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Frostbite? The spots on her comb? Crap we checked her feet which looked like they had spots a few times but each time we realized she had walked in her poop.
You are a mind reader! With the long original post I left out my mass of additional questions. Like she has been scratching her face and head the last two days and I found a total of 4-6 random feathers during my daily poop clean up/Newspaper replacement in the last week. Is that normal?
What sorts of skin/feather/issues can they have if any.
Do I worry about Ticks in the summer just like my other pets? Or any Chicken Specific parasites or issues?
 
Hel
Sarah719 said:
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)

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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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Hello and welcome. I'm Terri from Texas. Of what I've understood, chickens kept come back and numbers dwindled until there was one. Based on my own observations, this was the same thing going on here. It was 3 hens and 2 beautiful roosters. Until only one. Like you. I haven't completely moved at my place yet when this happened. Yet, when asking about it, was told owners moved away. The reason only one came back and never left was because of predators. Dogs as a matter of fact had gotten to the rest. Leaving just one. My adopted flock took her in, she gave eggs and offsprings. Yes, the previous owner of my newly acquired property also left their chickens behind now they are mine and learned a crash course of raising chickens. Plus hatching eggs. This place, site is very informational and everyone is as helpful as they can be. So, I wish you all the best, know what you can have, such as the a rooster addition or not, and always research, asking when confused, I do. Wishing you the best, Terri
 
Sarah719 said:
Frostbite? The spots on her comb? Crap we checked her feet which looked like they had spots a few times but each time we realized she had walked in her poop.
You are a mind reader! With the long original post I left out my mass of additional questions. Like she has been scratching her face and head the last two days and I found a total of 4-6 random feathers during my daily poop clean up/Newspaper replacement in the last week. Is that normal?
What sorts of skin/feather/issues can they have if any.
Do I worry about Ticks in the summer just like my other pets? Or any Chicken Specific parasites or issues?
Click to expand...
Could be normal, but I would check for mites/lice just to be safe: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html?m=1
 
Samannemm said:
She looks like a red sex link to me, which is a hybrid breed of a Rhode Island Red and Delaware hen. They’re good egg layers, but can be a bit dominant with other breeds. Here’s a pic of mine.
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Looks just like her! I Bet this is what she is. We have a farm like 8 miles down the road that has about 25 of these and they sell eggs. Yeah when we introduce a new hen to her (Of any breed) I was wondering what to expect. I know hens can have pecking order disputes with new additions but once the hierarchy is established most do best with flock mates. Just hope we do it correctly.
 
Yes lice an mites is what you should look for but it could be normal if you see nothing built up on the feathers and irratation. Add some apple cider vinager a couple times a week in her water and garlic in the feed. these two things help boost immune systems an help prevent or cure illness and infestations. I really like home remdies they really come in handy for some of things I've experienced so far . The frostbite Id leave it alone since some has turned black those pieces will fall off on its own. But Im not sure how the weather is going to be this coming month but if we keep having decent not freezing weather I would apply under the discolored pieces on the comb don't you touch those. But apply coconut oil or vaslin. I used it on one of my roosters who had it bad on the tips. But it was all dry an flaky under that. now has all better beside one point on the comb.
 
G’Day from down under Sarah :frow Welcome!

I have lost count of how many stories I have now read where chickens seem to pick who they want for their new owner. Mable appears to have made an outstanding choice! :clap

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

BYC has Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group. I think these two may be of particular interest to you:
Topic of the Week - Adding New Chickens to the Flock
Topic of the Week - Lice and Mites - Prevention and Treatments

Best wishes and good luck to you and Mable.

[Edited to correct the spelling of Mable's name .. sorry Mable!]
 
Hello. Welcome to the crazy world of chickens! That is really sad that the other hens never came back. I'm happy you will keep Mable and care for her. I have some brown hens like her they are called warren hens. Very friendly and fantastic layers. Good lick with her and your in the right place for hep and questions.
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