Abandoned chickens- what do I do?

[argus99]

I live in a small rural town in Ohio. Neighbor who had free-range chickens (they ranged the neighborhood) moved. She has two she couldn’t catch. They have always visited my porch birdfeeders and are now roosting in the trees in my yard and showing up on my porch every morning looking in my door.

I’ve been adopted! But what do I do with them? Catch or not? Will they freeze this winter? I can Google feeding them and building a coop etc— but if they’re feral… will any of that matter? Help- what do I do?

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Catch them - predator live traps will work for chickens too - Trying to catch a raccoon and you get a chicken instead - forget to set it off.
Build/buy a coop for them and see if they will go in. Hopefully you can catch them and give them a nice/warm home.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Do you want to keep the chickens? Do you have any pictures of them? I assume that you don’t have other chickens or poultry? Get a small bag of chicken flock raiser/all flock or if both are hens, layer feed at your farm store. Large bags will probably become stale too soon with just 2 chickens. They will eat some bugs and grasses in the yard, but need some chicken feed. A chicken feeder should be kept dry and under a cover. They will eat from a pan, but keep it from rain. They can drink from a pan, bowl, or chicken waterer. Do you have a place for them to live, such as a pen or garage?

Most birds prefer to roost on a perch. Those can be made from a 2x2 or 2x4 board up about 18 inches to 3 feet tall. If they have been allowed to stay out at night, they may want to roost in trees, but eventually they may be taken by a predator. If you make a coop for them, they may need to be locked in for 24/7 to teach them that is where to sleep so they will return before dusk. A run would allow them to be protected by fencing, and they could come out of the coop into that. They need a box or nest for laying eggs. Most chickens want outside after daylight, and will come inside int the evening.

 

[argus99]

Welcome to BYC. Do you want to keep the chickens? Do you have any pictures of them? I assume that you don’t have other chickens or poultry? Get a small bag of chicken flock raiser/all flock or if both are hens, layer feed at your farm store. Large bags will probably become stale too soon with just 2 chickens. They will eat some bugs and grasses in the yard, but need some chicken feed. A chicken feeder should be kept dry and under a cover. They will eat from a pan, but keep it from rain. They can drink from a pan, bowl, or chicken waterer. Do you have a place for them to live, such as a pen or garage?

Most birds prefer to roost on a perch. Those can be made from a 2x2 or 2x4 board up about 18 inches to 3 feet tall. If they have been allowed to stay out at night, they may want to roost in trees, but eventually they may be taken by a predator. If you make a coop for them, they may need to be locked in for 24/7 to teach them that is where to sleep so they will return before dusk. A run would allow them to be protected by fencing, and they could come out of the coop into that. They need a box or nest for laying eggs. Most chickens want outside after daylight, and will come inside int the evening.

This helps- I guess I have to answer that question for myself: do I want them? I do, but wanted to know if they could adjust to being in a coop with a run. Sounds like I’ll have to fence them in. I can research that. I already have hutches and rabbit runs that I have built, so I’ll research how to make a chicken run etc.

 

[wrathsfarm]

This helps- I guess I have to answer that question for myself: do I want them? I do, but wanted to know if they could adjust to being in a coop with a run. Sounds like I’ll have to fence them in. I can research that. I already have hutches and rabbit runs that I have built, so I’ll research how to make a chicken run etc.

Yaaaay !! You have chickens. Maybe. You'll have questions along the way so ask away when your ready. Best advise I can give you right now on the fencing? Use 1/2" hardware cloth on everything. And bury it about 12" down around the perimeter to keep out diggers.
Standard 'chicken wire' keeps chickens in. Keeps nothing out.
Wishing you the best and welcome to BYC...

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I live in a small rural town in Ohio. Neighbor who had free-range chickens (they ranged the neighborhood) moved. She has two she couldn’t catch. They have always visited my porch birdfeeders and are now roosting in the trees in my yard and showing up on my porch every morning looking in my door.

I’ve been adopted! But what do I do with them? Catch or not? Will they freeze this winter? I can Google feeding them and building a coop etc— but if they’re feral… will any of that matter? Help- what do I do?

Maybe get them to go into a garage, or make them a little place to come for protection from stuff. They love scrambled eggs and tuna fish if you dont have any feed at the moment! Good luck

 

[McChooky]

Dry cat food will work too and is high in protein.