Wayward hen returned home after more than a week of being missing.

10 days ago or so one of the chickens that my grandmother gave us before she passed away went missing. We figured she just up and walked away due to the rooster constantly beating her up or was taken by something large enough to pick off a full grown RIR. Yesterday while we're eating dinner I get up and look outside and something moving along the driveway and it's that chicken. She walked right up to the front steps to be let in the house. So Steph and Olivia bring the chicken in, we feed her and pet her and tell her how much we missed her. She's a tad beat up and her feathers are bleached out but she's home and back in the coop with the rest of the ding-bats. We're considering some chicken diapers so that she can be a full time in-house chicken. Yup I sad it, in-house chicken.

This chicken has been through it all with us. We got her and her sister (who didn't survive our new place) up in North Dakota in 2011 and then had to move so we mailed them to my grandmother in central Texas. Once we finally got back to Texas via Idaho in 2013 and got our house in June of 14 we got the chickens back from gram who was getting too feeble to really keep up with them. Red, as this one is called, is now fully a pet. My 22 month old daughter goes out side and walks up to Red saying "Hold you Red." to which the chicken sits down for Olivia to pick up and bring back in the house so they can sit in a chair and watch movies together. Red is going to live out her natural life span in the company of my daughter since there is no way in heck I can ever ever cull her from the flock now.


RichnStephnOlivia

I think she may have tried to brood a clutch but for some reason aborted effort. Predator disturbing her or loss of eggs could have done it. I have some hens each year that nest outside bounds and I have to find nest site so as to provide protection.

centrarchid said:

I think she may have tried to brood a clutch but for some reason aborted effort. Predator disturbing her or loss of eggs could have done it. I have some hens each year that nest outside bounds and I have to find nest site so as to provide protection.

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I didn't think of that. There weren't any feathers missing on her breast though and I thought they picked them out prior to going broody? It would have been crazy if she'd showed up 21 days later with a bunch of chicks.

RichnSteph

RichnSteph said:

I didn't think of that. There weren't any feathers missing on her breast though and I thought they picked them out prior to going broody? It would have been crazy if she'd showed up 21 days later with a bunch of chicks.

RichnSteph

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Your location would likely have hens coming off with chicks now or shortly unless eggs frozen prior to onset of incubation.

My hens do not pluck feathers from their chest / brood patch for incubation like a duck or goose does. Rather the hens have very, very stretchy skin there that relaxes to form the brood patch. When the hen gets of the nest the skin contracts to protect the hen form excessive heat loss. Hens loosing feathers this time of year are stressed.

I'll be darned!

You mean she didn't send you text messages of all her adventures like the chicken in the commercial?
Here in case you don't know what I'm talking about, lol:
In all seriousness, that is really cute that she is such a nice pet and came home.