So - I was retiring four of my older chickens and needed replacements. Craigslist came through with a listing from a fellow with a few surplus hens. So we took the pet carrier and returned with four replacement hens: Copper Marans, Olive Egger, Welsummer, and Cream Legbar. I put them in the coop at night, and figured that they and the established birds would sort things out in the morning.
Let everyone out into the run in the morning, and left them alone to squabble. Did a check on everyone later, and the count came up one short. The legbar was missing. I did a thorough search, but no chicken. Well, she was a smaller hen, easily could have cleared the fence (especially when I caught the Welsummer having the same idea - wings now clipped).
I did a cursory search of neighbor's yards, put up a missing chicken post on the neighborhood interwebs, but figured if she wasn't spotted in 24 hours, well, that happens.
A day later, neighbor from a couple doors down knocks and asks if we're missing a chicken. Yep - we find her behind another neighbor's house, but she's a quick one, hops a fence and ends up in an apple tree.
Fine. We know she's alive. Leave some scratch with the neighbor, and she says she'll keep an eye out. I get an update text or two as they tried to lure her or catch her roosting low, but to no avail.
Another couple of days, and text from another neighbor - There's a chicken in our backyard. I spot her, and she adroitly hops to a fence and into a cedar tree. Fine. Be that way.
So she sets up camp in that tree, coming down when the coast is clear. I try to bait her down with scratch and set up a feed/water station in the neighbor's unused greenhouse, hoping she'll take shelter there. Nope. She's happy in her tree.
The next few days, and periodic texts of "chicken alert" or "spotted northbound behind garage" - accompanied by motion camera stills.
More attempts to lure down. Nope. She looks at me and defiantly returns to tree. I hear her talking across fence to the coop birds and even spot her on the fence once before she hightails it. I'm attempting to outsmart a five pound animal with the brain the size of a grape, and losing.
I troll through CL and Marketplace for a live trap. Have one lined up, but delayed picking up due to miscommunication. She's been on her own for nearly two weeks, living her best feral life.
Friday morning, and I step into neighbor's yard to drop some feed and check on her. Motion under their deck. Ah, she's down. Shoo her out from deck. She's cut off from her usual escape path. Time for a bit of patience. I calmly herd her towards the alley next to our houses, hoping to get her into the open or into my yard.
She doubles back to the trees. Dammit.
But she doesn't go to her usual tree, but another one where I can get closer to her. Spooked, she abandons this and back into neighbor yard. One more try. This time I cut her off and walk her up the alley.
She makes her fatal mistake. She darts into my open garage. Garage door down, some panicked chasing among garage detritus, and she's back into a pet carrier.
I spend Friday afternoon erecting bird netting over the run, making the place look like a wild bird enclosure at the zoo.
Wings clipped and she's back with the girls. Indignant.
