Found a chicken?!

[ntankovich]

Last night a neighbor called me because they had a chicken show up in their yard. I do have backyard chickens so they thought it might be mine but it's not! I brought it back and put her in a dog cage with food and water and now I'm not sure what to do! We live within city limits and most people here don't obtain a permit for their backyard flocks.
I have heard other hens in the neighborhood but I am not sure where they are. What would you guys do?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Start asking around the neighborhood. Perhaps go door to door. People will know if their neighbors have chickens. It most likely hasn't traveled far from home.
This will also give you the opportunity to meet nearby chicken keepers you can meetup with or even possible chicken sitters.

 

[ntankovich]

I'll have to try that I was just concerned if they don't have a permit and I spoke with neighbors Id get someone in trouble. I don't have a permit either but my neighbors are all awesome and love fresh eggs

 

[drumstick diva]

That IS a quandary - I think the people who may have lost her are afraid to speak up for that very reason. If their cover gets blown, someone will report them for having chickens.

 

[lazy gardener]

But, any neighbors who know about neighbors with chickens would have already spoken up if they had a problem with it. I'd still go the public route, perhaps even put up a notice at the local store, or where ever folks in your neighborhood tend to go. Or you could cruise the neighborhood in a white van, driving real slow, looking for signs of chicken coops... However, that might draw the wrong kind of attention as well! If you lost one of your chickens, how would you go about looking for her??? Do you have a permit? Perhaps it's time for you to gather all the chicken lovers in town and overthrow the permit rule. After all, do people need a permit to keep a dog? A cat? A parrot???

 

[ntankovich]

I fully agree with overthrowing the permit rule!
I actually did yesterday, what you just mentioned. The only difference was that my van is silver! However, I was able to spot something that looked like a coop and voila! They were missing a chicken! They were so happy!!!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

 

[N F C]

That was kind of you to find the lost chicken's home. Good job!

 

[Frindizzle]

That's great!! Good job.