Is it possible/likely to "train" chickens to follow you around the property (unfenced) to give them a chance to free range with your protection from predators? How would you go about this? Thanks in advance...
Use a can full of treats like scratch, shake it every time before you give some, otherwise saying whatever words you want before handing out any treat will condition chickens to the word and that it means goodies.
There may be some additional trick to it. During summer I can get individual adults to follow me about by periodically giving the bird a large insect morsel captured as I walk about. A group of young stags (about 5 months old) will follow me about if I walk slowly and expose ground by moving dead grass with my feet. The stags in that situation are treating me like a harem master. Another more reliable although not what you want is to take birds habituated to me to a location they are not familiar with such as a soccer field or park. The birds follow me around very well not unlike dogs. I take advantage of this when I take birds with a dog out to events where chickens and dogs are to be displayed for educational purposes.
Ehh....maybe, kinda....but I wouldn't count on it too much. Predators can hit even with human presence.
I don't think the issue would be keeping them close so much as addressing the predator part. If you've got a big predator load, it's still going to be iffy. Unless you've got a good dog, or a gun, or are extremely vigilant with a big stick or something, a wily predator can still snatch a bird almost right out from under you. We've seen video here of that....someone was just taking a video of their flock free ranging, the birds were all close, and a fox came out, grabbed a hen and took off, all before the person could react. Remember, the predator's lives literally depend on getting something to eat, so they're very good at it.
A fair portion of it depends on what your property looks like. Chickens, like most animals, are motivated by food and can be trained using the promise of treats. If they just equate you to being a walking candy dish, they'll follow you. My chickens come when called because they know "chk-chk-chk" means viddles. So following you around isn't the hard part. My property is an island. I'm hundreds of yards from the nearest woodline or fencerow. This time of year, a predator has to cover a minimum of 150 yards of wide open, barren ag field to approach the property. Even the most ambitious coyote doesn't want to do that, if I'm out there or not. But from May to October, when the crops are up, they have some cover to make an approach. You just have to know your spots.
Thanks all... I best keep them penned, I've seen coyotes as close as 30 yards to my front door & a black bear climb a tree (running from a neighbors dog) 5 yards from my place. I do have a dog, but she's all of 12 lbs & probably would like a taste herself.
I've got mine "trained" to come when I call them and shake their snacks in their bowl, but I wouldn't rely on that to protect them from the predators. Mostly because I'm usually not near cover for them to be protected from predators.
Bears?! You might want to seriously think about hot wire around your coop and run....bears love chicken feed.
