Goodness guys!
Its great to come across so many of you who are interested in the book. As a result I will do some more work on it and add more behavour / training information before I send it to a uk publisher.
Bert,
in answer to your question as chickens drivers are based on survival then their main motivators are nutrition and reproduction then lets start with these as the reason that your chickens stray. They usually seek new teratory in an attempt to find more food or a greater variety of food or to find a new breeding enviroment with a more suitable mate or less competition for them feed themselves or their young. In the wild they would branch off and form new groups and claim new teratories.
Other factors too are important to their health and safety such as shelter and the security of a social group. So a bird which is victimised by others or is prevented from accessing the coop or nest box will venture further a field.
They are also inteligent and inquisitive so if rumaging through seaweed is more entertaining and nutritionaly satisfying than staying at home then they will visit the beach. They have a keen sense of smell and a good memory so if the smell of rotting fish wafts their way they will remember where it came from and rush off to play on the sand.
Making their home as close to a natural enviroment as possible will go a long way to keeping them from straying. Shrubs, trees, dust baths, leaf litter, grass, insects, worms, shelter, shade, space, multiple feed stations, fresh water and new teratory are all important. The area that they occupy can become over grazed, soured by droppings and bug free. Keeping an area sectioned off and allowing them access every so often can help with this along with adding stimulating eliments to a stark or sterile enviroment.
Bramblecot,
again this inquisitive nature and a desire to find food and the best place to roost or lay will bring them indoors. I have heard of one who used to come in via the cat flap and lay her eggs in the dogs basket. And one who liked to sit on the worktop behind a portable tv and snooze.
The more scope they have, the more you get to see how much they take in and the choices that they make. I have a couple who like to sit under my chair and snooze. Not too bad when its the garden chair but when its in the kitchen it really confuses the cats!
Buffy
