Chicago backyard chicken owner needs help/advice PLEASE

[Rozzie]

One thought: Do you start your vehicle with the garage door closed? If so, you may want to open the garage a bit first. Otherwise, there could be more carbon monoxide in the garage than is safe for your bird. I have birds in my garage and take care to open the door THEN start my car. I also turn the car off when getting home THEN close the garage door.

 

[Judy]

Mine free range and stay safe because my dogs roam freely with the chickens. It wouldn't surprise me if yours has been safe for the same reason.

I wouldn't get more chickens unless you just want more chickens. She's been alone so long that it's likely to be a pretty difficult adjustment. It's not at all like adding a dog or cat. Chickens can be cannibalistic dinosaurs. If you decide you want to keep chickens, you will want a proper coop (or section of the garage) and you will want to raise new ones where they can see and hear each other but are physically separated til the chicks are her size. If you decide to get just one or two that are her size, you still want to separate them in this way, probably for at least a week. In addition, new chickens should be quarantined for at least a month, which means keeping them far enough apart that airborne diseases cannot be passed. Even then, quarantine is no guarantee of not bringing in a disease. Chickens can be carriers of several chicken diseases and never show symptoms.

That being said, chickens are great to have in the backyard.... this is a chicken-enabler website, of course....

The comb turning red tells me you are likely to find an egg soon. If it were me I'd probably put a cardboard box with some rags in it next to her cage, with a golf ball in there if you have one. They normally lay only during daylight hours. Hay and straw are great nesting material but you can't exactly buy a small bag. Don't buy cedar chips, commonly sold as rabbit litter. I'd also take out a search around the yard -- they like anywhere more or less hidden, under a bush or a pile of wood, etc.

How great of you to rescue her, and how lucky for her. If she was an easter present, you got doubly lucky, because they are usually roosters.

 

[CountryFried]

Quote:
You should do this regardless of any animals in your garage. I guarantee carbon monoxide is seeping into your house if you don't. Google about it, you will find all kinds of stories of families who got sick with CO poisoning and had no idea why. CO is deadly, and it builds up in your system, NEVER run a vehicle in a closed garage.

 

[gryeyes]

I echo the suggestion to get her a "sister.". Doesn't have to be the same breed, but major differences might be odd, like you have a leghorn and you get a silkie....

Thank you for taking in a dumped chicken - I bet she is very happy now!

 

[Kansaseq]

Could you post a pic?

 

[meowteri2]

Which park did you find her in? There is a feed store at 54th and harlem you can get her food and they will help you with any questions you have but I think the people here
have told you everything you need to know.

 

[Mattemma]

I think the crate in the garage will be fine.I currently have 3 year old hens in a garage crate,because they keep attacking my teen hens in the coop. I know that birds are social,and maybe the lonely hen would be more likely to accept another hen.It is not a must though. I am so tired off the whole pecking order thing that I would not add another,but that is just me!

 

[2DogsFarm]

Congrats on your rescue!

You've already got some great answers here.
Where in Chgo are you?
There is a feedstore geared toward bird supplies on Grand Ave - near the expressway if I remember correctly.
ETA: here's one on Belmont:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?h...ies&hnear=Chicago,+IL&cid=6042840558711619142


And - having lived a block from Wrigley Field for 30+ years - I have to differ with drumstick diva & tell you there most certainly are coyotes, raccoons & opossums living in the neighborhoods. I saw them all when I lived there.
I even once humane-trapped a possum that must have weighed 30# on my front porch!
Local news - WGN - just had a video of a coyote running down State St, so urban areas are not predator-free.

 

[kschmidtnebril]

Thank you all for such wonderful advice on my single "Chicky" in Chicago. I will try to get some pictures of her to post so everyone could see her. Now I am not sure it's a "Her" as one of you mentioned it may have been an abandoned Easter present but she doesn't make any noise just a small amount of gurgling sounds. We do have hawks, raccoons and opossums in our neighborhood as we are on the west edge near the cook county forest so now I am wondering if I actually should be letting her run around the yard all day? What about neighborhood cats would they hunt her? She has plenty of areas in the yard she could hide under in the case of the hawk and I wouldn't think that the other critters could get into my garage easily and then break threw her dog crate as well I hope. Right now I prop the small garage door into the backyard open about a foot so she can come out if she wants and once she is out in the yard she never goes in by herself I always have to carry her into the garage to put her away at night. The Belmont feed store is directly east of me so I am definitely going to make a run there and get layer food as suggested.

 

[MissJenny]

Hello, hello, hello and

Glad you are here -- as you can see there is a TON of valuable chicken information here (who knew you'd ever need it?).

Day time is much safer than night time, which is when raccoons and possums are lurking. You mentioned a chicken-wire area in your yard where she/he/it goes at night in the summer. That might actually be the most dangerous situation I see. Raccoons notoriously rip apart chicken wire, which holds chickens in but holds nearly nothing else out. A more secure summer house -- an old rabbit hutch up on legs would be fine. Beware housing that has more than 1/2" spacing (anything that is not hardware cloth) as the chicken will poke it's head through the wire and a raccoon will snap it's head off -- not a fun thing to find in the morning.

One food to avoid would be potato peels -- supposedly they are a problem. And if you have a compost heap, do not let Chicky forage through it as those foods often mold as they deteriorate -- moldy food will kill your bird.

I hope you are enjoying you chickeny friend. Someone mentioned getting it a friend and seeking one through the local animal shelter (good idea) or Craigslist (another good idea). I think there is a way on here to find members via location -- I've been contacted on here based on my location -- so you might find someone on here in your area who has a potential pal for Chicky.

Enjoy,
Jenny