How to catch a loose hen with 13 chicks?

[amberskyfire]

My friend moved out today and gave me her laying hens because she can't take them with her. Unfortunately, one of the hens she has is a mama with 13 chicks and a neighbor let them out just before the guy buying the coop came to pick it up, so now there's no coop and a mama hen running around with 13 chicks no one can catch still at her house. My friend has to be out entirely by tomorrow so I'm wondering how we can catch them. I went tonight after dark but we couldn't get far enough back in the jungle to reach their hiding spot. It's all brambles and I got covered in fire ants. Any other last minute ideas? Otherwise, we'll have to abandon them there and we really don't want to have to do that. She has tried chasing them but they are about 3 weeks old and very fast and scatter into the jungle when anyone comes near.

 

[Double Laced]

Try to herd them into a pen of some sort, encircle them with some sort of fence.

Temp them with food to try and catch them in a cat box / dog cage.

There probably isn't much else you can do.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Definitely, food and treats. Put your bait up close to the house and leave a trail for her to follow. You might have to try a few different treats before you find what she really likes. Tomatoes are always a good start, also oatmeal, corn, grapes and fruit, bread, or some mixture of them. Just leave a trail and wait in a spot where you can cut off her escape rout but she preferably can't see you. If you can't catch momma, catching the babies one by one should make her easier to catch and vice versa. You may have to do this several times to get all of them. Nets are good, too. I've used them for runaway hens; just get to the chicken fast after you've caught it so that it doesn't tangle itself too much or hurt itself struggling.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Oh, and welcome to BYC!

 

[amberskyfire]

I just thought I would post an update. We have no fencing to catch them in, so we tried tying a string to the door of a dog crate and standing back a ways after putting food in the crate. Eventually, some chicks wandered in and we pulled the door shut. Long story short, I went back at night with the chicks in a small box. I walked around the perimeter of the property with the peeping box until I heard the mama bird calling for them from the underbrush. I dug all of the babies out from under her and put them in the crate and then got mama out. All's well that ends well, though I wish the gabby bird hadn't been hiding her brood in a thorn bush. Ouch!

 

[WilhelminaD]

So glad you got them all!