Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 31

Thread: I need a good chicken trap.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Neither here nor there
    Posts
    3,829
    Blog Entries
    6

    I need a good chicken trap.

    55B05BDC-7EDA-42B4-8168-8F2F97CA0CE8.jpgOur outdoor shop is infested with chickens. I am about to get the crossbow out, but am going to try to be humane first. They are pooping on all my projects at night. You country boys (and girls) share your best live chicken trap.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,923
    Whose chickens are they?
    Chickens can be conditioned to recall, or return, to a designated area at night. Some folks even use "pigeon doors" until they all get back in, and then they lock the coop up for the night to keep the predators away.
    Build a coop and condition them to come into to it to eat, thus trapping them, or get a Jack Russell, and turn it loose. It will scatter those chickens.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Dickinson, Texas
    Posts
    7,655
    Blog Entries
    1
    On the mainland I would recommend calling the county agent.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,312
    Blog Entries
    1
    Maybe it is time to have a neighborhood BBQ…

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    The old pueblo in el norte.
    Posts
    1,818
    I'd personally just run 5' of chicken wire around the shop perimeter and be done with it. It'd be easier than trapping, or shooting.
    ~mike

    happy in my mud hut

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Northern Florida
    Posts
    638
    Are you in one of those places were chickens have "rights" and they're untouchable? That would be tough.

    Live chicken trap - how about a raccoon? Or did you mean you want the chickens alive? I don't know of a trap but you can try herding them into an enclosure. You probably already know that as an adult it's humiliating tryiing to catch chickens by running after them - that's what people have kids for - but you can snag them with a bent wire on the end of a stick. Use it to grab one leg.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,312
    Blog Entries
    1
    Do you have a plan for what to do once you catch them?

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Los Angeles, California
    Posts
    958
    A dog. Sig em on a chicken.
    Regards,

    Tom

  9. #9
    Get a couple cats?
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    55B05BDC-7EDA-42B4-8168-8F2F97CA0CE8.jpg...You country boys (and girls) share your best live chicken trap.
    Best "trap" is simply a country boy or girl. Chickens are helpless at night when roosting. I walk up and grab them by the legs. Turn them upside down and suspend them for a bit by their legs and they quit flapping and go almost catatonic. The others nearby may stay put or scatter. If it's dark they can't find their way back to the roost so I grab them on the floor. (I've sold about 40 chickens recently and have practiced a bit of catching.)

    If necessary, I use a sturdy landing net on a 4-5' handle. I've caught lots of birds with it.

    I've used a cast net to catch birds in the daytime, even a large peacock.

    You can use a live trap bated with feed, mealworms, or small bits of meat. This may also catch skunks and such.

    JKJ

  11. #11
    I grew up on a poultry farm. Chickens want to roost up, off the ground, on something and they have bowel movements during the night (but I expect you already know that). As John said, the easiest way to catch them is at night. You can generally walk right up to them. I'd have a coop to put them into. You might not get all of them the first night but you certainly will over a few nights.

    What are you going to do with them after you catch them? If they're fairly mature they won't be good for fried chicken, you'll have to stew them. Do you know the proper way to kill a chicken (best to cut their throat and bleed them out) and do you know how to pluck and dress a chicken? To pluck them, you need a bucket of very hot water. Dip the dead chicken into the hot water for maybe 30 seconds and then set it aside. It will be too hot to touch. When cooled a bit, you can pull the feathers out fairly easily.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  12. #12
    If you have several to pluck, look a YouTube videos of chicken pluckers.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,312
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    Get a couple cats?
    Chickens are pretty good at keeping cats away. They tend to peck a cat on the head and the cats will stay away afterward.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Neither here nor there
    Posts
    3,829
    Blog Entries
    6
    Thanks for all the replies. I will answer a few questions:

    Whose chickens are they? They are ferrel chickens- we have thousands of them on the island. About four roosters and ten hens have made a home around the shop. It was all fun and games until they started to roost over the work tables and crap on everything.

    Why not put up chicken wire? Not possible. This is an open-air shop, and we also need to have access for vehicles. The grounds are already fenced off, but these things can fly anyway.

    What am I going to do when I catch them? Take them miles away and release them.

    Get a cat. We have about 10 of them already. Chickens are tougher than cats by far.

    Get a dog. They kill the cats.



    I have decided plan B is the better way to go= crossbow at night while they roost. Sorry PETA. I will invite anyone from PETA to come "save" these birds if they like.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Mountain City, TN
    Posts
    573
    I agree with catching them at night. Then put the in a cage for about a day with water, no food. (This will clean out their bowels) .The next day butcher them and enjoy some soup.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •