Chicken – Run Amok
Q: I have a roving flock of chicken that have taken a liking to my yard.
I’m not sure where they came from (I do have a good idea though) but these chicken like to search for food in my yard, ruining my grass from their scratching and disturbing the mulch in the plant beds.
Don’t get me started about the crowing rooster. Is there anything (besides a 16ft fence) I can use to persuade them from coming into my yard?
Also, is there a local code/ ordinance in Dekalb County or Decatur that prohibits owning and raising chickens in the area?
A: You can make a trap for them from 2 inch mesh chicken wire and some wooden stakes. Use chicken wire to form a large cage 4 ft by 4 ft by 4 ft. Make a 1 ft by 1 ft opening in one side at ground level. Cut wire coat hangers into 24 – 13 inch long pieces. Make a small loop at one end that can be slipped over the chicken wire edge at the top of the opening. They should be just a bit too long to swing freely. Space the 24 stiff wires evenly across the opening such that they can be pushed in, but not out.
Sprinkle corn or sunflower seed on a plank inside the trap. Wild birds will begin feeding there, which will attract your neighborhood chickens.
They will push their way into the trap but will not be able to push back out through the wire.
I’ll let you decide what to do with them afterwards…but consider donating them to the Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur.
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