Generally, chickens will put themselves to bed as the sun starts to lower towards the horizon and light levels drop. However, sometimes, they need to be put away earlier. When we come back from an evening out we want to know the girls will be safe and sound and not chicken dinner for a fox.
Getting them into their run when they do not want to go takes some cunning. Chasing them there is not an option, as they will simply split up and circle round you. Being small and quick, they know that hiding under bushes makes them difficult to catch.
Bribery used to work, when they were young and easy to trick, but chickens learn, and they remember and Madge and Dot are great autodidacts. Dot would go into the run and peck away and Madge would wait a few feet distant. As I went to chase Madge in, Dot would stroll out, cool as cucumber. For a while, shooing them along with an open umbrella worked too.
Mostly, putting them to bed early was a two person job but now we have a new tactic that, fingers crossed, still works after two months or more. An old curtain pole, being hollow, can make a satisfying thwack when banged on wood or a more ringing sound when banged on concrete. It can be held out, at chicken height, to shoo them towards home. They do not like the noise and even though they could easily dodge the curtain pole as it shoos them along, they do not.
Once in, they are rewarded with a handful of meal worms and competitive eating ensues.
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