How to catch a cockerel

[dazz02]

This may seem like the average question that i have read posts from others asking the same thing however i think mine scenario is more complex. There is a woodland close to me where people dump all there cockerels, as cockerels do they often fight each other and can sometimes kill each other. I decided i would have one of them before it gets killed or kills another. How can i catch it? They all roast in trees about 10-12 foot high so i can't just grab him at night which is when i go to catch him. If i scare him down he often runs away and the wood is covered in shrubs and nettles so he can easily hide from me. I did climb the tree and got close enough to grab him but then realised, how do i climb down the tree with a cockerel in one hand. I have spent around 3 hours so far trying to catch him with no look. I will try again tomorrow night.

Any advice on how to catch him and devices that i could use would be good, i don't want to buy anything in however i have a variety of materials available.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Get a trap, like for squirrels or rabbits but a big one (live trap)
Set it it'll snap at the smallest step. Put chicken scratch in it, one of the cockerals will go in and set it off. Check regularly, and if you don't catch the one you want DO NOT RELEASE IT BACK. Take him home, and then find him a new home or feed him Up and have rooster soup. It'd be much more humane then living in the woods and fighting to death.


IF you don't have a live trap, take a day off and go down there. Get LOTS of scratch, bread, etc. and throw it down. Have a long handled net. When he comes close enough grab him.
Please don't just rescue him, all of those boys are struggling, and they do deserve a better home. Like I said, try to find a good home or feed them up then kill them HUMANLY.
Just so you know, there's a reason they're being dumped, not only because they can't have roosters, but also because they're bad / aggressive boys.
But please, help all the ones you can.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Oh and if you can grab him climbing the tree, get a sack / purse -like bag that has a strap that'll go over your shoulder, then when you grab him, a shove him in it and climb on down

 

[lilliesanchicks]

Catch it at night less chance of it getting spooked and taking off.

 

[Mrs. K]

A fish net, with a handle works well, if you can get that close. The kind you scoop the fish into the boat when fishing.

 

[buttercup95]

I would say bring a ladder. or bring a friend and if you climb the tree put him in a sack and hand him down to a tree. If you can't reach all the way to your friend a three foot free fall won't kill him as long as your friend catches it before it hits the ground your set.

 

[dazz02]

Some great ideas thank you. I like the idea of a bag and could try it out however it may be difficult to hold him and hold the bag out while i put him in it. When i grab him by the legs he often takes off and we get stuck in the branches so i generally have to let him go. I could perhaps use a bag as a net and try to put the bag over him while he's roosting.

I like the idea of a trap however it isn't suitable as the woodland is a public area so i don't want anything that may get me in trouble, it would look bad if i caught somebodies dog! People dump anything they don't want, i've seen ducks, a hen that follows you everywhere (1 hen with around 8 cockerels, so i had to take her) and even a rabbit that looked like a pet one. Someone else has taken most of them when i went last night, either that or they have gone elsewhere or been killed. There are now just 4 cockerels.

I intend to try again tonight in about 9 hours from this post. I will take a bag and try different methods as suggested. From last nights experience i will also take a lot of torches as i lost it because it went too dark. If i can follow him though the woods without loosing him he may tire and just roost on the ground and then i'll grab him, simple as that, i wish! I will also try out a method i though of.

A lanyard clip attached to a piece of string/rope. I can get pritty close to them when it gets dark so i thought i could clip a lanyard around its leg. A piece of string/rope could then lead from the lanyard to me. I would then be attached to the cockerel by the lanyard and string/rope, i would then reel him in as when i start to pull he will run away like crazy. It may be daft and not work but i might give it a go.

Thanks for all the advice and keep it coming, it makes great reading.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You will need a flash light so that you can see what your doing, but also so that you can blind or dazzle the rooster with the light. You also need a tow-sack or some other contraption to carry your new fowls in, and for a first time chicken catcher a helper is not a bad idea. If these bad boys are 10 -12 feet off the ground then you will also need an 8 - 10 foot long 1 inch by 6 inch or similar board.

When the rooster of you dreams is on the roost, it is dark, and things are quite, shine the light on the cockerel you want. Next ease the top edge (end) of your board gently into his breast area, just in front of his feet were he is gripping his roost perch and then slowly and gently push up and back just a dab. The bird will respond by stepping onto what he thinks is a new roost pole to keep his perch. when he is on the end of your board gently lower him hand over hand fashion low enough so that you or your helper can gently grab him. Repeat ad nauseam.

Oh I almost forgot, this also works for pullets and hens.

 

[RedJungleFowl]

Why don't u put one of your hen in the cage then put it in the middle of the woods i bet they will fly down and do their little dance and just try to move closer and closer then when he near just use the net and the reason why i think they will come down is because since they are all male they should all fight for her just a ideal...

 

[dazz02]

nice idea redjunglefowl, that sounds good to me. Perhaps if i put my hen in a cage i could get the cockerel to just walk straight in to it. I somehow don't think it would be so easy. I'll give it a try it sounds like the best idea to me. chickengeorgeto i wouldn't be able to fit such a large board in to my car and i've tried dazzling them with a light however they just run off so i don't think that would suitable.