Stop chasing your rebellious hens all over the yard by training them to come home to roost.

BY JESSICA JAINCHILL

From eggs to meat to just making your yard look a little more exotic, chickens are a great and easy-to-raise resource on the homestead …for the most part. If you raise chickens, you probably already know what chicken wrangling is and why we all dread it. Chicken wrangling means a spontaneous jog because a few hens decided to stage a rebellion and refuse to go into their coop for the evening. Then again, for some of us, chicken wrangling is dashing all over the yard to chase down that rooster who thinks he’s too good for your chicken tractor.

Unruly chickens loose in the yard can quickly become a frustrating hassle or a meal for predators. (Most of us want neither situation.) But thank goodness there’s a way out! It’s time to quit your career as a chicken wrangler and train your chickens to go into their chicken tractor, coop, or whatever enclosure you want them in.

TRAIN TECHNIQUES

Before you start on any farming endeavor, you want to feel like the time and effort you put into it is going to be worth it. So let’s go over why should you care about training your chickens.

Besides saving you time running around your yard, training saves stress on your chickens. To a mostly flightless bird, it’s terrifying to be chased around the yard for unknown reasons by a giant human. The stress that chicken wrangling puts on your birds can translate into their longevity, their ability to lay, and the quality of their eggs. By taking the time to train your chickens, you’re investing in their well-being, and by extension, the products they produce for you.