HELP!!! CHICKEN CRISIS!!!

(cross posted in henny penny thread)

I hope somebody is still up. We went and got chickens tonight. 1 baby chick with 1 mother and 9 baby chicks with another mother. When we got them home and tried to transfer to the eglu, the mother of 9 got away into our garden. It's pitch dark out and we can't find her. The other one is in with Henny Penny. She won't go into the Eglu. Can I leave the door open all night?

The chicks (all 10) are in the house. What do I do with them for the night? Light bulb? Blanket? What? I am so freaked out. I feel terrible that the other one got away. She was an Auracana I think. Oh please give me some advice...

I'm in Iowa myself...and you're pretty close to where I'm at. You can leave the door open all night, but check for the chicken again before you go to bed. Keep the chicks under a lightbulb. If you have some wood shavings put it in with them, otherwise plain old newspaper is fine, as long as they have food, water and there are no drafts they should be fine.

Here is my chick setup. I think they are warm.

They should be fine. As long as they are away from drafts. It looks like they are plenty warm, so I wouldn't worry.
I'll be the mother just decided to sleep outside tonight, now that it's cooling off! Today was SOOOO hot and muggy, the breeze probably feels good!

Yes, but she's never been to this place before. We just got her from another farm tonight. She is out in the brush. She doesn't know where she is, and she has never even seen an Eglu. I don't know how I will catch her, even if I find her tomorrow...

why, with breakfast treats and a box of peeping chicks looking for their momma, that is how....

i ahve found the australorps to be very gentle when it comes to YOU handling their chicks. but she will be setting your henny penny straight. just let them set the pecking order, and everything will be fine.

tf

Did you find momma? Hello TF!!!!

I didn't catch her yet. I found her this morning but wasn't fast enough to catch her. There's more detail on my Henny Penny thread. I have the chicks indoors. I might take some of them outside in a carrier later and see if that will attract her. She is a persnickety chicken!!

The chicks did well overnight so I'm pleased about that.
Claire

Just wait until dusk and keep an eye on her. When
it's dark, take a red light if you have one, and go get
her. A regular flashlight will work, as long as it's not too
bright to disturb her in the dark. I can catch any chicken
in the dark, as long as I don't disturb them first. Good luck!

That would definitely be the way to go if I could actually locate her.

The only way I've been able to locate her so far is to walk through the brushy area with a broom or other item to shuffle the vegetation around which makes her flutter out of it, and then she flies away, runs, and settles somewhere else, and I have to start all over. The one time I actually saw her and nearly caught her under the laundry basket was when she was close to the edge of the brushy area. This weekend we are going to mow some of it down and see if we can get her into a smaller area to increase our chances of catching her.

Maybe try putting some yummy treats in the same
hidden place for several days- maybe she will roost
for the evening nearby?

I've heard of people using pool nets to catch them--gives you more "reach". Or those net cannons they use for water fowl? :0)

CMoxon, it never rains but it pours, right? Bless your heart! What an ordeal to go through. PLEASE keep us updated on the chicks -- and the goats!

You get an eglu and one lousy chicken and look what happens! Zowie, and best of luck with it all. You're living my dream.

Oh Brigidlily - I don't think that it's particularly dreamy at the moment! LOL! We still have not located Little Miss Escaped Hen. I think if we find her, I might name her Alcatraz! I wish we could at least see her to have a good chance of actually catching her. We have been looking for a pool net - need to check a few other places. In the meantime, we are using a laundry basket. I keep hoping she'll come out of hiding to go hang out near the Eglu with the other chickens, but so far, no dice.

Does Lumberton not allow you to keep chickens, Brigid? Or are you just not able to do it right now?

Claire

I just haven't gotten in and finished the coop! I do live in a neighborhood, so NO ROOS! I've constructed the walls of a run, and a neighbor who used to keep chickens is going to help me build the coop. It's just a matter of being determined to take the plunge, and reading enough (DG and elsewhere) to feel I'm ready to cope. We had chickens on my uncle's farm, but that's been QUITE a while. I'm planning on 3, and hoping the Chicken Fairy is running really low on dust after what she's done to you!

I guess you won't be going to the fair to find chickens to buy, will you!?!

Yeah, I think she dumped her entire bag of dust on me by mistake. There must have been a hole in the bottom of the bag. Maybe a chicken pecked a hole in it!

I am not sure about the fair (gulp...). I always go to the fair - it's such fun and a big event around here. And I love some of the fair food treats! But, I am not sure about the poultry show. The thing is, I really wanted a couple of bantams, and with all that has happened, I still never got any bantams. If I go to the fair, I can't really stay away from the poultry display...can I? And if I see a really cute bantam...or 2.....that just happen to be for sale......

I think it's less of a plunge than I thought it would be. I thought they were going to need more time and effort. They don't! They are so easy going and just pop out the eggs! The chicks are different but I didn't expect those. They are a little more work, but so cute and fluffy that it's worthwhile. :-)

So build a coop for this troup, and get some bantys for the eglu...?

An eggcellent suggestion! I think that will be a good plan because the banties are smaller anyway and can fit more in an Eglu, and the bigger girls can then be in their own group. So then I could even get 3 or 4 banties!

Wait a second....are you in some kind of secret partnership with the chicken fairy!?!?

The Chicken Fairy gives very nice kickbacks.

LMAO!!!

lolol! sheesh... now we have to beware constantly... chicken fairy has lil elf helpers!

did you find houdini hen yet?

don't give up. if this isn't working take a different appraoch. like have her chicks in the laundry basket and sit out there quietly coazing her. it won't behoove you to continue this prey/predator chase, only convince her all the more to hide...

and the chicken fairy has rep's everywhere, lurking, waiting...

tf

How do I become a chicken fairy rep, instead of victim?!

No sign of chicken tonight. :-(

That is like asking, "How do I become a vampire instead of a vampire's victim?" One simply leads to the other--it is far too late to shake the disease.

tee hee, i think tf needs to change initials to cf?

AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!! Nobody warned me about this! There were no labels on the chickens I got saying "This bird is addictive. The surgeon general warns you not to buy chickens because you will have social problems in your life because you will want to spend more time with chickens than people. Here is a picture of a person who used to be normal, before she got a chicken". This warning should come with all chickens. I protest!

Have you ever heard of Senator Stoddard Wainthrop? Thought not. And no one ever did again after he proposed the first and only bill to add an "addictive chicken " warning to all fowl. Sad--and instructive We will never speak of it again.

A moment of silence for Senator Wainthrop.



















buck....buck...buckaw....

roflmbbo!

Bwahhahahaha!!!!!!

OMG, you guys cut it OUT!

so, Claire, any signs of Alcatraz?

yes, has houdini reappeared yet?

hi anjl!

hey... I need help on my chicks with attitude thread :o) ... please?

Let her here those chicks, her instinct just may be what it takes to coax her over. Also, they need social with other birds....she will want to come back. just wait for her. tf right, you chase, they run. You wait, they will come (You build it, they will come) lol. Alcatraz can not stay away for ever. Mowing the area will help. keep area closest to eglu / your house unmowed a bit. gives her cover.
Also, I use a large fish net (for salmon, etc) to catch large birds (pheasant) and fast birds.....it works. Have a 'fisherman' neighbor??

lol, love the name Alcatraz... call her "Allie" for short? tee hee

I GOT HER!!! WOO HOO!!!!

I am so excited! The errant chicken has been recovered! I went out this morning (going in late to work today) and went on a hunt for her. The last row, by the veg garden fence, I saw her. I got the plastic laundry basket and went back out to the same place. Silly bird stayed put! That was her last mistake! She tried to go through the holes in the veg garden wire (not a chance) and was flapping up against the wire. I just slapped the laundry basket against the fence and trapped her. I had a bit of trouble getting her in hand, but once I did, she sounded like a hawk giving birth to a cow. All this carrying on like I have never heard. I wasn't hurting her - just carrying her. What a to-do!

Anyway, here she is, looking a bit cross. Her feathers in the sunlight on her neck have a greenish tint, sort of like you see on starlings or some ducks.

Does anybody have any clue what kind she might be? Note yellow legs, very minimal comb, white patches on side of head, and hackle feathers have the greenish tint. Quite distinctive fan shaped tail...

Claire

WOW glad you got "Allie" safe and sound now. Now are you gonna try and put her chicks with her and see if she will take them? I would at least try to see how it would go.
I have no clue on what she is.

I think I will keep raising her chicks by hand. She is so wild and unhappy about human contact. She doesn't even like anyone near the Eglu. I would like her chicks to be more "cuddly" than her - at least so I can pick them up and enjoy their company without them running away screeching at me! I figure if I keep handling them, they will be more calm and happy to be around humans. The barn that Allie came from was just full of them and they were pretty wild.

HOORAY! The prodigal chicken has come home to roost. Once she realizes she can trust you and you'll feed her, I think everything will be all right.

I'll have a word with my Master, the Awesome and All Powerful Chicken Fairy, and see if we can settle little Allie down a bit. Tempt her with a little cottage cheese and some grapes. She may turn into your slave.

Buck.. buck.. claire, peel me a grape... buckAW