Help-should I catch this chicken? And how?

bekachickenborn

Chirping
Jul 17, 2016
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I posted a thread previously about this. About three weeks ago, I brought home two 4 month-old chickens. They didn't know my property or us very well yet and four days after getting them my husband lost one of them in the large pine tree near our house. We looked and searched and never found her. Well this morning (two weeks later) she was hanging out in my yard. I couldn't believe she was alive. She is an extremely skittish chicken and does not like being handled and doesn't know us very well. When I tried to go near her I was within about 15 feet and she flew off into the woods. I know it may be a lost cause but I do feel a bit of an obligation to try to catch and care for her. But I don't even know where to start. She will not let me come near her. Any tips on how to catch a chicken? We were going to leave the run open with food and water out hoping that she would get hungry and move on in. We also considered putting a small animal trap out though I don't know if she would go in there. My husband said he saw her run up towards the coop but as soon as she saw him she went back into the woods. We both work so we don't have time to be chasing this chicken around all day every day. It's extra frustrating since we can't get near her at all. I honestly can't believe she is alive after two weeks of living in our woods.
 
I suppose you have tried luring her with treats? Throw something irresistible to her (noodles, berries, cheese, boiled egg) and try to lure her somewhere where you can lock or corner her (fenced in area, a barn you can lock).
If you don't have a good place to corner her, try just enticing her with treats accompanied with a discernible noise over a few days until she knows that you bring her goodies. Then try to lure her back to the run, or wherever the other one is.
 
First bait her to some location with live meals worms and shell corn in a small bowl the meal worms can not escape. Once that works then use same mix to bait a live trap. Make so trap in shade because you do not want in her in full sun on a hot day for any length of time.
 
I suppose you have tried luring her with treats? Throw something irresistible to her (noodles, berries, cheese, boiled egg) and try to lure her somewhere where you can lock or corner her (fenced in area, a barn you can lock).

If you don't have a good place to corner her, try just enticing her with treats accompanied with a discernible noise over a few days until she knows that you bring her goodies. Then try to lure her back to the run, or wherever the other one is.


I will try treats this afternoon. She showed up as I was leaving for work so I couldn't really fuss too much this morning. We have two other adults plus the friend she came with. I think I may keep the run open, with treats, and her buddy in a cage in the run to try to lure her. I will add your suggestion into that as well. I don't think I'll be hand catching her...I'm pretty good at it with my original chickens but not when I can't even get near her.
 
So
First bait her to some location with live meals worms and shell corn in a small bowl the meal worms can not escape. Once that works then use same mix to bait a live trap. Make so trap in shade because you do not want in her in full sun on a hot day for any length of time.


So you can use a small animal trap (like the ones I use for raccoons)?
 
How is the other bird making out? I would just ignore the wild one and hope she decides that family life is better. Once she joins the flock she should stay.


The other bird is good. I introduced her to my other two birds last week. Minimal pecking/squabbling. My birds are being sort of jerks but I think they are still establishing the pecking order. I can't figure out if the new chicken is depressed (do they get depressed?), subordinate to the others, or just a very docile chicken. She isn't aggressive at all and even though i put food and water in several corners she doesn't eat as much as my birds. She is a silver laced Wyandotte, and my original two girls are production reds. The wild chicken is a black sex link.
 
I had something similar happen last year. We brought home 4, 4 month old pullets. When we went to get them out, the blue andalusian flew over my husband's head and out of the run (he was standing with the door open). She was loose for about 2 weeks. We used a live trap to catch her. I put a flock block and a dish of water in it,and put it under a tree near where I had last seen her. It took a few days, but she did go in and we caught her. She's very flighty, and still not a big fan of people. Never forgave us for catching her. Lol. She's really great at free ranging though, and lays an egg a day so I can't complain.
 
I had something similar happen last year. We brought home 4, 4 month old pullets. When we went to get them out, the blue andalusian flew over my husband's head and out of the run (he was standing with the door open). She was loose for about 2 weeks. We used a live trap to catch her. I put a flock block and a dish of water in it,and put it under a tree near where I had last seen her. It took a few days, but she did go in and we caught her. She's very flighty, and still not a big fan of people. Never forgave us for catching her. Lol. She's really great at free ranging though, and lays an egg a day so I can't complain.


Nice to hear that all hope may not be lost! Glad you had success. I'm hoping we do too. After two weeks, I thought she was a goner for sure.
 

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