Stubborn Chickens in trees

[Shelly278]

Hi everyone,

My parents have about 60 chickens in the outskirts of town. Many have now learned to fly ontop of the coup and fly into their trees which are way too high for a ladder. The other sets roost either ontop of the coup or the othertrees. We've tried long sticks or pc piping ( which my dad has lying around) to sorta boot them out of the trees but night after night they go back to old habits. I've read to keep them locked over a few days, once caught, to retrain them to live in their coups but we've this many times. One issue being my parents have developed the idea to just let them roam everywhere regardless and they feel they shouldn't be pinned up like that for that long. I've heard about clipping them but I feel like I'd be doing it than them and doing over 60 is hard to catch. Any ideas??

 

[azygous]

Shelly, oh my, you're really looking at impossible odds here. Not only are chickens next to impossible to retrain once they've established their habits and routines to their liking, but you are also facing two humans who are also just as keen and happy to have things just the way they are. I sure wouldn't take on a battle with those kind of odds - sixty-two against one.

There are some here who will be tempted to judge your parents, but the chickens are theirs, and they are theirs to manage how they see fit, no matter how the rest of us feel.

I strongly recommend you try to accept the situation for what it is, and take a detached view of it, even when chickens disappear to predation, which is certain to occur.

If you are an adult and no longer living with your parents, I suggest you use your energies to acquire your own flock, and raise them to your specifications and satisfaction. If you are still at your parents', you can start making plans for your future flock after you move into your own place. This plan will make you more at peace and more content with even the free-wheeling way your parents manage their chickens.

 

[Perris]

hello @Shelly278 ! welcome to BYC
Azygous' advice is very sound.