give them treats like mealworms, maybe they would come running back home if they got out. Does anyone have experience with this? We aren't able to free range due to raccoon, coyotes, and neighborhood dogs and cats and they are new to us so I don't think they're ready to learn where to "come home to" even if predators aren't an issue. Thanks for any help!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

After a few weeks your chickens will consider your coop home and somewhere safe, so you shouldn't have to worry as much. Chickens learn very quickly what a can full of grain being shook sounds like, and come running, so they will come to any sound they associate with treats.

 

[tinakevin]

All I have to do is shake the treat bag and they all come running. If you do the noise consistently they will learn to associate that with treats. Mine all come running to me now when they hear my voice as well. Just a quick story. My dh was trying so hard to get them in the coop. He finally gave up and said their all yours. So I grabbed the bag and went into the coop. I shook the bag and my dh was stunned. He said how did you do that. Lol. Oh the power of food.

 

[GC-Raptor]

The storage area of my coop is accessed from outside the coop. All I gotta do is open that door within eyesight of them hens and within seconds they're all around my feet. But yeah I keep my scratch grains in a coffee can. Shake Shake they come running. GC

 

[Hamiam]

I started training mine right away by saying "here chicky chicky" when feeding, giving fresh water, treats, caught grasshoppers & even when I go to open the coop". They normally come running when I call out, but not always.
A few days ago, my husband let the girls out of their run, (we normally do this only when we are home) soon after, he heard a commotion & looked outside to see 2 dogs chasing the chickens. He ran outside, yelled & the dogs ran off. We live on 30 acres & have never seen a dog on our property. We searched & there were 4 girls missing. The other 8 had gone inside the run & coop. We thought the worse when we found an area with a lot of feathers. When I started calling out, all 4 came to me from their hidding places. Only one was slightly injured. I'm so glad that I was able to get them to safety & treat the injuries quickly. I have read about an owner having a different call for different flocks.
Note: We found the 2 dogs down the road in a neighbor's pasture & spoke with the neighbor. Turns out his adult daughter has moved home with the dogs. We made it clear that these dogs are now considered hostil to livestock & if the dogs are seen on our property again, they will be shot. We won't wait for the dogs to kill a calf or chicken!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I never tried training my chickens to come to a bell, but they generally showed up when i called them to be fed, and most of them would return to their coops before dark. I would expect it to work. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.