defiant little pullet

[catballou24]

so we got 5 new gals for our flock yesterday. they are around 4.5 - 5 months old, according to the gal at the feed store. we put them in with our other birds who are much bigger. well, the leghorn newbie got out when we went in to refill waterers, and she won't come back! she is going between our yard and our neighbors just free ranging away! this wouldn't be a problem, except the neighbor has a boxer pup who she lets out in the back part of the property every so often, where the leghorn keeps going. we have tried everything to herd her back with the rest. she seems perfectly content on her own...slept in a tree last night. any ideas on how to get her back and into the coop? she's too quick for us - we spent 2 hours yesterday afternoon/evening trying to corral her back. i don't want anything to happen to her, but she is sure frustrating us....hahah

thanks for the suggestions in advance..

 

[PurpleChicken]

People are gonna hate me for this but when one or two
of mine get defiant I send Sandy the hound out after
them. Usually she'll just scare them back to the coop or
corner them somewhere where I can get them. If that
doesn't work she'll chatch the bird and hold it with her
paws or mouth. SHE WON'T BITE HARD.

So, if ya have a dog try walking it on a leash around the
bird and see if you can scare her back in.

If you have kids you may wanna try to get them to go
on a "Chicken Hunt". They'll get her, eventually.

Good Luck

 

[okiechick57]

I have one of those fishing nets made of cloth twine......was a decoration around my pond until I had to catch a hen of mine........works great.........helps alot..try that.otherwise she will never come to coop once out all day and night....

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Good idea.

 

[catballou24]

oh..i don't have one of those, nor do we have a dog! hahah but i can get a net for sure. we have to go out and get some more concrete for the coop anyway. we noticed a spot in the very back of their run where they are scratching and the little ones will pretty much just go right under the fence soon!

so i'll see if i can find a cheap net at the hardware store while we are there..thanks!!

oh, and my girls are too young to chase the chicken...i wish they could get her! hahah thanks again..

 

[catballou24]

got her! we put chicken wire along the fence when she came back on our side (it's a hogwire fence), put all the other chickens into the coop and left the run open. she got confused when she saw me and couldn't get through the fence so ran right into the run. we closed the door and she's safely in her home once again. then we let all the chickens out again. dh put bird cloth over the run and poured some more cement along the back part of the fence so the run is now pretty much escape proof.

now i can let my older gals (3) out in the yard to free range...they've been dying to get out...

thanks for your suggestions!!

 

[GoodEgg]

Glad you got her!

I was going to post here, in case someone searches this thread later ...

I've had a lot of times the ducks don't want to be caught, and an occasional chicken.

I have a couple of large, light wire cages that I used for the duck brooder, and some extra chicken wire. Anything like that will work. The 2" poultry wire is best as long as they aren't totally panicking (or a baby bantam). I make a sort of wide "V" with it and walk behind the bird until they get towards the corner. Usually at that time they realize they are trapped and start looking for a gap in the wire and dodging back and forth in a small area, and I can easily walk up to them and catch them then. It helps that it's unfamiliar, so they are distracted looking for the "door" that isn't there.

Don't know if that would have worked on a breed like a leghorn, since mine may be slower, but in case it helps someone someday, I thought I'd post it.

That said, I think the net is a great idea, and I know others use those too.

trish

 

[catballou24]

well...the defiant little pullet got out again! argh!! she got pecked by her friends so badly that i removed her and put her in the dog carrier we have. when i went to check on her in the morning, she dashed out of that thing so fast i didn't even see her!! she's in the woods next to our house now...keeps coming up to the coop though and then as soon as i get near her she's off again. we are pretty much at our wit's end with this one...at least she's safe on the side she's on...no dogs. other predators are a different story. the way we got her last time was to put all the chickens into the coop and then chase her into the run...but she's not going by the run now and it's so hot out i don't want to lock up all the chickens from their nice cool run. so it's a game of cat and mouse with this one...

so far, my experience with leghorns is not positive...

 

[LynnGrigg]

....Sounds like the one I got a few months back. She went over the eight foot fence first thing. My JRT took her down a few days later and fortunately just took her tail feathers out. She's fine now and laying. I clipped her wings so she can fly out now. She's a nice enough hen - just flighty. Good luck with yours. They are great layers but do tend to be skittish.

 

[rufus]

Born to be free. I just love seeing feral chickens, they are so free and independent.

Rufus