Re: opinion on flock-moving?
- From: "0tterbot" <spl@xxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 10:17:50 GMT
"Amy Blankenship" <Amy_nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:AfJYh.15897$Pq5.14391@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I move my flock a lot, and this is what works for me:
I have a couple of old dog exercise pens I use to help with this kind of
management. Before my girls were trained to come when called, I would
open the door to the hen house into the exercise pen and then fasten the
loose sides of the pen together with clips. Then you can slide the pen
along the ground by bulging out the side closer to the new digs, moving
the other side closer to the new digs, etc. If you have two people you
can just sort of shuffle it along, and everyone walks to the new house.
This is similar to Jill's suggestion.
ooh, that's a great idea. i'm racking my brains to think if there's
something i could use.
thanks!
kylie
If the chickens are all loose, you can arrange the exercise pen(s) near
the door of the new digs. Get as many of the hens to go into their new
pen as possible with food. Then close the door and herd the rest into the
exercise pens with a broom. Arrange the pen so it now surrounds the door,
then open the door and push in the hens. If you don't have an ex pen, you
can probably rig something up if you want to try this approach. I started
out training my chickens by letting them out into two connected exercise
pens while I did the chores, but finally it just became easier to let them
out completely and call them back when I was finished.
If you have access to a rooster that is not kept with the hens, that can
be a powerful motivator to scurry back to the rest of the flock.
The big secret to herding hens, if that is what you choose to do, is to
remain calm and unhurried. Often if you're too enthusiastic in your
attempts to direct the hens they shoot off in another direction entirely.
Sometimes a single step toward a hen who is four feet away is enough to
get her moving in the right direction. Remember that being on the loose
is not, in itself, detrimental, and if all else fails the chickens will
probably return to roost at night and you can try something else.
HTH;
Amy
.
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