rounding up chickens

[JudyMcKinn]

If you have feed and water inside the coop, instead of, or in addition to, outside, they are more likely to go back to the coop easily, too. I always keep my feed inside, so it doesn't get rained on, or attract wild birds, etc.

 

[CtlisencedArborist]

I have been training mine since i gotten my first with a pan filled with nightcrawlers,salamanders and other bugs.When I pick them I will bring them to the pen and say"Hear chickkky chickkky chickkkys."They all fly out of there coops and come runnin for the treat.Sometimes use oatmeal also.Just like training the puppy!

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I've got to ask--where do you get these panfuls of salamanders, night crawlers, etc??

 

[Zenbirder]

Mine got trained on cicadas that I caught. Now it is watermelon seeds and rind! Tomatoes run a distant third. They all know when Mama calls it is worth getting those little legs in motion!

 

[GoodEgg]

Well ... tonight was the 4th night (I think) in the coop. All I had to do this time was bring out the bowl of food I refill the feeders with and shake it once, and they all got under my feet as I went inside. Every one of them.

The only problem was trying to NOT step on anyone on the way in.

trish

 

[bigzio]

Yep, that's too funny, cause I always have to look down to keep from stepping on all my pretty hens. They become so friendly that you have to have chickens and love them to understand this situation.

bigzio

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

I hand-feed grasshoppers I catch around the yard. I also let them peck at hen scratch in the palm of my hand. I feed tomatoes out of my hand.

Now when I want them to go into their tractor, I yell, "Bo-Bo!!", stand in front of the door, and bend over as if I have something in my hand. They run so fast they barely stop as they cross the threshold, and I normally throw in about a cup of hen scratch just ahead of them, in case one decides she knows the gate is about to close! My dad just shakes his head at this whole thing; he says, "You're supposed to call them with, "here, chick chick chick"". BOBO just doesn't work for him! LOL!

As for my 3 "tester chickens" (game hens who were wild and probably abused), two of them are just now getting to understand what being called and fed is all about. They are still very difficult to get back into their coop, and still prefer to roost in the trees, even after months in their tractor.