Found a chicken on road - Help!

[noellexx]

Hi, I am not a chicken owner and have very little experience with them. I live in a suburban area that does not typically have any wondering around, but today I spotted one wandering around in the ditch next to a very busy road by a strip center. My best guess is that it may have escaped from a nearby farmer's market. I tried following it around for a bit but it was far too skittish and I did not want to risk scaring it into the road. My question is, would it be best to leave it there and hope someone comes back for it? Or should I try to catch it and find the owner? If so, how do I go about it? Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask, I wasn't sure if it fit under emergencies.

 

[Diana_burns04]

Go pick it up!! See if she is hurt!!

 

[DobieLover]

Wow. Poor thing. Chickens are skittish by nature. The best way to catch it is at night after it roosts. But that would mean watching it all day to see where it goes to roost for the night.

 

[nuthatched]

Is there a animal control or someone you can call? If you want to go back, I would suggest taking some sort of bait (greens, feed or tomatoes) and taking a pet kennel that maybe it can be lured into, I'd hate to see it run over but sometimes it can't be helped if it's too skittish.

 

[MaryJanet]

I would capture it. Try luring with treats instead of chasing. Give it time. Then you can try doorknocking or facebook to find the owners. If you can't keep it, try your social network or someone on this forum might live near you and be able to home it. Failing those options, you should be able place it with an animal shelter.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Would it be possible for you to get a picture of it? It could possibly be a rooster that somebody dumped. If you do manage to catch it and it turns out to be a male, you might end up stuck with it. It can be really difficult to find homes for roosters. I suppose that's why people just dump them

 

[chicklove14]

Bring it to an animal care center

 

[noellexx]

Thank you everyone! I have a kennel and will go back to try and lure it in. Unfortunately, it might be a bit until I can. It seems to be hungry as it did run for the few chips I tossed out. I'm hoping it won't have moved much. I will also try and come back at night to see if I can find where its roosted.

 

[ValerieJ]

I would definitely get the chicken off the road. Treats will help. Being quiet and moving slow helps. Maybe bring a chair and some treats. If that doesn't work, you can use a net (assuming you have one), but be very careful as they can get injured in nets easily.

But, I say that because I would know what to do with a chicken. You might want to call animal control and see if they will pick it up, or at least take it from you if you can get it.

 

[MaryJanet]

If I were trying to capture a strange chicken, I would lay a trail of meal worms into a cardboard box. You should be able to get mealworms from most pet shops.