We kept chickens when I was a child. They were robust intelligent birds. They went by themselves to their little house at night, where the nest boxes were, and climbed onto perches to sleep. I went out at dusk, fed them and shut the door. In the morning I got up early before school to feed them again and let them out. I also changed their water then and collected eggs. We had about 10 chickens. We had 2 acres of yard. They never left it.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36854781