Feral chicken: Hen or Rooster?

[Ladybird CA]

Sorry that it didn't work out.

 

[ybhco]

It totally worked out! This bird is crazy as hell. She escaped yesterday and ran around in the woods all day. Around sunset, she came running back out of the woods and flew up and perched on the top of the coop. I grabbed her and tossed her back in.

She escaped again this morning and did the same thing! She spent the day in the woods, then I looked outside around sunset and there she was... perched on top of the coop again asking to be let in. I opened the door and she walked right in and went to bed with the rest of my flock.

And even more good news: my birds have almost started to accept her. They still peck at her a bit so that she knows her place, but when they roost for the night, there's no fighting.

I'm amazed that this feral chicken who has never seen a coop figured this out so quickly. She's loving this... free food and a warm place to sleep. She's never seen that before.

We're having unusually warm weather in Tennessee right now, but I'm guessing as the weather gets colder she'll opt for the coop instead of her adventures in the woods. I'm going to TRY to keep her in the coop for a few days straight in hopes that she'll get used to it. I let my other birds out to roam the yard a couple of times per day, so it'll be good for the new one to have some alone time in the coop.

 

[Ladybird CA]

Sounds like a true game bird

 

[ybhco]

Do you think she'll lay?

 

[Ladybird CA]

She might after a couple weeks but some chickens won't lay until the weather gets warmer if they are older than 2 years old.

 

[ybhco]

Judging by her size and the size of her waddle thingy and crest, she seems like a juvenile who is almost ready to start laying.

 

[Ladybird CA]

oh true her comb is rather red

 

[summerb123]

yes it is!

 

[cjperrault1]

My sister gave me a feral chicken that she caught, and I'm thinking about introducing it to my coop (3 hens). It's considerably smaller than the hens, but the shape of the tail concerns me. They kept it for a few days and said that it doesn't crow. What do we think... are we dealing with a hen or a rooster?

I would do anything for a hen like that

 

[microchick]

What a great story! She definitely looks like she is mostly Game Bantam and very pretty! I have 4 Game Bantams and 11 eggs in my incubator from a line of Amish Game Bantams. The owner is a neighbor and cannot praise his birds enough. He has a dairy goat herd and doesn't want his chickens 'underfoot' as he put it. The Games are out and about all day, roaming around the woods and pastures. They will lay a clutch of eggs in the tall grass and brood them there no matter the weather. He thinks they are just tough little birds and smart. My 4 are characters and I'm hoping for a good hatch from the one's I'm incubating now.

I don't know who is the luckier, you or your little feral bird!