My banties are still in the maple tree!!!

[rughooker]

I posted a message back in July about 16 of my peeps being killed in their coop early one morning. Their moms and dads watched in horror. That evening 6 banties and one saved peep roosted in one of my maple trees. I still don't know how that tiny little peep got up there. It is Sept.3rd and they still roost up there every night. They are free range so they are really never too hungry to be enticed with food. When I do throw them table scraps, they don't get close enough for me to even try to touch them. They go pretty high in the tree and my husband and I can't climb trees anymore.(we're 60) Any ideas on catching them? PLEASE, I don't want them spending an Ohio winter in a bare tree. I really need some suggestions. They are about 12 feet high. Thank you.

rughooker

 

[horsejody]

Mine did that once because they were afraid of fireworks around the 4th of July one year. They kept roosting there and were hard to catch during the day. Mine got up into a cedar tree. I finally had to climb to get them and lock them in the coop until it was re-established to roost there. Now imagine this, an overweight, middle aged woman (who is afraid of heights) climbing a dense, prickly cedar tree in the dark and carrying down chickens one by one.

Believe me, I sympathize with your situation.

 

[Cabe]

Sometimes I have to use a water hose to get some chickens out from underneath my DH's workshop. I never really have to squirt them, just beside them, it works everytime. Maybe you could start at one side of the tree and slowly work your way to the other side. I wouldn't squirt them, but use the hose to "push" them out of the tree.

 

[dreamgirl]

You may want to try the hose thing at dusk (I use a loing pole to sort of push them out, but my bush is only 8 feet)--before it gets too dark, but when they are calm, and then lock them in the coop for at least 4 days. I'm having a similar problem with my new pullets--about half of them insist on roosting in the forsythia bush next to the coop. Every night we have to haul them out. My bf makes them walk to the coop themselves thinking it will teach them. Not working. I just haven'y had the heart to lock them up for a few days yet since its been warm and sunny and too nice to have to stay inside (though they have an attached fully enclosed run). Soon...

 

[spook]

well, build a corral where you can slowly (with a huge bunch of neighbors carrying large cardboard peices to slowly encourage them into a wide area, then as they go in, keep them bottle necking them into a area of fine netting to catch them. You may have to buy a huge net and use posts, rope along the top to support the netting to put up over them, even put grain, corn and sliced cucumbers into it while open, they could get used to seeing it and eating, drinking water available and as time goes on, bring one end closed, let them be, a roost to sit upon, then one day, hook with fish line attached to the net, when they all go in for the goodies, especially sweet things, pull the fish line and allow the net to drop with a good tug. I'd be putting some stones, logs or heavy boards along the bottom, those buggers will be wild, wait until after dark to catch them with a red light or a pen light.
Then I'd put them in a closed coop for atleast 1 week, then in a pen only (clipped wings) for the winter to get them used to being a happy- lol.
Good luck, hope it helped.

 

[thewarriorchild]

When I was younger my Mother bet me I could not catch a bird. I think it was like $50. So when I needed the money I set up a milk crate and stuck a stick under it and propped it up with a stick and tied a string to the stick and waited in the house till they went for the bread underneath it! A few modifications and I was RICH!

While I would not do it this way I would set up a dog crate and put some WONDERFUL treat in it and tie the door so when they went in you could pull it closed. Good luck!

 

[scooter147]

You could hire neighborhood kids if possible and available to climb the tree or catch them during the day.

 

[sred98]

I have used the waterhose to get guineas off the roof before. This was in the heat of the day, because I was worried about them overheating and/or being hawk food. If you did it at dusk like dreamgirl suggested, it would probably be easier to round them up.

Good luck!

Shelly

 

[ivan3]

A couple of our turkeys used to try and roost on a hickory branch about sixteen ft. up. I took a 30ft. length of nylon rope, and punched a hole in the bottom a plastic gallon water jug. I ran half of the rope through the jug, tied off at jug handle, pulled it taut through hole in the bottom and tied a knot tight against the bottom.

We waited until it was good and dark. I used a length of fishing line with a wt. as a leader for the nylon rope and jug `device' and threw that over the branch. Cass pulled on that until the jug was on the branch. I turned on a flashlight to illuminate a bit of ground below the branch (give `em a place to land) and then (holding the ends of the rope so the jug acted as a `herder') we slid it into the roosting turks and they flew down into the light where they could be picked up and carried off to their shed.
This only works if it's DARK (no light except where you want them to land - give `em too much and they'll just park on another branch instead of alight).

 

[rughooker]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice. When they are out of the tree, won't they fly right back up or take off running?

rughooker