Nighttime Routine

[krogen]

Hi Everyone,

Our flock consists of:
22 1-year old Golden Comets hens
10 4-month old Plymouth Rock hens
6 4-month old Plymouth Rock roosters
1 Mixed breed rooster

We've never had chickens before until just over year ago, when we got the Golden Comets. With them, at some point in time last year, we've taught them a night-time routine with which we've stuck since then. They free range for a few hours a day, until about an hour before sunset. Then, they get called, they see food, and it's quite easy to get them locked up in the chicken coop - they just follow and it's a matter of closing the doors behind. Very rarely there are stragglers.

With the additions of Plymouth Rock hens, things had to change. Once they were 8-weeks old, we introduced them into the coop. In the afternoon, we'd still let Golden Comets leave the coop, with young Plymouth Rocks staying behind (mostly for the fear of losing them - we've had them happen). A few weeks ago we started to change this and let the Plymouth Rocks be "partially outside" - basically, in a large 10 x 20 foot chicken cage next to the coop.

For about a week we've been playing around with letting some out of the cage and free range with adult hens.

Today we let out all of them... And it was a disaster.

No issues with adult hens, called them and got them into the coop with no effort, as usual. With the young ones, except for two, they all stayed behind. Eventually, after some herding back into the cage, I was able to capture all of them except for two, which probably hid somewhere in the tall grass.

So, now, I'm thinking... Should I persist with the effort? I think the alternative could be - just give them food, and if they want to leave the coop, let them. Keep it open. We've never actually done that. What I am afraid of is that they'll roost outside of the coop, or perhaps they'll go missing.

I didn't mention young roosters... Because there's literally no problems with them. They act just like adult hens, as far as the routine is concerned. It's been SO MUCH easier to integrate them, compared to the hens.

 

[Mrs. K]

Do you shake the can before you feed them? Calling 'here chick, chick!" Do than even when they are in the outdoor pen at your feet. Call out, shake the can, wait a moment, call again, shake the can, then feed them. Do that for a couple of days, and they should come running.

Another way to round up chickens is with a long stick. This is a case where slow, really is better. I put a small amount of feed just inside the gate, and a larger pile of feed further in the pen. Then taking my stick, I walk out past the farthest chicken so that the scattered flock is between me and the gate.

They should calmly and naturally move away from me, toward the general direction of the gate. Then they will stop and peck. I stretch out my arm with the stick take a step or two forward, taping the ground saying "hut, Hut'. They move slowly away from me. You don't want a scattered panic movement. Just a step or two away from you. When they stop again, you step forward again.

If one starts to move behind you, just tap the ground in front of her, she should turn back. But if she gets by her, just leave her, and keep the rest moving toward the gate. She will come back towards the flock, especially once they find the feed.

The big thing with this method is slow and calmly moving them. One can gather a large flock, in a surprisingly short amount of time, doing it slow and calmly.

Mrs K