Feral chickens?

[note2self]

So I'm not sure if this belongs in the upland bird section, but I need to know the answer to this. After heading home from an afternoon of shooting, I saw a pretty fat black and red chicken on the gravel road I was headed down. I actually thought it was a grouse at first but was surprised it was a chicken. So my question is, are there feral chickens in Washington or was this someone's pet/soon to be food that got loose and escaped to the woods? Are they legal to shoot? We were pretty far from any homes and up in the mountains but I guess they can escape and just keep walking. Any thoughts?


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[TONTO]

 Yes legal to shoot, yotes will probably get it anyhow. Who knows where it came from , but I doubt a breading population of chickens would survive in WA. Unlike Hawaii to many predators here.

[AWS]

Free range chicken.  I'd leave it go, it might be hard to prove it is feral if the is any question.

[note2self]

By "free range", do you mean that it was actually part of someone's flock or farm? There was literally up in the mountains with no farms around. My gf was mad that I didn't shoot it lol


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[huntingfool7]

Bet it was a rooster some urbanite couldn't keep due to crowing.  There's an awful lot of people around here that'll dump unwanted animals/birds in the woods and along the local rivers.  They pretend they're doing the animal a favor by setting it free.

[DaveMonti]

"Heeeeyyy.....that living thing doesn't belong here.  I suppose I should shoot it!"

[Stein]

I would take it, it isn't a species controlled by WDFW so you could technically shoot it without a license.

[NRA4LIFE]

Shoot it.

[carpsniperg2]

Man must be the election or something all kinds of craziness going on.

If you see a cow along side the road are you going to blast it? COME ON PEOPLE!!! If it's not yours leave it alone!!!

THEIFT of livestock which a chicken is livestock, is a class c felony.
http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.56.083

[Curly]

A chicken is a little different than a beef cow. I don't know if I would shoot it but I wouldn't complain if someone shot one that is out in the middle of no where.  It probably is just a chicken that was too old and not producing eggs anymore that someone dumped. I'd rather a hunter get it than a coyote.

[carpsniperg2]

No difference in the laws eyes what so ever. It's a livestock animal. You kill a chicken or a cow that is not yours its the same thing, you are breaking the law taking something that is not yours, theft.

[Ridgeratt]

Were there any Open range sign's? Perhaps they are free range bird's.

[Curly]

What if it was a feral pig? Would that change anything?

[Ridgeratt]

My neighbor has a batch of free ranging pig's. I have seen as many of 12 of them running wild in his yard

[note2self]

No difference in the laws eyes what so ever. It's a livestock animal. You kill a chicken or a cow that is not yours its the same thing, you are breaking the law taking something that is not yours, theft.

But is it still yours if it's roaming free in the middle of the forest.....on public land? It was pretty far from any house or farm

There were no "free range" signs around. I'm 99%  it either escaped or was let go by someone. Does an animal sort of become legal to harvest after it's let out to fend for itself or escaped and not found?


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