Does anyone have wild chickens in their area?

[opihiman911]

I live on Kauai and we have a HUGE population of wild chickens, both wild jungle fowl and wild "domestic" chickens that got loose after Hurricaine Iniki. For the most part the wild chickens stay out of my yard because of my 2 dogs.
Recently I have had a pair of young hens that have been getting out of my run and have been cruising the yard enjoying their freedom. I clipped their wings thinking they are flying over my 7' fence but that didn't work. They figured out that they can make 3 or 4 jumps from one place to another till they make it to the roof of the shed and then out to freedom. My dogs know not to mess with my girls and they a cuise the yard till I open the door to the coop and they go back in.
So far I haven't seen them interact with the wild chickens. I am worried though that they will meet new friends who tell them all the great things of living wild and free and they will eventually disappear.
Will this happen? Or will they always come back to the coop because they know there is food in there? They are a littl over a year old and have always lived in the run. I don't think I have to worry about them bringing strangers home because the wild ones are pretty skittish and run away whenever someone is in the yard. Anyone out there have experience with wild chickens and freeranging thier egglayers?

Aloha,
Cory

 

[silkiechicken]

I think the two places I hear of wild chickens is HI and FL because the weather is warm enough and type of preds low enough that they can survive.

As for mixing with wild hens... could happen... I had a hen decide she didn't want to live with the rest of the silkies and started to sleep in the main layer coop... I usually have a terrible time trying to get the birds to transition to the layer coop from the grower coops.

 

[DTchickens]

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Never had any wild chickens myself. but i know theres alot in Hawaii and all parts of asia. (junglefowl) and some in texas somewhere. im sure their all over the place though you just dont hear of them. I dont think you would have much trouble of them teaching your chickens to get out. They would stay the only bad that could come of this ( i think) would be them Learning that you mean food then you have more chickens you never wanted :}. theres also the factor. Their wild birds and theres no telling what they pick up in their Freeranging time, so they could get sickness's and then Give it to your birds if come in contact. Keep a close eye on them.

 

[Pine Grove]

100's of them near me http://www.fitzgeraldga.org/fitzgeraldchickens.htm

 

[Guitartists]

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Sweeet

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

question does anyoen go arround and collect the eggs of the wild chickens?

 

[raffello]

I'm living in Hawaii right now, too. On Oahu, there's a restaurant called Pizza Bob's, on the North Shore. I go there a lot, it's a great place. But, anyway, the parking lot is inhabited by a large colony of feral chickens who hang out by the dumpsters. I've wanted to go over there and look for eggs, but there are a couple of really mean, gamey looking roosters... Theres also a bunch of cats that take over from the chickens when it's time for them to roost. I've been thinking about a trap and spay operation, but again, some of those cats look mean...

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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That's very interesting, the reason the birds were introduced. The love/hate relationship sounds quite a bit like what is going on in Key West.

-Kim

 

[opihiman911]

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I have from time to time found a nest from a wild chicken that I have taken eggs from. That is how I got started raising chickens. After Hurricaine Iniki hit Kauai I noticed a wild chicken going under my porch. I found her nest and started taking her eggs to eat along with all the MRE and canned foods we were eating. I kept collecting her eggs for over a month before she got wise to me and moved somewhere else.

I move 2 of the perches they were using to jump higher and higher to the roof and this morning they were still in their run. Hopefully I solved the problem. My pen isn't covered so I've actually been waiting for a wild one to jump from the roof into the run to eat the feed. So far hasn't happened. Getting a wild chicken out of the run would be a chore.

Cory

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

atleast your chickens dont mountain climb out of the run. they just climb my wire right over to the other side. Mine just seem to thing the grass is always greener on the other side