These tricks are only needed if you don't want to be bothered - don't be lazy! Chickens always gravitate toward the coop as the sun goes down. In my location, as soon as the sun touches the tops of the trees, the chickens continue foraging and pecking butt the radius from the coop gradually shrinks until JUST AS the sun goes below the horizon, they are all marching into the coop. This time changes about 5 minutes each day thru the seasons so I watch the clock and even if I'm cooking dinner or ready to watch my favorite show, I go out there to do a head count and lock their door. Everyone is calm and i am assured that all is well.
All my birds were out running around a week or two ago and a flock of Orpington pullets wound up in the Marans run. That didn't go well at all when the Marans hens saw that going on. Orpingtons are getting a butt whoopin and I'm grabbing pullets and setting them outside the fence extending the run. All's fine you think but nope. The Orpington I call bigun (she is a bigun lol) was seriously pissed at me. Anytime I got close to her she would run over in front of me, flare up her hackles and light in on my feet refusing to let me pass. When they all finally went in for the night and I went to close the door on her run she jumped me again. Dang! Anyhow, she was fine after she slept it off. Crotchety ole biddy. lol Don't piss your chickens off! lol
Mine just go in. But I do put them out in a tractor everyday which they run to and from. It can be be in different places as we move it everyday. I give them a treat for each run. But I have one rebellious hen who wants to dilly rally and wonder all over the yard. But my rooster was the best remedy for that..he keeps firm control of the hens. he went after her and they had it out. That happened for several days and now she's right in step with everyone else. Jack is a good Roo. His job is to protect them.
In over 40 years , i have only had one chicken that did not head back in to the coop at night . And what worked best to get my poultry ( ducks, chickens and turkeys ) and my livestock ( pigs , cows and horses ) back to the barn was if my livestock guardians barked a alert . When that happened , all animals ran as fast as they could to the barn .
My chickens will not go in. Im at my wits end. Thanks for posting this video but exvept foe keeping them in rhe coop for 1-2 weeks, which we were unable to do, we've done all of the above.
I never had to train them . Sundown they just go in .
I have found my Nan's chickens are almost afraid of the night sky, so they would always go to their coop at night if possible.
Mine have just always done it since day one lol
These tricks are only needed if you don't want to be bothered - don't be lazy! Chickens always gravitate toward the coop as the sun goes down. In my location, as soon as the sun touches the tops of the trees, the chickens continue foraging and pecking butt the radius from the coop gradually shrinks until JUST AS the sun goes below the horizon, they are all marching into the coop. This time changes about 5 minutes each day thru the seasons so I watch the clock and even if I'm cooking dinner or ready to watch my favorite show, I go out there to do a head count and lock their door. Everyone is calm and i am assured that all is well.
My chickens know to go in at dusk. If I need to catch one of my "no touchies" hens, I just grab some larvae treats and they come running.
All my birds were out running around a week or two ago and a flock of Orpington pullets wound up in the Marans run. That didn't go well at all when the Marans hens saw that going on. Orpingtons are getting a butt whoopin and I'm grabbing pullets and setting them outside the fence extending the run. All's fine you think but nope. The Orpington I call bigun (she is a bigun lol) was seriously pissed at me. Anytime I got close to her she would run over in front of me, flare up her hackles and light in on my feet refusing to let me pass. When they all finally went in for the night and I went to close the door on her run she jumped me again. Dang!
Anyhow, she was fine after she slept it off. Crotchety ole biddy. lol Don't piss your chickens off! lol
Mine just go in. But I do put them out in a tractor everyday which they run to and from. It can be be in different places as we move it everyday. I give them a treat for each run. But I have one rebellious hen who wants to dilly rally and wonder all over the yard. But my rooster was the best remedy for that..he keeps firm control of the hens. he went after her and they had it out. That happened for several days and now she's right in step with everyone else. Jack is a good Roo. His job is to protect them.
In over 40 years , i have only had one chicken that did not head back in to the coop at night .
And what worked best to get my poultry ( ducks, chickens and turkeys ) and my livestock ( pigs , cows and horses ) back to the barn was if my livestock guardians barked a alert . When that happened , all animals ran as fast as they could to the barn .
My chickens will not go in. Im at my wits end. Thanks for posting this video but exvept foe keeping them in rhe coop for 1-2 weeks, which we were unable to do, we've done all of the above.