Came home to a wild story!

[MinxFox]

Well...I was at Church camp for about a week and got back today. My parents were driving me back home and my mom started to say, "You won't believe what happened..." My dad gave her a look like "don't say anything" My mom continued and told me that while I was gone she went to feed the peafowl and didn't shut the door all the way (she likes to do that

) anyways next thing you know Pip is outside of the pen pecking around! My mom tried to herd her back in the pen but she ran to a small area between the new and old pen. My mom called to my dad to come and help and he told her that they should try and net Pip since she was cornered but my mom still tried to herd her into the open pen door. Next thing you know Pip flew up over the pen and up high into a giant oak tree that Ice would roost in when she free-ranged. My mom was all upset and they had to leave because it was getting late. The next day they herd Pip honking and she was up in a different oak tree pacing on a branch with the peafowl in the pen all looking at her. My mom wanted to scare her out of the tree but luckily my dad warned her that that could cause Pip to fly even further away and get exhausted and we would never find her. My dad had to go on a trip so the next day it was just my mom there. Pip was pacing against the pen fence and my mom tried to net her but it didn't work so she grabbed her with her bare hands! I was amazed at the whole story and glad that my mom was able to catch her. My dad told me my mom cried a lot about Pip getting out...I am glad Pip is back in the pen and I am very happy to know that she would stay around because I plan to free-range her with Alto and Peep next summer.

 

[deerman]

Thats the biggest mistake most people make, is to start chasing one that got loose. Best to just walk them back in, not getting to close to scare them.

Glad things worked out.

 

[MinxFox]

Yes I am glad things worked out too, when my mom was telling me about it I thought she was going to say that they couldn't catch Pip.

 

[zazouse]

Glade everything turned out ok.
Deerman is right ,
My peas are very easy to herd back to where i want them, i just say go peas as i walk behind them, just like herding geese.

 

[Kedreeva]

Had my pied female escape just after we got her... I tried to walk her gently back to the pen, but she was so new she panicked and she flew to the top of the cow barn, landed on the tin roof... then flew all the way across our property to the neighbor's tree, 30 feet up... I shut the pen door and I went inside the house. I could see her in the tree from a nearby window, so I turned on a movie and checked every 10 minutes or so... and then she was gone! I was so hopeful she had gone back to the others still in the pen, but there was no sign of her. Then I realized the dogs were barking... she'd gotten SO hot in the awful weather we were having that she landed in the dog pen to try and get a dirt bath in one of their scrapes! She was so exhausted and hot she let me walk right up to her and pick her up. I bet your mom felt that same relief to have her in her hands and put her back in the pen, and it was a great feeling. I'm glad you got Pip back!

 

[deerman]

yep when you try to walk them back, you need to understand the flight distance, some will let you get with a few feet , other little father. If you watch you can see them getting scare, before they fly , just hold back then, I have done it with ones ,that got out b4.

 

[MinxFox]

When I first got my pied female I could be several feet away from her and she would start flapping around and fly to the other side of the pen but now she eats out of my hand and is not spooky at all. It must be scary to have a new bird escape. You barely know them so it is hard to predict what they will do.

 

[Kedreeva]

Quote:
She wasn't afraid of me in the pen, strangely... I think just being out was too much for her to comprehend at first, and she just startled at the first movement I made. Thankfully it turned out well!