A crocodile was caught trying to eat a family's chickens after being washed out of a flooded river following floods in Thailand.

Kanchana Sangjamphong, 52, said they were feeding the animals when the wild reptile climbed over the fence in their backyard in Udon Thani province on October 17.

The farmer was alerted by her pet dogs barking at the croc so they tackled the intruder before it could kill their livestock.

She said: "My dogs kept barking so we went to check on them. Then we saw the huge crocodile on top of the fence trying to reach our chickens."

She rushed out of the coop before calling the local animal rescue department for help in removing the huge reptile from her property.

The professional reptile handlers threw old clothes on its head and cornered it using long poles because it was too aggressive.

They wrapped it in a huge sack and tied its snout and legs with a rope could they can securely carry it in the truck.

Fishery centre director Phaitoon Wongchaiya said that the wild crocodile weighed 80 kilograms was estimated to a year old.

They believe the croc had been washed out of a river that had burst its banks and overflowed onto surrounding fields following weeks of heavy rain battering the region.

He said: "He may have wandered into the coop looking for food after the rivers were flooded from the rainstorms.

"There was no mark that tells where the crocodile was from, so we think it was a wild crocodile. Luckily, it did not harm anyone before we found it."

Phaitoon said the croc would be cared for at the reptile centre for rehabilitation before releasing it into the wild.

Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia have been hit with rain and severe floods this month as the region reaches the peak of its annual rainy season.