Training "stubborn" hens

[LoveClockwise]

Treats plus some sort of signal, whether voice command or something like a rattling treat jar. Sound the command (mine is simply "chick chick chick!") and toss a few treats. Repeat a couple times a day and they should learn to come.

yes!

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Do a specific call and give them a treat. My girls come running/flying from wherever they are when I say, “ladiessssss” and want some “wormies!” and they get a mealworm or two

 

[Raubkatze]

Do a specific call and give them a treat. My girls come running/flying from wherever they are when I say, “ladiessssss” and want some “wormies!” and they get a mealworm or two

Mine have started coming when I yell "ladies!" too. In the morning when I come to the run (door opens at 6am, but this girl needs her coffee before I go outside) and say "good morning ladies!" They all come up to me as well.

Unfortunately they are on house arrest due to being naughty girls and making a mess of the neighbor's deck.

 

[thequietman]

I don't know if I am just lucky, or if my plan worked.

When we got chicks (Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds), they started in a brooder in the garage. I built a coop and run, which is the first place they went after leaving the garage. I built the coop/run with some outdoor smart plugs (Tapo), which control lights in the run and a string of small "twinkle" lights in the coop. The chickens are free range in our yard generally from dawn to dusk. At a set time before sunset, the run and coop lights come on. The chickens always make their way into the lighted run. At sunset, the run lights go off with the coop lights still on. At this point, they all move inside the coop. I usually come out after sunset and close the run door (they are always in the coop at this point). I have another smart plug that controls a linear actuator that closes the chickens coop door at 25 min after sunset. In the morning the linear actuator opens the coop door 15 minutes after sunrise. All I have to do is open the run door in the morning and close it at night. The girls put themselves to bed.

For what it's worth, I also have a clicking notice I make when I give the treats. They come running when I make it (they usually come to me anyway when I am outside though).