Catching uncooperative chickens

[juniperz]

My chickens have never been trusting and friendly, but now that I've been needing to catch them for stickflea treatments, they truly avoid me. Even if I go into their coop at night, they will wake up enough to run away after I catch the first few. (The structure of the coop is such that it's impossible to corner them while I have the panels open to reach inside.) Any ideas on catching very suspicious and avoidant chickens?

 

[cherrynberry]

My chickens have never been trusting and friendly, but now that I've been needing to catch them for stickflea treatments, they truly avoid me. Even if I go into their coop at night, they will wake up enough to run away after I catch the first few. (The structure of the coop is such that it's impossible to corner them while I have the panels open to reach inside.) Any ideas on catching very suspicious and avoidant chickens?

You tried to catch them in pure darkness? I have never had one run away in pure darkness. Chickens have poor vision in the dark. It seems that that is your best bet.

 

[Tre3hugger]

A net...

 

[juniperz]

You tried to catch them in pure darkness? I have never had one run away in pure darkness. Chickens have poor vision in the dark. It seems that that is your best bet.

Yes, as I said, even at night they will wake up and run out of the coop and hide.

A net...

Ah yes, I forgot that I have previously used a catch pole with small net (like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XPWXOHG/) to catch wayward chickens, but it was still very difficult and involved more time than I would like. BUT now I'm looking at big ol' cast nets (https://smile.amazon.com/Drasry-Saltwater-Fishing-0-59inch-Freshwater/dp/B0796X8TS1/) and wondering if one of those would work? Has anyone tried this? Or is there another type of net that would be more effective?

 

[kajetanwycz]

Yes, as I said, even at night they will wake up and run out of the coop and hide.

Ah yes, I forgot that I have previously used a catch pole with small net (like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XPWXOHG/) to catch wayward chickens, but it was still very difficult and involved more time than I would like. BUT now I'm looking at big ol' cast nets (https://smile.amazon.com/Drasry-Saltwater-Fishing-0-59inch-Freshwater/dp/B0796X8TS1/) and wondering if one of those would work? Has anyone tried this? Or is there another type of net that would be more effective?

What I do is get close enough without them running away then pounce on them

 

[Folly's place]

In the dark, with a very small flashlight works best. Not to mention that walk-in coop you need!!!
We have two nets, a small one like yours, and a bigger long handled net from the sporting goods store. Both are useful in different situations.
Even very tame birds will be offended when they are caught for treatments!
Mary

 

[Mrs. K]

I have never tried this, but I did read about this. A woman took a piece of chicken wire and made it into a cylinder about 20 inches across. She said she would just drop some feed, and set it over them. Then she could reach in over the top and pick them up.

 

[juniperz]

I have never tried this, but I did read about this. A woman took a piece of chicken wire and made it into a cylinder about 20 inches across. She said she would just drop some feed, and set it over them. Then she could reach in over the top and pick them up.

Thank you, I need those kinds of out of the box ideas!

In the dark, with a very small flashlight works best. Not to mention that walk-in coop you need!!!
We have two nets, a small one like yours, and a bigger long handled net from the sporting goods store. Both are useful in different situations.
Even very tame birds will be offended when they are caught for treatments!
Mary

I built a brand new, large coop for the chickens this year. I made it 4' tall and longhouse shaped rather than tall enough to walk in. I thought the walk-in height would be overkill. Boy am I regretting that decision.

 

[629864]

Thanks so much for this thread. While my RIR laying hens don't LOVE when I pick them up, generally they'll resort to a "squat and jiggle" and I'm able to catch them and pick them up for a pet...which I try to do regularly so they get the idea that nothing horrific happens when I handle them. The "ladies" are all very curious and follow behind me wherever I go. The ladies had a few instances of panic where I needed to shoo them back to their pen when they were first learning the layout of our farm and couldn't find their way back to their safety zone (pen). But they soon got the lay of the land and go everywhere within the fenced 1 acre surrounding the house. And all I have to do now to get them to come running is shake a food container.

However, my new group (EEs and Brown Leghorns...including 4 cockerells) have acted like I was a murderous predator from day one. They're 13 weeks old and I have only been able to catch 3 of the 16 since they were a few days old. And those three times were to get panicked teenagers back in their pen because they couldnt find the gate three feet away that they'd just gone through. One of the three was the EE cockerell and OMG the drama! He should be on stage doing Shakespeare!

Each time I try to shoo a wayward teenager back to the pen, they scream bloody murder even though I haven't done anything but walk casually behind them....and the young cockerells ALL pay very close attention to the brouhaha. I spend large amounts of time out with the flock everyday. I feed them. I coo at them. They see me handling the ladies and see that the ladies aren't harmed in any way. Yet the teenagers still are terrified of me.

So I've been very concerned about how the heck I'm going to catch one of those three brown leghorn roosters when the need arises. The suggestion of a net sounds like it could be a very helpful method of the actual 'catch', but then how to reach under the net and grab said panicked boy without getting an arm full of spurs?

 

[Tre3hugger]

but then how to reach under the net and grab said panicked boy without getting an arm full of spurs?

I have had luck with the net. To prevent injury, hold the net over the bird until you are right next to it. Then flip the net, which will momentarily turn the bird. Reach your hand in and grab their ankles and remove them from the net by their feet. It may seem kind of brutal but it prevents the feet from tangling in the net. After they are upside down for a few secs the blood rushed to their head and they calm right down. At this point safely transfer your big spurred rooster to a football hold or however you want to hold him.

If they are young teens or you have gloves on or are unconcerned with getting hurt you can just reach one hand under the net and grab them any old way. If they are small, grabbing by the "shoulders" or right where the wing meets the body works well, with a thumb under one wing and your hand over their back. I have big hands and can lift many of my birds this way, which was showed to me by a state poultry official during testing. The above method should only really be needed with the strongest/biggest spurred "dangerous" birds. I have mostly needed my net for guineas!

This is the net I have. https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/...NoQksCQUMGyeX7tGf3m8qB_CS03hni7RoCDaMQAvD_BwE

Hope this helps!