Chickens Just Wandered into My Yard.

[RWise]

If they have gone wild they may be able to fly very well, and may roam fairly far,,
I gain roosters but never hens,,,
Good luck!

 

[Tesumph]

If they have gone wild they may be able to fly very well, and may roam fairly far,,
I gain roosters but never hens,,,
Good luck!

If they had “gone wild” they wouldn’t have let themselves get caught and put in an aviary.

 

[beans2]

If they had “gone wild” they wouldn’t have let themselves get caught and put in an aviary.

My birds live wild on 10 acres of mostly woodland and routinely fly 12 feet up into a tree but are happy to be picked up and led around by me.

 

[Tesumph]

My birds live wild on 10 acres of mostly woodland and routinely fly 12 feet up into a tree but are happy to be picked up and led around by me.

Free ranging and wild isn’t the same thing. A domesticated chicken can’t be wild, it can be stray or feral.

 

[RWise]

Free ranging and wild isn’t the same thing. A domesticated chicken can’t be wild, it can be stray or feral.

Free range only means the coop door is open and the birds can go outside if they choose to..

 

[Tesumph]

Free range only means the coop door is open and the birds can go outside if they choose to..

I know in the context of “free range eggs” it just means access to outdoors, but 100% free range/roam would (or should?) imply there is no containment of the birds.. if there is another word for that, I can’t think of it.

Either way, wild doesn’t just mean “not contained.” It’s the opposite of domesticated. You certainly couldn’t approach a wild pheasant and pick it up, could you?

 

[RWise]

I know in the context of “free range eggs” it just means access to outdoors, but 100% free range/roam would (or should?) imply there is no containment of the birds.. if there is another word for that, I can’t think of it.

Either way, wild doesn’t just mean “not contained.” It’s the opposite of domesticated. You certainly couldn’t approach a wild pheasant and pick it up, could you?

Pastured is what I see,,,but even then most are within a fence.
I have never picked up a tame pheasant either.
IMHO feral is another way to say wild, just was not intended to be wild, like the hogs on my brothers place, you certainly would not want to try to pick one up!.

 

[MROO]

They look much too healthy to have wandered far and their feathers are too nice to have fallen off a truck - those girls are usually pretty banged up. If your other neighnors don't claim them and you still want to find their original owner (not someone just looking for free chickens,) I'd post a "lost dog" type ad or poster. All you need to say is "Found. Chickens," your general location and "Contact to Identify" and a way to get in touch with you. If you don't have people identify them without seeing them, they're liable to end up with a trip to freezer camp as someone's free meal.

 

[Tesumph]

Pastured is what I see,,,but even then most are within a fence.
I have never picked up a tame pheasant either.
IMHO feral is another way to say wild, just was not intended to be wild, like the hogs on my brothers place, you certainly would not want to try to pick one up!.

Yes, I guess even pastured birds have fences, but if they can just fly over or go through I don’t think it counts. I dunno.

Everything is either domesticated or wild. If a domesticated animal gets loose and is living “the streets” (usually not very well) it is stray and still capable of rehabilitating. But if a (domesticated) stray animal starts multiplying and over a few generations becomes “street smart” and capable of fending for itself without humans, it is then feral. A feral animal usually can’t be rehabilitated to become a pet.
And then there’s the process of domesticating a wild animal over generations like they’re doing with foxes in Russia or whatever..

I know this is all nitpicking and i guess irrelevant to chickens, but it’s important terminology in dog and cat rescue so I was just informing haha.

 

[cottontail farm]

They're a very pretty mix of breeds, and healthy looking. Someone was obviously taking care good care of them at one point.
I can't imagine a group of hens would travel very far from home on their own... certainty not far enough that the group of them would get lost.
It's really nice of you to drive around and look for the owner. When I have a hen disappear I just assume something killed it (sad fact here). It really seems like someone thought you would give them a good home and did a drive-by drop off.