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quote:
Originally posted by Bullwinkle
Last I checked chickens were not high up on the ladder when it comes to smarts ... relatively easy to trap ....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBZH8Cect0Y
as kids we made these kinds of traps using a cardboard box
The chickens in the video are obviously domestic. There is a big difference between domestic and feral chickens. I'm pretty sure a feral chicken would shed that basket in a split second. And once he did, it's unlikely that he would ever go into that trap again. They may be bird-brains, but some things they learn very fast.
Nevertheless, a modified version of that trap would work. Some thought should be given to how to retrieve the chicken from the trap without it escaping and giving you some nasty scratches in the process.
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It's not that difficult to catch chickens.
They cannot see at night.
1) Wait until dusk, almost dark
2) Walk up to them
3) Throw a bag on them
4) Tie the bag shut. Burlap works well. It's strong and they can breathe.
For bulk chicken roundups on a county government scale, buy infrared goggles to spot them nesting, hiding, etc. It'll make quick work of the project.
Idiots rule the world, but only when there is a fair vote. - Last Aphorisms
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Maybe it is that easy with some chickens, but here is my experience a few years back when I killed a bunch. They all roosted up in trees about 8 -10 feet up. Never on the ground (though I guess hens with chicks will do that).
As advised, I knocked one down with a long stick. I was told it would be so disoriented it would just lay on the ground.
Not so, I literally had to chase it in the dark for 8-10 minutes. Finally it sat down and I grabbed it.
Next night at the tree with the stick, I found the other chickens were roosting 12-20 feet up. Too high for the stick, so I bought a pellet gun. That works; shoot them day or night.
My 2 cents: "I'm pretty sure a feral chicken would shed that basket in a split second."
I thought the same thing. The basket needs to be larger and weighted on top.
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chickens were roosting 12-20 feet up
Perhaps a local inventor could modify a fruit picker, a long pole with some type of capture device on the end - - cage, bag, neck lasso, chicken voltaged taser, whatever it takes. A taser would be quick & quiet.* The quieter the device the less it would scare off other nearby birds.
Chik-Picker. ™
* Sample Warning Label - After application of voltage, chicken may drop rapidly to the ground. Users should not stand directly under target bird. Descending birds may exhibit an altered ability to fly or glide. Chik-Picker cannot be held directly or indirectly responsible for path of descending birds.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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My $1/50:
Put a rock on top of the trap to weigh it down. Works great even on larger birds.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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quote:
Originally posted by TomK
"Maybe this story will go national and Honolulu will be ridiculed for its $108 chickens."
The Chicken Skin Scandal.
Chicken skin did you say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfWyc54dLlE&t=0m42s
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"The chickens in the video are obviously domestic. There is a big difference between domestic and feral chickens."
Sorry, I know it's not what this thread is about but factual errors like this always bugs the crap out of me.
Domesticity is a genetic condition defined only for an entire species brought on by the culling of individuals who don't meet the standard over hundreds of generations. Individuals are not "domesticated", they are a member of a domestic species. Feral is a condition of socialization of an individual domestic animal. Feral animals are a subset of domestic animals. Only domestic animals can be feral since domestic animals are supposed to be socialized to people and feral animals are not socialized, but lions and tigers and bears are not supposed to be socialized to people and so can't be feral. Talking about "wild" or "undomesticated" chickens and cats is just being either lazy or intentionally muddying the underlying facts.
All that being said, yes the feral animals are more wary of traps and fight harder to get out.
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Domesticity is a genetic condition
To MarkP's comment, the scientific name for a chicken is:
Gallus gallus domesticus
Idiots rule the world, but only when there is a fair vote. - Last Aphorisms
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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