They are fast! How do I catch my chickens?

Have you ever seen Rocky? In one of the movie’s legendary training scenes, Rocky is shown chasing a chicken. Be it great exercise and training for a boxer, it’s not something BYC farmers normally like to spend time doing. Below are a few of our favorite tips on how we catch the girls that love making us look silly running after them.

Before we begin, never hold a bird by its neck, its wings or upside down by its legs. Please make sure you hold your birds so they feel secure and safe. A great way to handle a chicken is to place one hand between its legs and the other hand over each of its wings. Hold the bird close to your body with its head facing forward or backward.

Classic Lure

Grab some of their favorite treats (FLYGRUBS) and sprinkle them in front of a chair. Sit down in the chair and wait for the chickens to start feeding on the treats you just lay down. Once the chicken is preoccupied with the feed, you will easily be able to bend down and scoop her up.

Trap 101

You’ll need to spend a bit of money on buying or renting a trap for this one. Cages for raccoons typically work best. Make sure they don’t hurt the chicken once it’s been trapped and you should be ok to use it. Simply put some treats in the trap and wait patiently for the chickens to get curious about this new object in their backyard. Please note that if you have a large breed, you might need to ask for the largest trap your local store provides.

Family Fun

Because chickens can dodge a few people easily, maybe catching these pesky pets would be best with a larger group of people. If you’ve got a family of greater than 4 people, put them all to work. It will be fun. Maybe even make a game of it. Chances are your chicken will get tired before you especially if you have active children. Just ware her down and you’re all bound to get close enough to each other to pick her up and put her back in the coop.

Do you have a pool?

If so, use the pool skimmer net. You can drop the net over the chicken, but please remember to be gentle when untangling.

As you can see catching your chickens can be a bit of a chore. If you find yourself in any of the above situations PLEASE remember to be gentle and keep your calm. Happy BYCing, folks!