Training Chickens Where Not to Go?

[Patinas]

I have a young flock of 21 chickens. I let them free range every afternoon as long as someone is around to keep an eye on them.

We have over 5 acres for them to range on but early on, they insisted on hanging out under our very large covered patio regardless of the weather. Often, regardless of the weather, that's where we hang out too so I assumed they were just wanting to be around us because why else would they want to hang out on the concrete when they have all that grass and woods to forage in? I've never fed them any kind of feed or treats on the patio.

Anyway, having them on the patio quickly became an issue due to all the poop and them constantly trying to get into the house through the patio door. After having to hose off the patio each morning, and finding a few of them in the kitchen, I decided enough is a enough!

For the last three weeks we've been trying to teach them to stay off the patio. They can walk all around it and cut across the corners/edges of it but if they wander more than 3-4 feet in, we use a stick to gently persuade them to move off by calmly approaching them and tapping the stick on the concrete. I obviously don't want them to learn to fear us!

I've noticed recently that the majority of them are now spending way more time out in the grass and not trying to constantly come onto the patio so I'm feeling a bit successful at this attempt to train them.

We considered putting a fence around the patio but we don't want to look at a fence and I want our dog to have free access to the yard so that's not an option. The obvious solution would be to not let them free range or build a large fenced area just for free ranging but that's more time, expense and maintenance so I'm not wild about either of those solutions either.

My question is....has anyone had success teaching chickens where NOT to go? I've always heard how chickens are "stupid birds" but my experience, now that I have them, is that they are actually very intelligent. Given that observation, I'm still hopeful we can eventually train them to not go on our patio but I suspect it will be a long term exercise in time and patience.

Am I kidding myself and just wasting time trying to get the message across?

If anyone's had success with this sort of thing, any tips you can give me? Thanks!

 

[chickenmama109]

yes chickens are intelligent birds you can maybe try getting treats that they like and when they come on the patio go in the grass and show them you have a treat and give it to them

 

[ChickenFarmerDaddy]

I throw some feed/cracked corn into the grass where I want them to hang out. Keeps them busy and gets them used to hanging in the yard.

 

[Gibs]

Hm. I don't want to be a big nay-sayer, but I have had NO luck teaching chickens where they shouldn't go. Yell at them, lure them elsewhere, spray them with water, chase them away....

It's hard to know exactly what message they're getting, of course, but I read it as something like: "Oh, I shouldn't be in my favorite place right now because a) there's somewhere better to be [like scratch feed in the grass] or b) something bad happening here [like being hosed]," but as soon as those conditions are gone, they come right back. The only way I've been able to keep chickens away from certain places is to make sure they physically cannot get there.

Good luck!

 

[Patinas]

Hm. I don't want to be a big nay-sayer, but I have had NO luck teaching chickens where they shouldn't go. Yell at them, lure them elsewhere, spray them with water, chase them away....

Well, I was thinking about a squirt gun in addition to the stick!

I'll stick with it awhile longer and see if they can get the message. Yesterday only about 8 of them insisted on coming onto the patio so I'm over half way there!

 

[lazy gardener]

Deer netting is practically invisible, and a 7' tall roll can be cut into 3.5' tall rolls with a pair of scissors. But, that would not allow your dog to come and go freely. You might try putting up one of the magnetic screen doors that the dog could manage, but the chickens couldn't manage it. I'd blast them with the hose every time they approach the patio. I'd not let them do any "short cuts" across the corners.

 

[Patinas]

Deer netting is practically invisible, and a 7' tall roll can be cut into 3.5' tall rolls with a pair of scissors. But, that would not allow your dog to come and go freely. You might try putting up one of the magnetic screen doors that the dog could manage, but the chickens couldn't manage it. I'd blast them with the hose every time they approach the patio. I'd not let them do any "short cuts" across the corners.

Deer netting could be an option but they can definitely jump 3 feet so it would have to be more like 5 feet. I hadn't thought of having the hose next to us and just blasting it towards them. I'll have to give that a try! Thanks!

 

[centrarchid]

Consider deer netting plus hotwire at level suitable for repelling dog. Once dog figure out the hotwire the deer netting will be left intact. The hotwire will also keep coyotes and foxes back. A couple neighbors have used the deer netting only for containment with predators breaking in on both. One lost about 30 hens and dropped out while other abandoned use of the deer netting entirely.

 

[lazy gardener]

I use deer netting around my flower garden, part of my orchard and my veggie garden. It is 3.5' tall. Yes, the chickens can fly much higher. One of my Dom pullets loves to perch 6' high in the truss system of my flock's sun room. BUT, they have NEVER flown over the deer netting. The fact that it is so nearly invisible is the reason why, IMO. They will stand outside the netting, and stare longingly at the bounty inside. They will initially bounce off the netting a few times (at ground level) before giving up. They will run around the full perimeter, trying to find a way in, but not a single one of my birds, in the last 4 years has flown over deer netting. (current flock this season has been up to 60 birds, free ranging.)

 

[azygous]

You're already on your way to successfully train your chickens to stay away from the patio by using aversion therapy. Anything that chickens find unpleasant will work, but you need to be consistent and persistent.

Squirt guns shooting water, Nerf guns shooting foam darts, a broom swung up to block the forward progress of a chicken, all will work if you keep at it. You might also use a "cricket" clicker each time you use the aversion therapy so the chickens will associate the sound with the unpleasant experience. They then can easily be reminded when they hear it, eliminating the need to keep on using the aversion tools.

It depends on how dedicated you are to avoiding putting up a fence and how determined you are to keep the training going until you succeed. You will need to reinforce the training at intervals and train any new chickens coming into the flock.

Chickens definitely are trainable. But it takes work.