How to trap an escaped chicken

[kelser01]

I had a chicken escape my entire yard and is now eight houses down in my neighbors front yard. She escaped the first day I brought her home so she has no desire to return.... I have been feeding her bread crumbs for the last couple of mornings but have yet to get any trust from her to get her with in arms reach. I dont want to lunge at her and miss and be back to ground zero as she is a tad closer today than she was yesterday. The person I bought her from uses a net to catch the hens for purchase and when the net comes out all the hens RUN so I dont think a net would help me. I just didnt know if a humane trap would even work on a chicken.

PS I have no idea where she is roosting, Im trying to figure that out but cant find her near dusk... Ill try again tonight.

 

[hemet dennis]

you need to keep the net out of site till the last min. or find her at dusk

good luck

 

[zzGypsy]

maybe a dog crate - one of the open bar ones so it doesn't look like a trap? if you can get her eating treats, you might be able to toss them into the open door of a dog crate and then flip the door shut once she's in. might take several days of treat feeding near or in the crate.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

You need an elvil roundup stick! Move slow, long stick in each arm. MOVE SLOW. herd her into a corner. move slow. use sticks to secure her position in corner SLOWLY. aaaannnnddd POUNCE!

 

[wyododge]

It takes a bit, but all of our animals are trained by shaking a can of grain. When you shake it, they come running.

If you can put a dog crate (covered with blankets or something) with a small light in it, she may want to go in it. put a small dish of corn or something they really like... tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, etc inside. You will only have one shot, so make sure when she gets in, keep her there and don't let her out. Then lock her in the coop for about a week to make her understand it is home.

If she is getting used to you already, making clicks, or small sounds with the treat can works pretty well, sometimes it only takes a few times to get them to come to you. just don't make any sudden movements.

 

[fowlsessed]

Here's what you want to do. Get yourself a box or cage with an open end, the bigger the better. Then get any long stick and tie one end of some string or rope to it and break the stick so that when you place it under one of the rims of your box it is high enough for the chicken to walk under the box without having to really bend down. Bait the back of the box with bread crumbs(since thats what she's used to)or any other treat and then step back and hide. When she goes in for the bait, pull your string and she's caught. Something you could do is make your box a little heavier so that it falls faster. This works! Let us all know how it goes. And hope it helps.

 

[chicknmania]

A live trap may work. Use something like tuna fish. Of course you want to pick it up when it starts getting towards dusk. But we have caught ours in a live trap bf; accidentally.

You can also try taping the net on a long pole and have someone else with a net with a long pole.
That works sometimes too.

If your neighbor will cooperate you can ask them to put some food in a dish in say their garage; course they have to be willing to monitor it and be ready to close the garage door if the hen takes the bait.

All tried and true remedies for us; we caught our peacock last year using the garage/ neighbor/food method.

I could rent you my youngest who can catch anything...but that might be expensive.

 

[Tracydr]

Can you figure out where she roosts at night? Watch her at dusk going to roost. When it gets good and dark, sneak up and grab her. I've caught many a wild chicken, guinea and peafowl this way, even when I have to use a ladder to get up in the trees or rafters.
If you need a flashlight, shine quickly and then put the light so that it's shining down towards the ground, so as not to wake her up.

 

[hispoptart]

when one of my girls jumps the fence it take at least 4 of us moving slowly to corner her and then one of us goes for the grab. Sometimes takes a few shots at it but we always catch her. After you do catch her, keep her in the coop for about a week so she knows where home is.

 

[CluckyJay]

Get some of those large sticky rat traps. Hehe. Lay a lot of them out and sprinkle food all around them. Don't know many animals that can run away when they're all stuck together.

Just give the trapped chicken a sound dousing of vegetable oil and the traps slide right off.

I am mostly kidding.

A cage with food should work. Just slam the door shut behind her. I used to catch wild birds that way.