Chapter 27
Laws Relating to Animals on Shabbath and Yom Tov
CATCHING ANIMALS
39.a. There is nothing wrong with locking the already closed door of a chicken coop.
39.b. This is so even when the chickens have only recently been transferred to the coop and are not yet used to it (that is to say, if they escaped they would not return to it).
40.a. It sometimes happens that a cow escapes from the cow shed and runs away into the fields, in such circumstances that one does not expect it to return at night and is afraid it will become lost.
40.b. 1) In such an event, provided one does not completely trap the animal, one may chase it into a fenced-off area.
2) a) An example would be driving the animal into a farmyard, one gate of which is left open and unguarded.
b) It is sufficient if the open gate is at the far end of the farmyard, even if all the other gates are closed or are guarded so that the animal cannot escape again through them.
