Chicks on the loose!

[seventreesfarm]

So today we spotted one of our hens coming out of a brush patch with a trail of chicks behind her. We normally close the flock out of that area at bedtime, then open it around 1pm, hoping it's late enough to keep them from laying out in the brush. Judging by the drop in eggs in the nest boxes, and now the clutch of chicks, this isn't working.

When I get home from work today I'll move some fence so they can only access the mowed, non-brushy area, but what is the best way to catch the hen & chicks?

They look to be fairly young, so hopefully mom can keep them warm for now. My partner & I have screwy work schedules, so Weds afternoon is the soonest we are both around to go bushwhacking if we have to drive them out. I don't know if mom is sneaking back to the coop to eat & drink, so no idea if treats will lure her in easier than chasing them out, but I'll try that once I have the rest of the flock back in the henyard.

Ugh! Chickies are so cute, but I prefer them to be in the incubator and broody coop, not running loose in the bushes!

 

[OreoPlymothRock]

How I round my chickens up is getting a long stick and guiding them into their pen. So if they try to run to the side I would block them with the stick. Chickens are always afraid of sticks. I don't know if you can do the same.
Hope this helps.

 

[rides2far]

I saw this on TV. Ranchers were trying to get their hens in the coop. They took a long stick & put a black plastic trash bag on it. When they waved it over the hens heads, in they went at about 100 mph. I don't know if it would work in the open as you're describing, but it's worth a try.

 

[CoopedUpChicken]

I don't know if you have hawks or not, but it's a good idea to have some areas where they can escape to or hide if a hawk is in the area.

 

[seventreesfarm]

We have hawks and owls and eagles, but we also have tall grass, and plenty of other cover for free-ranging chickens.

Luckily when i got home from work, mom hen had brought her babies to the edge of some tall grass and was hunkered down. I was able to swoop down on her, toss her in a pen, then round up all 10 just-hatched peepers. They're snugged down in an old dog house in the stable, and everyone seems healthy.

Unfortunately it's a hen that is not on my list of breeding stock, so I'm planning to list them all for sale. Who knows, maybe someone wants an instant flock.