Mischievous hens

[JoHunter]

Hi all, I am a first-time chicken owner with a few teething problems with one of my hens. I have 5 POL hybrids that I picked up yesterday afternoon. Straight off the bat Mavis, the troublesome chook, made an escape before putting her in the house. This morning all five of them got used to their new surroundings, we're keeping them in paddocks that we'll rotate around the garden with currently unelectrified poultry netting. This evening Mavis did her best to test the perimeter and even with clipped wings can easily jump the fence. After two wild chicken chases we managed to get her back in the house.

The other hens refused to go into the house after dark even after I moved their food and water in there. They seemed intent on roosting on top of the house instead. Will they eventually learn to go inside at night? Will Mavis return to the flock if she makes another escape? She isn't bullied, I think she's just too clever for her own good. My poor husband and I bear many battle wounds with brambles and nettles trying to catch her.

Thanks in advance for the advice. Need a beer now for sure!

[Annpan]

I'm by no means an old hand at this but here's a few things I have learned

1. chickens are pretty daft... often one of ours will forget to go into the henhouse at night, and perch on top instead we have to do a head count before locking it up.

2. there will always be one who tries to escape at every opportunity... I have had a knock on the door from a neighbour who found one of our birds plodding down the pavement on the main road (this meant getting out of her enclosure, over a fence and past 2 dogs)

3. it takes them a few days to settle into any kind of new routine



I'd suggest physically putting them in their house every evening until they do it themselves.

I can't suggest anything for your escapee.... if you figure it out, let me know

[JulieSherris]

Part of the problem here is that although YOU know the hens have a new home, the HENS don't know that they do!!

Just because you show them a nice new shiny pad with all mod-cons, rent free, & detached to boot, they will still try to bugger off to their old home - if only they could find it!!

So what I'd suggest for the next few days is to leave them in their house for as long as you possibly can for a few days. This will then help them to imprint their new place as 'home'. Once they have that idea, they should well understand that this is where they now live & be quite happy to go in when it gets dark.

As for the escapee...... let's hope she gets the imprint thing quickly!!

[Mrs H]

Ur new chooks will soon learn to go indoors at night to roost, at the minute they r confused but a few nights spent showing them the ropes will sort it. As for your escapee, well once an escapee always an escapee!! If u electrify the fence that should put her off however if she is determined she will still clear it!! However she should return home for bed time!! We have 5 chickens and try as we might they always escape and go for a wonder but come bed time they r all tucked up back in there house!! True free range chickens!!! Xx

[JoHunter]

Thanks for the advice, we've made huge progress here. Two hens decided to take a look around the garden yesterday but I easily coaxed them back with some treats (high quaily bird seed). I kept their food and water inside the coop all day and by nightime they all went in willingly at dusk. Already forgotten what life was like pre-chooks.

[JulieSherris]

Jo, when you feed them 'extras', make a noise - I always call 'buck buck'... yeah, I know, but it works for me. (As does 'come on then!!' to the lambs, or BEN!! when the young basset is being naughty!!)
They soon get used to the idea that 'that noise' equals treats.

Then, whenever you want to get them in a certain place, they'll come running!
I step out of my back door & call & have a whole garden full of birds converging on me - SO funny! But if I see mine spreading too far into the woods it sure comes in handy & probably has saved a few ending up as fox food too

[JoHunter]

This must be an instinct since I make a sort of clucking noise when I have food, as well as rattling the same treat bowl. Already they're making the connection that this beast=good things! Particularly after their brekkie of yoghurt and old scones.

[bikinigardener]

i always feel like the pied piper when i go outside, my flock of 40 chickens and one duck follow me everywhere, convinced i will feed them! a few hold outs insist on perching on top of the pen at night, but i have been running them off and herding them into the pen nightly, so they now jump off and go into the pen when i enter the yard!