Free range chickens

[missydog1]

lol, shave ice. They do have strong wills.

I had a wild chicken move in at a former house here who decided to lay eggs sitting on the rafters right over the kitchen steps that went down to the carport/workshop. Such a lovely sight to start down the stairs and a see a big egg splat all over, topped with chicken poop.

Another time it got into a cupboard in the carport and decided to brood over an egg for weeks. It was totally demented over this egg, which was not even fertilized, and it would attack anyone who approached it.

I have a stainless trash can near the side of the house that has sort of a reflective surface, and this one rooster is fixated on pecking the other rooster to death. The one he sees in the mirror. Boom boom boom ... The joys of poultry.

I have to say the ones here have gorgeous colors in their feathers. I admire them at the same time I loathe their crowing when IÔm trying to sleep.

[csgray]

The Humane Society in Kea'au will loan you a chicken trap, you do have to give them a sizable deposit, so we locked it to our fence with a chain. We fed the birds for a while before getting the trap and then put food in the trap only with the trapped lock so it wouldn't trip. Once they felt secure about it we set it to trip. You can then take the bird and trap back to the Humane Society. If you need to keep trapping they just give you another one. If you only want to trap the roosters you can just let the hens go and reset. Took us about 2 weeks to catch 3 roosters, the third one was wily.

Carol

[missydog1]

Thanks Carol. []
I saw this advice here before and I called the HS. They told me the chicken trap is just their dog trap? They said they will not hold them, so that makes it a little harder for me, not living near KeaÔau and with the gas and time it takes to go down there, not wanting to waste a trip.

I already own one of the large sized cat traps that costs $50.
My neighbor is building a trap and has lined up some people who actually want roosters, so IÔll see if that happens. If not, I will try your suggestion, though they arenÔt used to me feeding them.

I have a big yard (an acre), and they seem to come near the house only when no humans are outside. IÔm wondering how to get the feeding thing going if they wonÔt come anywhere near me. Just throw it on the ground and trust they will find it?

[csgray]

They had stacks and stacks of them 8 months ago, they were made from wire mesh and were certainly chicken/rooster secure.

If you want to feed the birds to be able to trap them, start going out to a place you regularly see them in your yard where you will be able to lock the trap onto something secure, ideally NOT right by your house, and toss out some scratch, then retreat. They will find it. If you can do this at more or less the same time every day it is amazing how fast they start congregating there at that time every day. Then place the trap there, locked open, and put the food in the trap so they get used to it, the roosters will watch the hens go in and out before they will go in. Once they are used to the trap set it to trip on days you can deal with a trapped bird. I think most, if not all, of the birds that go to the KHS go home with workers or people they know, unlike dogs and kittens.

Carol

[missydog1]

Thanks Carol, excellent detailed instructions.

As for the HS traps, I definitely called them following up on one of your earlier posts, and the person I got said there were no traps specifically for poultry, that they were the same traps they loan out for dogs (galvanized metal, not mesh), and there were only a few.

They said they could advise me if one was on premises if I called in advance, but if someone came in and wanted it while I was en route, it would go out, and they were very popular.

Either they changed the scene or whoever answered the phone was not aware of some other kind of trap they have, but she sounded very certain of herself.

Like I said, my neighbor is making his own trap, so I donÔt need one now, but replying for others who might look into it.

Where do you buy chicken scratch?
My husband used to feed a bunch of chickens from next door when we lived in KapaÔau, so IÔm familiar with how eager they become once they get the idea, and how they will show up on time once there is a pattern. I was just not sure how to start the pattern. Thanks again! []

[aramis720]

Great info, everyone, mahalo. I think I'll hold off on this idea for now, perhaps indefinitely.

[dayna]

You would use a cat trap, not a dog trap, for chickens. I bought my own 2 pack from Dels.

Dayna

http://www.FarmingAloha.com
www.E-Z-Caps.com

[mmbvd7]

We were lucky enough to be given nine hens. One of the hens has been named Henni Houdini. Hopefully the escape route has been secured to their hen pen.

Years ago we had hens on the mainland. I feel rather rusty starting back with hens again. I would like some advice please...

The first couple of days we kept them in the coop and then let them out to free range. Only three of the gals went back into the coop for the evening. The others favored an avocado tree. Does anyone recommend having them in their coop/hen pen (yard) for a certain length of time before trying this again?

I had also thought that chickens primarily laid their eggs in the morning. When I was young, and when my children were young, we loved egg hunts...but that is not the case now...is there a recommended time of day to let the hens out so they will lay inside their boxes but also have time to eat bugs and free range?

Also, I remember reading somewhere several months ago about people swearing that there are roosters that do not crow at night. Is that a particular breed? I would LOVE to have baby chicks, and thus need a rooster. We have yet to have a rooster show up at our place. Does anyone know where I might be able to get ONE rooster for free?

Thanks ahead of time.

Best wishes

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by mmbvd7

We were lucky enough to be given nine hens. One of the hens has been named Henni Houdini. Hopefully the escape route has been secured to their hen pen.

Years ago we had hens on the mainland. I feel rather rusty starting back with hens again. I would like some advice please...

The first couple of days we kept them in the coop and then let them out to free range. Only three of the gals went back into the coop for the evening. The others favored an avocado tree. Does anyone recommend having them in their coop/hen pen (yard) for a certain length of time before trying this again?

I had also thought that chickens primarily laid their eggs in the morning. When I was young, and when my children were young, we loved egg hunts...but that is not the case now...is there a recommended time of day to let the hens out so they will lay inside their boxes but also have time to eat bugs and free range?

Also, I remember reading somewhere several months ago about people swearing that there are roosters that do not crow at night. Is that a particular breed? I would LOVE to have baby chicks, and thus need a rooster. We have yet to have a rooster show up at our place. Does anyone know where I might be able to get ONE rooster for free?

Thanks ahead of time.

Best wishes

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I'll give you as many free roosters as you need. PM me. We have a few tame ones.

ETA: tame

[terracore]

To answer your other question, there is no rooster breed that doesn't crow. Young roosters don't crow, some silkie roosters don't crow as loud, sometimes hens can demonstrate hermaphrodite tendencies so they LOOK like roosters but they are actually hens, and that misleads some people into thinking they have a rooster that doesn't crow. These hens will also mount hens and do "rooster things" but they are indeed females.