Chickens are extremely trainable! This will vary by bird and by breed but many chickens can and will respond to simple training and commands. One of the most important things you can teach your flock is an emergency recall in order to get them into their coop or run quickly. If you are in a situation where you allow your birds to free range in any capacity there will likely be an occasion that occurs that you need to bring the whole flock in ahead of schedule and in a hurry. Things like unpredictable severe weather or a predator suddenly making a debut could force you to think fast and hurry to gather your flock. Trying to chase down individual birds is an exercise in futility. Instead, train them to an emergency recall. The following is how I was able to achieve this with my flock.

Find their favorite treat, what they consider the best of the best. For my flock, this is grub worms, but you can also use cracked corn, bacon bits, whatever your flock responds to the best.

Use the same container when distributing this treat. I have a dedicated livestock dish just for this recall. They know when they see this container that their favorite treats are inside.

Pair the treat with a vocal call. This can be something simple like ‘here girls’ or ‘chick chick chick’, whatever works best for you and your birds.  I mimic my rooster’s tidbitting call as closely as I can. Whatever vocal call you use to pair with the treat, just make sure it is one you can do consistently and for several moments at a time if you need to.

Making the vocal call, show the chickens the container with their favorite treat and only give it to them in a safe place (their coop or their run).

To succeed with this training, consistency is absolutely paramount.

Same container, same call, same deluxe treats every time. Don’t try to substitute cheaper treats or switch it up, doing so means they might reconsider coming when called. Practice several times in a week until they begin to get the hang of it, then use the call when needed. I use this recall at least once a month just to keep the training fresh. It has proved very helpful to protect my birds from sudden severe weather and other threats when I needed to bring them all in before their normal bedtime.