HELP ME! CATCH MY ROGUE HEN

[Vfedorovsky]

Hi all!

I have what seems to be a unique problem on my hands.

One of my hens went rogue a few months ago, ran off, and never returned.

I assumed she was dead as we have a lot of raccoons and foxes in the area.

Turns out she is not dead and is living in thick brush on the perimeter of my property.

She must be hungry because just about every morning as of late, she shows up at the coop where her friends are.

Problem is she is so FAST I can't catch her. It's as if she has gone into the wild and developed extremely sharp skills: her hearing is amazing - she runs right away just at sound of my voice from inside, she has the ability to fly very high, and she can run a very long distance faster than any chicken I have ever seen.

I think my only option is to somehow trap her. Otherwise there is no way she will survive the winter (Pennsylvania).

Can you please help me?

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[nchls school]

Hi all! 

I have what seems to be a unique problem on my hands. 

One of my hens went rogue a few months ago, ran off, and never returned. 

I assumed she was dead as we have a lot of raccoons and foxes in the area.

Turns out she is not dead and is living in thick brush on the perimeter of my property. 

She must be hungry because just about every morning as of late, she shows up at the coop where her friends are. 

Problem is she is so FAST I can't catch her. It's as if she has gone into the wild and developed extremely sharp skills: her hearing is amazing - she runs right away just at sound of my voice from inside, she has the ability to fly very high, and she can run a very long distance faster than any chicken I have ever seen. 

I think my only option is to somehow trap her. Otherwise there is no way she will survive the winter (Pennsylvania).

Can you please help me?

Any and all advice would be appreciated. 

Thank you! 

Might she be brooding eggs? How about a live trap baited with a something or other you know she would go for. If the coop is open put the feed inside and close the door when she goes in. Showing up every morning does make me wonder about her brooding eggs. If that's the case she will be easy to catch when she brings chicks with her to eat. She won't run away then.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Might she be brooding eggs? How about a live trap baited with a something or other you know she would go for. If the coop is open put the feed inside and close the door when she goes in. Showing up every morning does make me wonder about her brooding eggs. If that's the case she will be easy to catch when she brings chicks with her to eat. She won't run away then.

x2

 

[aart]

If she's been gone a couple months it's unlikely she's sitting a nest, unless you have no rooster....or else she's sitting on some rotten eggs.

I'd go with the live trap...with the only source of food in that trap(you'd have to keep your other birds confined).

I have a long story about trapping a stray chicken in my yard, took a couple weeks to get her.

 

[Vfedorovsky]

Thanks! Any suggestions on what kind of trap to use?

I would love to hear your story as well!

 

[nchls school]

Thanks! Any suggestions on what kind of trap to use? Live trap-one where when she enters to get thhe feed the trap is sprung and the door comes down behind her trapping her inside.

I would love to hear your story as well! Me too.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Do you know where she sleeps?
If you do,when it's dark go to where she sleeps,
Catch her and lock her in the coop or a garage
And get her use to humans,
And whiten a few days she should be back to normal
Hope you get her

 

[aart]

Thanks! Any suggestions on what kind of trap to use?

I would love to hear your story as well!

You could try a live trap....I rigged for manual tripping one out of a small wire dog crate.

Didn't really want to type out story again but was able to find where I posted about it before:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/993990/evil-renegade#post_15456698