Evil Renegade

[Dorkfish]

A friend gave me some game chicks and of the five, four turned out to be Roos, and were returned. The pullet has escaped into the woods and has been mostly living there for at least a month. I was heartbroken, so I bought two Rhode Island Whites. They are in a coop and run and were quite happy and cuddly. Now the little game hen comes running out of the woods and is enticing these good birds to join her life of crime. She circles their run and calls to them, and when I come out, she disappears into the thick undergrowth. Yesterday, one of my RIWs got out while I was feeding them, and I spent the day getting cut to pieces in the briers chasing her and her evil friend, the game pullet. I finally caught the white, but she wants back in the woods now.

Am I crazy, but is the renegade game pullet corrupting my sweet RIWs, and if so, what do I do?

 

[aart]

Set a live trap and catch that renegade!!....
......put her in the coop/run with the others and keep them all locked up for a few weeks.

 

[Dorkfish]

She's too smart for the live trap. Been trying that for weeks. All I've gotten is a raccoon! Maybe I'll put it next to the run where she goes to entice the good chickens. I've been putting it in the woods. Thank you!

 

[aart]

Had to catch a stray chicken that took up residence in my yard last summer. I rigged a dog crate in a shed with a long wire to close the door that went to a another nearby shed where I could hide but still see and baited it with seed which I let her eat freely of for several days.

I could see most all of this out my office window so surveillance was pretty easy.

Each evening she would go in to eat before going to roost, one night when I saw her come near I went into my hidey hole and when she sent in to eat I pulled the wire to close the door and viola, CAPTURED!

All that took a couple weeks. First I found where she roosted and tried to grab her off her roost, but I missed and she started roosting higher.

 

[Dorkfish]

I see this little monster several times a day. Well, you've motivated me to try again to catch her. I'd really like to make her a productive member of our chicken society.

 

[aart]

Think about where you can set up a trap....
....then start putting food and water there for her get her in the habit of eating and drinking there without you bothering her.
Eventually you should be able to catch her.

I had one fail, the wire tied to the cage door broke because I pulled it too hard, took another 2-3 days before she'd go back there to eat.

Oh and meanwhile make sure you don't let the others out of the coop/run. ;-)

 

[Dorkfish]

I caught her! I set up the live trap next to the coop and filled it with corn. She was on her way to hassle the other girls and must have had a moment of weakness!

She's in the run now with the others, getting a peck when she misbehaves! Thank you so much for your calm words of wisdom. I had given up on her.

 

[aart]

I caught her! I set up the live trap next to the coop and filled it with corn. She was on her way to hassle the other girls and must have had a moment of weakness!

She's in the run now with the others, getting a peck when she misbehaves! Thank you so much for your calm words of wisdom. I had given up on her.

Sweet!! Congrats!

My wisest wisdom for chickens is - calm and patience, observation and common sense - that combo will solve most your chicken problems.
Work with lots of the rest of life too. haha

 

[Toddrick]

That is a hilarious story! I wonder if the game bird will call the coop home after a couple weeks, and be able to free range without the "call of the wild" drawing her back into the trees at night. I could never handle a game bird LOL.

 

[Dorkfish]

She's getting pecked here and there, but the little booger's got it coming. Thanks for the help and sympathy, folks!