Chickens are MUCH tougher than I thought!! UPDATE

[beccawprice]

So I switched my chickens from the chicken tractor to the winter coop last week. 8 of them I caught and moved successfully, because they're normal, polite chickens. One of them, however, has gone rogue. Renegade. On her own.

I can't catch her!!! Every day I try different tempting treats, the old run and dive, or various other methods to lure her into my arms. The other coop is far enough away she has no idea where it is, so she's very happily living under my deck.

It has been between 4 and 20 degrees for the last week. And she's a scrawny leghorn!! She's fine. Better than fine, in fact. Judging by the speed and agility she's managed to develop in the last week, I'd say frigid temperatures and a life in the wild is agreeing with her.

I even set a rudimentary chicken trap with a laundry basket and a log with a rope tied to it, and food underneath. Hasn't worked yet.

So, amazing friends of the Backyard Forum, what on earth can I do to catch my rogue chicken???

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Pick her off the roost at night. Oh...she probably roosts in a crawl space too small for you to get in?

 

[oldchickenman]

last year i had 4 rir roos who would not go in the coop at night no matter what the weather. they stayed out it one night we had some freezeing rain i thought sure they would be dead. they were there on there saw horse they allways roosted on with ice all over them i brushed the ice off them they went on as usual they were hard core. they made it thru the winter fine.

 

[beccawprice]

She roosts underneath the deck--no space for humans, only renegade chickens.

 

[kk454]

When we first brought our hens home from my mother in laws, 6 of them managed to find a hole in my defenses. They enjoyed 2 or 3 minutes of pleasant pen-free pecking before our Newfoundland saw them. All six scattered in a matter of seconds in the waist high grass. My wife and I managed to catch 2 before we had to leave for Thanksgiving dinner. One of my wife's cousins had a trained bird dog with them, so they offered to help us find the rest. (Worried the chickens wouldn't come back to the pen.) We spent the next 2 hours chasing chickens around our ranch and had a ball. We found all but one, which showed up the next morning.

13 hens from mother in law - $50
1 Newfoundland dog - $ embarrassed as to what she has cost us
Friends with Bird dog - 12 pack of beer
Not having to tell your mother in law that you killed her 2 pet hens the first day you had them.......Priceless.

Good luck on your adventures. It took four of us to round our wild ones up.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

We have trick for dealing with fast hens.
We have several long handled landing nets ( for fish ). Adding several feet to your reach works very well.

 

[Mahonri]

Treats and a net.

 

[Lee in Michigan]

Maybe try closing off the area under the deck during the day, so when she heads there at dusk, you can grab her. Good luck!

 

[fldiver97]

Any luck catching your wild child??

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

the old run and dive,

Would love to see a video of this