Sarah719
Chirping
Hello All,
My name is Sarah and I joined this site because a chicken has adopted my parents and I and we kind of have no idea what we are doing.
How it all started.
So back in late October while enjoying her morning coffee at the kitchen table and watching the birds come and go my mom looked up from the paper to see we had five chickens in our front yard. We live in southern Maine and while we have close neighbors almost every property is separated by or dotted with patches of trees and forest. But our home is a small aging trailer in the middle of a mostly clear patch of land with a crab-apple tree and bird feeders out front. So "the girls" (as we started calling the five brown hens) were rather happy with the worm and bug rich garden mulch under the tree from my moms flowers (Not to mention the random sunflower seeds they came across) We inquired to various neighbors who in turn inquired to others who have animals about possibly missing some chickens. No one claimed them but around sunset they took off with purpose in a way that told us they had a coop calling them home.
We got hit with a bad storm that left most of the state without power a day after that first visit. So it was a week or more before they reappeared (My dad minding his own business on our riding law mower when five chickens appeared running FULL-Tilt After him)
They kept visiting sometimes a few days in a row others with weeks going by in-between visits. Since we have had one of the coldest winters in years we assumed they preferred their coop to the cold. (And I say that knowing Chickens can stand cold well)
Why we thought they had a home.
During various inquires about "The girls origins" One neighbor called his son who lives near by and the son seemed to think they belonged to his friend several houses up the road. That info combined with the fact that after every visit they left at about sunset Re-enforced our belief that they had a safe coop to go home to.
Dwindling numbers.
By the time they came back in December their were only three. Then two and finally the last two visits only one. And She never went home.
We call her Mable
My mom and I discovered that instead of going home the last hen had decided t huddled on our back porch in a corner. (They had Never remained after sunset before) So we did the only thing we could. We opened the tool shed to the right of our backdoor and deck/porch laid down newspaper and gave her a door less pet crate and even cleared off a shelf that I covered with random wood pieces and newspaper on that so she could roost.
(This below pic is before I cleared off the shelf)
We are getting a coop this spring and a flock-mate for her. We bought actual chicken food. She clucks at the back door at about 4 am everyday but last night/this morning she did something odd.
She made a rooster noise............Yeah NOT kidding I got out of bed wandered out to look out the back door to look and she did it two more times. She is a hen. No spurs and a small comb ( I think I got those words correct) But she was doing her darnedest to imitate a Rooster. Don't know her age. I never realized how many diffrent types of noises Chickens make Or How much they poop. Her nick-name is poop machine. As she is not in a coop yet I clear out/replace the papers daily and she seems to like that.
My name is Sarah and I joined this site because a chicken has adopted my parents and I and we kind of have no idea what we are doing.
How it all started.
So back in late October while enjoying her morning coffee at the kitchen table and watching the birds come and go my mom looked up from the paper to see we had five chickens in our front yard. We live in southern Maine and while we have close neighbors almost every property is separated by or dotted with patches of trees and forest. But our home is a small aging trailer in the middle of a mostly clear patch of land with a crab-apple tree and bird feeders out front. So "the girls" (as we started calling the five brown hens) were rather happy with the worm and bug rich garden mulch under the tree from my moms flowers (Not to mention the random sunflower seeds they came across) We inquired to various neighbors who in turn inquired to others who have animals about possibly missing some chickens. No one claimed them but around sunset they took off with purpose in a way that told us they had a coop calling them home.
We got hit with a bad storm that left most of the state without power a day after that first visit. So it was a week or more before they reappeared (My dad minding his own business on our riding law mower when five chickens appeared running FULL-Tilt After him)
They kept visiting sometimes a few days in a row others with weeks going by in-between visits. Since we have had one of the coldest winters in years we assumed they preferred their coop to the cold. (And I say that knowing Chickens can stand cold well)
Why we thought they had a home.
During various inquires about "The girls origins" One neighbor called his son who lives near by and the son seemed to think they belonged to his friend several houses up the road. That info combined with the fact that after every visit they left at about sunset Re-enforced our belief that they had a safe coop to go home to.
Dwindling numbers.
By the time they came back in December their were only three. Then two and finally the last two visits only one. And She never went home.
We call her Mable
My mom and I discovered that instead of going home the last hen had decided t huddled on our back porch in a corner. (They had Never remained after sunset before) So we did the only thing we could. We opened the tool shed to the right of our backdoor and deck/porch laid down newspaper and gave her a door less pet crate and even cleared off a shelf that I covered with random wood pieces and newspaper on that so she could roost.
(This below pic is before I cleared off the shelf)
We are getting a coop this spring and a flock-mate for her. We bought actual chicken food. She clucks at the back door at about 4 am everyday but last night/this morning she did something odd.
She made a rooster noise............Yeah NOT kidding I got out of bed wandered out to look out the back door to look and she did it two more times. She is a hen. No spurs and a small comb ( I think I got those words correct) But she was doing her darnedest to imitate a Rooster. Don't know her age. I never realized how many diffrent types of noises Chickens make Or How much they poop. Her nick-name is poop machine. As she is not in a coop yet I clear out/replace the papers daily and she seems to like that.
you are at the right place! 
what an awesome story. So glad mable has found a forever home. Welcome to BYC 
alot of kind and knowledgeable people here so always feel free to ask any questions you may have.
How are these pics?
