And what I did wrong last night that let Red get away last night.
This is how it should be:
What happened last night was that I had to take my hand off his wings to close the door and clip the carabiners in place. That let him flap, which loosened my grip a bit so that his claws caught in my knitted gloves.
When I attempted to shift him to free his claws and prevent tearing my gloves he had enough leverage to rip himself free.
Tonight I had my son handle all the doors and now Red is safe in the bachelor pen.
When done correctly this is easier than wrestling a protesting chicken into and back out of a pet carrier, but last night I was a little too confident after having carried my persistent escapees back to their pens so often and didn't think about the difference knitted gloves would make.
If I've got to carry a bird in weather cold enough to require gloves again I'll wear leather ones.
This is how it should be:
- Head tucked under the elbow with the tail out and the weight of the body held on the arm.
- Feet secured in your hand.
- Other hand over the wings to prevent flapping.
What happened last night was that I had to take my hand off his wings to close the door and clip the carabiners in place. That let him flap, which loosened my grip a bit so that his claws caught in my knitted gloves.
When I attempted to shift him to free his claws and prevent tearing my gloves he had enough leverage to rip himself free.
Tonight I had my son handle all the doors and now Red is safe in the bachelor pen.
When done correctly this is easier than wrestling a protesting chicken into and back out of a pet carrier, but last night I was a little too confident after having carried my persistent escapees back to their pens so often and didn't think about the difference knitted gloves would make.
If I've got to carry a bird in weather cold enough to require gloves again I'll wear leather ones.