Taming "Wild" Chickens

[River Faerie]

My friend asked me to take some of 'her' hens. It turns out these chickens have been living in a highly populated old downtown neighborhood for decades, but are 'wild.' Her mother started feeding them and building them coops 50 years ago, so they come back to their house to have babies, and to roost. She says they never go far, especially without a rooster telling them it's ok.

Usually, they almost all die by predator before reaching 6 months of age, apparently. This year, many survived. So, they had about 20 running around. SO, we caught three, and I brought them home and put them in temporary housing. I intended to keep them separate from my girls, but they are extremely interested in them and go over there constantly. So, they're already 'mixing socially.'

My question is, how long do they need to stay in the coop to 'imprint' before they can free range and not run off? They are theoretically almost red jungle fowl (there's other mixed in, I think some Ameraucana, at least). BUT, they are used to always coming back to the same house. The neighborhood they were in is houses all tightly together on maybe 1/2 acre lots, but they always return to the same one, every day. The hens and roosters all seemed to more or less stay together. That said, they weren't really easy to catch. It wasn't like domestic hens, just walking up and picking them up.

Sorry for the meandering story. I'm not sure what information is pertinent. Thank you!

 

[Abriana]

Usually, you keep them in a coop for three days. In this situation, you might want to do a week! If you did a covered run, then you could let them out with the girls sooner. You should probably quarentine so that just in case they are sick, it doesn't spread to your flock. Sorry I can't be of much help, but I'm sure others will chime in.

 

[River Faerie]

Thanks! Yeah, I wish I had a covered run, but I just let them out all day and put them away at night. I usually put new additions in for 10-14 days anyway. I'm just not sure if that will be enough for these gals. You think it would be?

I should have quarantined. I know that. I didn't really think the girls would get that close to them prior to release. :-/ That was a bad decision, based on wanting them to feel safer in my care, and past history of the old girls not wanting to go near the new girls. But I think it's too late because they've been here 5, 3, and 1 days. (I only caught one per visit.)

 

[Abriana]

Well, whats done is done. If they were sick, your girls could possibly have it too! Hopefully not though.
I'm not really sure what it will take for them to realize that your coop is their home. This is the way they have been raised their entire lives, and chickens are creatures of habit. They may never realize the coop as their home, but if they do, it might take a bit!

 

[centrarchid]

Show a picture of these hens.

 

[River Faerie]

I'll have to wait until daylight.

 

[River Faerie]

3

• River Faerie
• Aug 5, 2017

2

• River Faerie
• Aug 5, 2017

1

• River Faerie
• Aug 5, 2017

To show the difference in combs.

 

[River Faerie]

So, there's a side view, a front view, and one to show the difference in combs. They're all three different as far as combs. Two have green legs, one has bright yellow. The green legged ones (Sam and Frances) have larger eyes. The yellow legged one (Serena) has the middle sized comb.

 

[centrarchid]

They look like straight / pure American Game hens. That is a breed I would suspect above ALL others that would be able to persist in a feral state. They can be flightly, but even when acquired as flighty adults, they are easy to tame.

I start feeding them much smaller amounts of feed each time you feed them. To compensate, feed them frequently during the course of the day so they get same amount of feed. I would sit in close proximity to them and do something like read a book. Feed them meal worms talking to them as you do.


How tame do you want them?

 

[River Faerie]

Thank you so much! Yeah, my friend's mom gave them so many mealworms that they would ignore actual worms!

I would like them to stay home, first and foremost, but I would like them as tame as possible. Part of the reason is that my hens have decided the porch is where they should roost (they've been doing that for months). So, I go out every evening as it gets dark and carry them back to the safety of the coop. (Yes, I have checked and treated for any possible reasons for them to not want to go to the coop, and I can not figure it out.) So, one concern is that the new girls will teach my hens to roost in trees, and nobody will be safely cooped at night. Ideally, I would like to at least be able to pick them up once they're roosted, so I can put them in. These new girls also historically lay eggs all over the place, and of course I would like those to be in the coop as well.