Pegasusi
Chirping
- Nov 1, 2017
- 40
- 80
- 99
I have been sulking in the wings of this site for over a year. This site has been a wealth of information! My 3 to 5 year plan is to acquire some acreage and establish a mini farm with a few horses, chickens and possibly some goats. But prior to realizing my dream mini farm, we have one more upcoming move due to a transfer. Imagine my surprise when an unplanned, uninvited feathered bundle of joy shows up in my shrubbery.
June 19th I went out to sweep the front porch and heard what sounded like a small child softly whinning only to discover a scrawny white Leghorn in my bushes. She was missing the feathers on her back and spotty feathering on her chest. I live in the heart of the city....nobody has chickens around here....was this Devine Intervention....was this a message that I am destined to be a chicken mom? She was obviously hungry and having no experience with chickens I opted for some old fashioned oats I had in the pantry. She has been here ever since. I have now acquired the proper diet and supplement with her favorite table scraps. I bought her a nesting box that I set up in the shrubbery. I put a golf ball in the box hoping to clue her in to the box's purpose...in less than 2 weeks she was laying a daily egg. At first she was roosting in a large live oak at night....choosing the same spot. Then I noticed that she was moving higher on weaker branches then searching for different trees. I think a predator had discovered her and she was trying to evade detection. The fear of a predator getting her and knowing a business trip would require us to be away for four days spurred me to build her a coop.
Before finishing the coop she had gone broody. My sweet chickie had turned into a witch! She never left her nesting box and wouldn't eat or drink. I dumped and blocked her out of the nesting box every day so she would eat and drink something but she stayed close to the nesting area. She refused to roost in the trees at night so I allowed her to get in her nesting box so I could close her up for her protection.
Her broodiness actually helped me transfer her to the coop once it was completed. I just picked up her nesting box and dump her out into the pen area. Everyday I would have to lift her out of her new nesting box and close her out of the "house area". I removed and hid her "Titleist Egg". She was mad and went on the hunt.....she found it! As our business trip approached, I decided I would close her up in the coop's run area but block her out of the house and nesting area. The run is roofed with a solid walled corner as a weather break and also has a roosting branch. I left plenty of food and water to carry her through the 4 days of our absence.
When we returned her broodiness was broken and she was back to her sweet self and within a week she was a prolific egg layer again. I know Leghorns are not your typical breed for a pet chicken but she is quite interactive. She isn't a lap sitter but grudgingly allows me to pet her and pick her up. I have been told she needs at least one flockmate but with the looming transfer and if the yet to be determined area allows backyard chickens it would be unwise to adopt another hen I would possibly have to rehome. I have grown very attached to her so hopefully the new area will accept all of us with welcoming arms. Thank you to this site and all its members. Their questions and input have already answered so many of my questions.
June 19th I went out to sweep the front porch and heard what sounded like a small child softly whinning only to discover a scrawny white Leghorn in my bushes. She was missing the feathers on her back and spotty feathering on her chest. I live in the heart of the city....nobody has chickens around here....was this Devine Intervention....was this a message that I am destined to be a chicken mom? She was obviously hungry and having no experience with chickens I opted for some old fashioned oats I had in the pantry. She has been here ever since. I have now acquired the proper diet and supplement with her favorite table scraps. I bought her a nesting box that I set up in the shrubbery. I put a golf ball in the box hoping to clue her in to the box's purpose...in less than 2 weeks she was laying a daily egg. At first she was roosting in a large live oak at night....choosing the same spot. Then I noticed that she was moving higher on weaker branches then searching for different trees. I think a predator had discovered her and she was trying to evade detection. The fear of a predator getting her and knowing a business trip would require us to be away for four days spurred me to build her a coop.
Before finishing the coop she had gone broody. My sweet chickie had turned into a witch! She never left her nesting box and wouldn't eat or drink. I dumped and blocked her out of the nesting box every day so she would eat and drink something but she stayed close to the nesting area. She refused to roost in the trees at night so I allowed her to get in her nesting box so I could close her up for her protection.
Her broodiness actually helped me transfer her to the coop once it was completed. I just picked up her nesting box and dump her out into the pen area. Everyday I would have to lift her out of her new nesting box and close her out of the "house area". I removed and hid her "Titleist Egg". She was mad and went on the hunt.....she found it! As our business trip approached, I decided I would close her up in the coop's run area but block her out of the house and nesting area. The run is roofed with a solid walled corner as a weather break and also has a roosting branch. I left plenty of food and water to carry her through the 4 days of our absence.
When we returned her broodiness was broken and she was back to her sweet self and within a week she was a prolific egg layer again. I know Leghorns are not your typical breed for a pet chicken but she is quite interactive. She isn't a lap sitter but grudgingly allows me to pet her and pick her up. I have been told she needs at least one flockmate but with the looming transfer and if the yet to be determined area allows backyard chickens it would be unwise to adopt another hen I would possibly have to rehome. I have grown very attached to her so hopefully the new area will accept all of us with welcoming arms. Thank you to this site and all its members. Their questions and input have already answered so many of my questions.
