ADVICE FOR ESCAPED HEN! (UPDATED)

[bmchickens]

MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED 5 EE'S ON THURSDAY. WE INTRODUCED THE GIRLS TO THE REST OF THE FLOCK THAT AFTERNOON. LATER THAT EVENING MY HUSBAND WENT DOWN TO CLOSE THEIR TRAP DOOR, WHEN HE SAW THAT THE NEW GIRLS HAD NOT GONE IN TO ROOST WITH THE REST, SO IN HE WENT TO THEIR RUN TO GET ONE BY ONE, ONE ESCAPES OUT THE RUN, WE KNOW BY LISTENING AND BY SIGHT SHE'S IN OUR WOODS BEHIND THE RUN, MY QUESTIONS ARE, CAN SHE SURVIVE IN THE RAIN, SNOW, AND COLD, ON HER OWN? I'VE ATTEMPED TO CATCH HER MYSELF, BUT SHE'S EITHER HIDING OR ALREADY DEAD. DOES ANYBODY THINK SHE'LL COME BACK ON HER OWN, IF WE DON'T INTERVENE?

MY HUSBAND WAS TAKING TABLE SCRAPS DOWN TO THE ROO'S AND THE GIRLS THIS AFTERNOON, AND ON HIS WAY HE SAW THAT THE HEN WAS UNDER THE ROOST HOUSE MILLING AROUND, I ASSUME LOOKING FOR FOOD, BEFORE HE COULD GET THERE SHE MADE A MAD DASH INTO THE WOODS ONCE MORE. I WAS JUST DOWN THERE WELL AFTER DARK LOOKING FOR HER, NO SUCH LUCK. WE PUT OUT SOME FOOD WHERE WE SAW HER LAST (BY THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE) HOPING SHE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW. ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO CATCH HER IN DAYLIGHT HOURS? THANKS BRUCE AND MISSY

 

[Omran]

I am really sorry to hear that, I would go and look for her first thing tomorrow morning, because I dout that she will come back on her own while she is new to the area.

best luck.
omran.

 

[rooster-red]

There is maybe half a chance she'll come back on her own.

The best time to catch her is after dark, she'll be roosting in a tree.
Take a flashlight and a long pole and nudge her out of the tree and catch her.

 

[Solace]

I've used a flashlight and a large fishing net to find/capture them after dark. Hopefully she'll come back when she hears the others or gets hungry.

 

[HenSpa]

My advice: put your German shepherd up (read your byline) until you find her. I made the mistake of not putting my dogs up when one of mine got out. A fence separated them, so thought we were okay. But, nope. Hen got confused and panicked on fenceline, dog got her.

Maybe put a dog carrier out with some food and shavings & leave carrier door open (put next to coop) if you're worried about cold/rain? Won't protect her from predators, but it's better than nothing.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree. She is new to the area and if a preditor hasn't already got her it is doubtful she will come back. I would go out and look for her with a fishnet and try to catch her. I never put new birds in with my existing flock. I separate them for about a month before I put them in together. I put them next to each other to let them get used to each other first and to be sure there are no diseases that can be passed on.

 

[paul65]

I had a hen get lose i used a fishing net to catch her made it a lot easier then trying to grab her.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I think you have a chance if she was raised with all the others that are also new to your home. In my experience, they seem to bond like crazy to each other when they grow up from chicks together.

The lost one will want to find her way back to her flock-mates. Don't give up yet. Unless you find feathers all over the woods. I don't think any chicken is comfortable being all alone and that she will try to find her buddies if she survives the night.

If you must go out and search for her, I would circle out wide and search toward your property rather than searching straight out the way she last ran off. That could drive her further away.

 

[CityChook]

Just checking in to see if your lost chickie made her way home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. I'll bet she was scared last night.

 

[chickenannie]

You always have to lock new chickens in the coop for 2-3 weeks to re-home them. Otherwise they have no idea where home is. If I'm introducing new chickens to the flock, I lock ALL of them up together. It's not pretty because they fight for a day or two to establish the new pecking order, but otherwise the new chickens will never integrate properly and will always be chased away from the feeders etc. I don't like to bring home new chickens because it upsets the regular flock. I ended up with 2 separate coops which works pretty well though.