Someone dropped a box of 17 chickens at the end of our driveway... Hayes, VA

[Jhangles]

I'm hoping they're drawn to our birds since our roos do a lot of crowing

 

[Jhangles]

My wife is on her way home with more feeders, waterers, and a net lol

 

[Lazy Farmer]

We have had plenty of Roosters dumped over our fence line but a flock of birds? Stranger Things for sure.
Either:

• Someone was moving and couldn't bring them.
• Someone couldn't handle the responsibility of caring for them.
• Disgruntled owner now ex-owner.

Never a dull moment needless to say.

 

[Jhangles]

Definitely a messed up thing to do. It's 90 degrees out and they dropped them off in a box with some food only. Once we catch them we're going to suddenly go from 21 birds to 38.

 

[lilmillefleur]

This needs to happen to me. I love silkies and polish and I always wanted a frizzle!
However, I would rather they came in cooler weather and with feed and water...

 

[Jhangles]

Trying to catch them through sticker bushes and blackberry bushes isn't fun either...

 

[Tesumph]

Trying to catch them through sticker bushes and blackberry bushes isn't fun either...View attachment 1455648

Ouch. If some are very stubborn you could use a large dog kennel with a string attached or some raccoon traps. Only if you have them laying around though.

Could also hope they come out of the forest and herd them into a garage. I haven’t had much luck getting chickens back once they start heading into deep brush.

 

[JedJackson]

I hate when people just dump chickens at someone's house. Many of us whose birds are visible to passing cars have experienced this. You're quarantining, so you know about the threat they pose to your own chickens.

The advice for catching them has been good. It's a great idea to be there later in the day or at dusk, and catch them when they are sleeping. The net could help, too.

Good luck and I hope you can find them nice homes if you can't keep them.

 

[Jhangles]

We've caught 10 so far. Still quite a few out there. We think they're mostly roos.

I was smart enough to wear jeans this time lol

 

[Eggcessive]

I would guess that most or all are roosters, and someone thought they could just dump them on you. The polish in the first pic look roo-ish with their pointy head feathers, and both bantams and polish do not come sexed from the hatchery. The OEGs look like cockerels as well.

You may be able to re-home many of them for those looking for a rooster or unusual breed. Hopefully, they are all healthy and come with no diseases, which is always a gamble when taking in new birds. Good luck.