Need tips to catch two chick escapees

[alessadry]

I have 11 now. I had chickens before and I even managed to clicker train them. They had a recall much better than my dogs and were even able to play a small battery operated piano on cue in exchange for treats. I could mow the lawn, run with my dogs around them and they cared less. It was great!

Fast forward now and I have the most skittish chickens ever. I think its a combination of having had roosters, terrible wind that blows all day that frightens them, the fact they are free range in an acre and hide under trees and construction workers who come and go these day to install a new furnace. And the furnace noise making them nervous. Only thing ever "traumatic" they went through was one day as chicks we had to corner them catch them to go in the coop but I did that with other chickens in the past and they all got over that right away.

We handled them every day as chicks. They jumped on our laps and even fell asleep. They were very affectionate.

I think the roosters played a big role. Like if I have different clothing one day he' ll act skittish and tells the hens something in rooster language that makes them all standoffish. I try to dress the same every day when I go feed them. They are sort of wild compared to the chickens I used to have, which I miss dearly. I had high hopes of continuing training chickens as I did before with the others but to no avail.

We had another rooster who was even worse and would alarm all chickens for anything stupid going on. He used to be crazy for us and jump in our laps as soon as he saw us when he was younger and then he reached maturity and all his alarm bells went on. I think he negatively influenced all the flock. They have recuperated somewhat after we gave him away, but are still skittish.

I know of a neighbor that noticed similar issues with his hens when he first added a rooster. Not saying that's the case with all, but maybe some chickens are more influenced and some roosters are more hypervigilant and fast to sound the alarm for anything odd.

They have a great recall when we call them, but only if there is nothing else going on and if we feed them by the coop. They rarely go by the gate area, but I never really thought of making it a habit of feeding them there.

Personally, knowing them, I don't feel comfortable opening the gate just to teach them how to get back in as we have predators and any noise can startle them. These are just the most atypical chickens ever and I feed them treats every day.

 

[chickencheeper]

3 words- big ol’ Net

 

[azygous]

I do see your dilemma, and I believe you have accurately assessed that the rooster is influencing the flock badly. It happens. Perhaps it's time to send this one packing also.

Flocks will quickly adjust. I've read stories here where a bad roo was eliminated and the flock almost immediately calmed down and became saner. You might consider it. Sounds like you have a firm handle on flock management. It may be you just need to gather the courage for a decision.

 

[alessadry]

Yeah, we have been considering it. Well, things got a lot better ever since I gave the super alarmed rooster away. I think he negatively influenced all with his alarm noises (like a chicken making an egg). Now, it's been a couple of months he has been away and they are starting to calm down. It might not seem like it, but there's progress. Like if we have people coming over, before they would spend half a day under the tree hiding, and now they are back out after 15 minutes or so. Before (when the bad rooster was around) if we put a new cover or a new feeder by the coop they would rather sleep out, now I can change things around and they sleep in it. This rooster is now learning to hop on the window and crows to call me.

 

[User51213]

grab a flashlight and point it to their eyes, they are not going anywhere.

 

[AbbysSilkies]

Hi! This used to happen to me ALL THE TIME when my chicks were younger! After a snake attack, I had to buckle down on safety, but I know of three things that might work!
The first one might seem obvious, but it really helped with a Silkie Roo who liked to cause trouble before we gave him two chicks to look after (he’s very motherly now). He would hang out by some brambles , and when I came with a net, he’d scamper through some thorns. However, I went out at around 7pm, and he was asleep! In a bush! I had been crawling on the ground trying to locate his peeps and he was right there, 4 feet in the air, dozing off.
However, if they’re sleeping too deep, get a cage and a stool or crate or something low to the ground to sit on. This method is the best with young chicks. Put the Mom and the other two chicks in the cage, with food and water on either side so they can drink and eat and the chicks could do the same. I had one squemish chick who sat in the woods for HOURS! I stuck 3 of her siblings in a pigeon trap with food and water, sat on a crate and waited. Eventually, it walked over to us, and I put a net behind it and waved my hand in front of it. It immediately ran away, right into the net! Gotcha.
Lastly, you could just set out a trap with some food and water. But that method has never worked for me.