16 Ways to Keep Chickens from Leaving Your Yard
Do your backyard chickens wander too far when you let them free-range? Are you worried they’ll get lost or head over to your neighbor’s yard? Do you worry about predators taking out your flock when they stray a bit too far?
If you’re a chicken lover like me, you know how scary it can be when your chickens travel just a bit too far. A few years ago, we lost 13 birds in one summer. It was devastating. Since then, we have come up with several great ideas to keep your chickens from leaving your yard.
- Provide a large, predator-proof run
- Imprint chickens to their coop and run
- Utilize a chicken tractor
- Fencing your yard or providing barriers
- Keep food and water accessible
- Keep the run and coop clean
- Provide adequate shelter
- Plant a chicken garden
- Create a stimulating environment
- Put dust baths around the property
- Supervise free range time
- Train with mealworms
- Use scents chickens hate around the perimeter
- Get a herding or guard dog
- Motion-activated sprinkler
- Select the right breed of backyard chickens
Before diving into all that, let’s quickly look at a couple of reasons why chickens should free-range.
- Free-range chickens are healthier – Chickens in the wild eat mostly grasses, insects, and small rodents. When you let them free range, they get closer to their natural diet.
- Richer eggs – Have you ever noticed the difference in the yolk color from free-ranging chickens vs. store-bought eggs? Store-bought eggs are usually a pale yellow, whereas free range chickens have a deep yellow or orange color and are filled with vitamins and minerals.
- Pest control – As I already mentioned, chickens love to eat bugs! Watching them chase a grasshopper to eat is quite entertaining!
16 Ways to Keep Chickens from Leaving Your Yard
PROVIDE A LARGE, PREDATOR-PROOF RUN
An easy way to keep chickens in your yard is to have a large chicken run attached to their chicken coop. If you provide enough space in their run for your chickens to explore and forage, they won’t need to roam far away.
The best way to make a chicken run predator-proof is to cover it completely with hardware cloth. Ideally, you need to provide at least 4 square feet of space per bird for their coop and at least 8 square feet of space for their run.
IMPRINT CHICKENS TO THE COOP AND RUN
When we first got chickens and it was time to move them outside, we kept them locked inside the predator-proof chicken run for an entire month before letting them free range. This allows your chickens to see their run as home and a safe space.
I know this was a good idea because when we first started to free-range them, they would stay very close to their run. My silkie chickens still stay relatively close to the run, even a year later.
If you’re brand-new to keeping chickens, you can check out my Backyard Chickens 101: Essential Chicken Supplies guide.
UTILIZE A CHICKEN TRACTOR
This option is ideal for people who either don’t want to or can’t free-range their chickens.
A chicken tractor is a portable pen covered in chicken wire that you can use to contain your chickens and move around your yard. This will give them the benefits of free-ranging without the risk.
Your chickens will quickly burn through the grass in their run, so it’s beneficial and mentally stimulating for them to be able to forage in real grass. Just make sure there is plenty of room for each chicken, so they aren’t cramped like in the pic above.
FENCING YOUR YARD OR PROVIDING BARRIERS
The most obvious way to keep your chickens in your yard is fencing. But depending on the height of the fence, your chickens may still be able to fly over it. While chickens can’t really fly – it’s more of a flutter – they can reach heights of up to 10 feet. So, while it may not keep them 100% confined to your yard, it is an easy deterrent.
Standard fencing can be expensive and if you have a lot of land, it might not be feasible. A less expensive option would be to make a wire fence with metal t-posts. Wire fencing can allow you to fence off smaller sections of your yard to confine your chickens to a certain area. Wire fences are what we use to keep our chickens out of our own garden and flower beds.
Another good option would be to provide barriers like dense, thorny bushes, shrubs, or individual plants. There are plants that chickens find unpleasant that would provide natural barriers to keep them from getting too close.
KEEP FOOD AND WATER ACCESSIBLE
When I let my chickens out to free range, I keep the door to their run open so they can access their food and water whenever they need it.
During the colder months, grasses and bugs aren’t always as plentiful so your chickens will need supplemental food. If they always have easy access to their food and water, they won’t need to stray as far to feed their bellies.
KEEP THE RUN AND COOP CLEAN
It is very important to keep the chicken run and coop clean, so it doesn’t harbor unwanted pests and harmful bacteria. But another, perhaps less obvious reason, is to keep the nesting boxes clean and free from chicken poo so your chickens don’t look for other places to lay.
I had one hen, Big Ticket, who would lay her eggs in one of the bushes in the front of my yard. It was quite the game of lay and seek! Chickens need to feel safe and comfortable when laying. So, if their nesting boxes aren’t clean, they will find other, dark places to lay their eggs.
PROVIDE ADEQUATE SHELTER
Chickens not only need shelter for safety but also to keep them cool during the summer months. When it’s hot out, I always find my chickens lying under our big pine trees for shade.
Chickens are pretty low on the food chain as they have many predators. They absolutely need places to be able to run and hide if they’re in danger. In addition to their run, we also kept a small opening under our deck so they would have a safe place to hide if needed.
PLANT A CHICKEN GARDEN
If you plant it, they will come. Or stay. If you plant your feathered friends their own vegetable garden, they will have very little reason to wander from your yard.
Some of their favorite treats are tomatoes, lettuce, any type of squash, berries, oregano, parsley, and sunflowers, to name a few. As a bonus, the garden can feed your family as well!
CREATE A STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT
Chickens need physical and mental stimulation to lead happy, healthy lives. If they are confined into smaller spaces or are bored, it can lead to behavioral problems such as feather picking and egg-eating.
In our chicken run, I have provided them with mirrors and a xylophone. I also like to hang vegetables for them to peck at to provide entertainment. Other ideas include treat balls, ladders, and swings.
PUT DUST BATHS AROUND THE PROPERTY
Dust baths are essential for chickens to clean their feathers and prevent parasites. To learn the best ingredients for dust baths, check out this article.
Our chickens like to give themselves dust baths every few days. Before I knew to provide dust baths for my chickens, they would go over to our cornfield and give themselves a dust bath there. That always made me super nervous as foxes and coyotes easily hide in the corn rows. This is how I lost many of my birds.
SUPERVISE FREE RANGE TIME
When I first started letting my chickens free-range, I didn’t supervise them. I would let them out in the afternoon, go about my day, and lock them back up when they put themselves to bed that evening.
But after losing 13 birds in one year, I no longer do that! As I’m writing this, I am sitting outside while letting them free-range. Even if it’s for a short time, any free-range time is better than none. Even a half hour would be beneficial.
TRAIN WITH MEALWORMS
When it comes to keeping your chickens in your yard, training them with mealworms can be an easy solution. And a comical one!
Chickens absolutely LOVE mealworms. When I first started giving mealworms to my chickens, I would shake the bag. They eventually came to learn that the sound of the bag shaking meant they were getting a yummy treat. If I ever feel they have gone too far, or I want to lock them back up, all I have to do is shake the bag, and they come running!!
USE SCENTS CHICKENS HATE AROUND THE PERIMETERS
Chickens typically don’t like citrus, so putting things like orange peels and citrus juice can help keep your chickens away from certain areas.
You will need to test this, however. Because I find that one or two of my chickens actually like citrus fruits, whereas the rest absolutely hate them.
Other scents that chickens aren’t fond of are vinegar, mint, lavender, and cinnamon.
GET A HERDING OR GUARD DOG
Herding dogs with natural herding instincts can be taught to herd chickens. This can definitely help keep your chickens in your yard.
I don’t have a herding dog, but I do have Bailey, our resident farm dog. When the chickens are out free-ranging, I love to have her out there with me. I feel more confident that she would help deter any predators.
MOTION-ACTIVATED SPRINKLERS
My chickens do NOT like to get wet. Adding a motion sensor sprinkler or two around the perimeter of your yard is a harmless way to keep them from leaving your yard. Your chickens will quickly learn to stay away from areas where they have been consistently sprayed.
SELECT THE RIGHT BREED OF BACKYARD CHICKENS
Chickens are curious creatures and will roam as far as they’re allowed. My Silkies, however, don’t seem to go further than a few hundred yards from their coop.
Another thing to consider would be getting a rooster. We got a rooster after we lost so many birds to help protect them. But an unexpected benefit is that he keeps his ladies together. If they start to go off too far, he’ll call for them. If they don’t come back, he will run after them and make them come back. It’s actually quite fun to watch.
WHAT NOT TO DO
One recommendation that I see often, is to clip their wings. Not only could it cause chickens harm, but it is completely unnecessary. As I already mentioned, chickens can’t fly. They basically just flutter about.
When you clip a chicken’s wing, it unbalances them.
I often see that when one of my chickens realizes they have been left behind, they flutter their wings to help them run more quickly to catch up with the rest of the flock. Imagine if they had to run from a predator and they were unbalanced. They wouldn’t make it very far.
So, please. I beg you. NEVER clip your chicken’s wings.
Especially when there are so many other humane ways to keep your chickens from wandering off. Click here to learn why you shouldn’t clip your chicken’s wings.
So, there you have it. 16 ways to keep chickens from leaving your yard. I hope you found this article helpful. Which ones do you think will work for you?
If you have any other helpful tips, let me know in the comments!
Related Posts:
Ways to Keep Chickens off Your Patio
Essential Dust Bath Ingredients
Ways to Protect Your Chickens from Predators
Why You Should Never Clip Your Chickens Wings
What Bugs Do Chickens Eat?
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Great tips! I’m thinking the motion activated sprinkler might also be a good way for me to keep the neighbor’s chickens on their side. 🤣😉
HAHA! I hope it works for you!
What a great article! We are about to jump in to our first batch of chickens. We have a vacation home that we bought about an hour from our regular house that we are using as an air BNB. It had a fully supplied chicken coop just behind the house that I am going to put into use in 2024. Your article is very timely. thanks so much.
I’m so happy you found it helpful! I can’t wait to hear how much you end up loving your flock!