Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

They got the rain bit right but were way out on the temperature.
Despite the on and off drizzle we got out.
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One of the reasons I started reading this thread, is hoping for information to help the hens transition to a wider world.

I don't handle them except when absolutely necessary so I'm not confident about getting them back into the coop after they are out. I would rather not let them out a bit before dusk because that is when there is the most traffic on the road. I still don't want to lose them to zoning issues.

I didn't think letting them out would ever happen, so the coop isn't set up well to attach a run to it.

How do y'all put them back?

Coco likes the idea of outside, too.
My chickens put themselves in at dusk when I let them range. However, I have trained them to come when called in case I have to bring them in before then. This is an old video and some of the tribe has turned over, but you get the idea…

I no longer say “treats!” I just say “Let’s go in, girls!”
 
Mine see their coop and attached run as home, so they always go back to roost and if they are scared (eg hawk nearby) they first dive for cover but then they make their way back home.
Sometimes I need to get them back in earlier than they are ready and it is always easy. I have a tin cup with seeds and some of their feed pellets and when I shake it they know something yummy is available so they run home.
Mine will also come if I shake something and always head to the safe haven of their coop and run if they are scared.
 
My chickens never quietly growl as a warning for a dangerous predator like a fox or a dog. They panic and fly. Many times on top of the run or over the hedge to the neighbours.
For a cat they give quietly growlings and move in the other direction as were the cat is.
Mine will definitely do the quiet growl while standing perfectly still. They will also bok, cluck and run for cover. Other times they’ll do the general alarm call with really long necks, strutting in little circles.
 
Chickens prefer a shed with light. A window can do wonders too if chickens don’t go in by themself at dusk.
The alpha of the tribe, Bridge, who is almost seven, will call for me to turn on a light when she’s going to roost. I also help her down from the roost wach morning, along with one of the almost six year olds who has had a limp since she was a pullet and is getting quite a swollen abdomen. (I’ll probably try to drain her soon, as now she’s clicking when she breathes.)

Sorry, got a bit off topic there, but I concur with the light. I turn it off the moment the last one hops up to help alleviate roosting shenanigans.
 

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