Found Chicken - What should I do?

[TheLadyParadise]

Someone in my neighborhood has lost or thrown out a mature laying hen, I think a Mille Fleur Lemon Booted Bantam (I think...). She is gorgeous and small and laid a tiny pearly white egg this morning. Our neighbors came by with her yesterday to ask if it was one of ours that maybe had escaped - it was not. We couldn't find the owners and it was getting dark so we put her in a crate with hay, food, and water and kept her in the shed away from our coop in case she is diseased or something (she looks healthy, though). We have posted on local neighborhood forums to try and find her owner but no luck yet.

In case no one comes forward, I want to be prepared in case we need to adopt her. We have three regular-size chickens (a golden sex link, a blue ameraucana, and a salmon faverolle) and she is definitely a little bantam. I have introduced pullets to chickens before, but only in pairs - not a single mature hen to a mature flock.

Our chickens have been vaccinated for Mareks, but I don't know enough about chickens to know what other risks I need to be on the lookout for in terms of introducing a new chicken to our current flock, if the owners can't be found.

If we have to adopt, I don't want to get our current chickens sick, and I don't want the new chicken to get too beat up. She appears happy and healthy, but I just don't know enough about chickens to know what to look for, as I've only had chickens for about a year. Any advice? Tips? Pointers? Thank you so much!

 

[sarastamand]

I've never mingled flocks before, so I am useless. But good luck and thanks for keeping her if necessary

 

[Mrs. K]

Section off another area in your run, with a shelter. Then put the new bird in that with ONE of your old birds. They will squabble, but it is one on one. Leave them together until they are pretty comfortable.

Then add the pair to the other pair. Now sometimes that will just be a wash, but if one of those birds is quite aggressive, simply pull that one. That leaves the two to the one, which will quickly become a trio, and then later add the bully back to the three. A bully is strong enough to take on three.

I would not worry too much about disease, I do know some people do, but to me, healthy looks healthy. And while there is a risk of losing your entire flock, most disease are air bourne and ten to one, your birds have already been exposed if this bird was near by. If you would suffer mental anguish if your birds got sick then don't add the bird, get someone else to take her. Do NOT EVER add a bird you feel sorry for health wise.

If you are quite worried about the disease possibility, and have a space option, well you can keep her separated, and add a test bird to her, if that bird does not get sick, chances are the other two will not either. However, this is only true if you can truly quarantine, by separating the birds by 300 feet, completely changing your clothes between chicken groups. Most people do not have the ability to quarantine, and pretending to quarantine does not count.

Good luck,

Mrs K

 

[TheLadyParadise]

Wow, thank you so much, Mrs K! I really appreciate all your expertise. We definitely don't have the ability to truly quarantine, as you said, not by 300 ft at least. She definitely appears quite healthy - I am just not well-versed in chicken diseases/viruses so I wasn't sure if there was something specific I should keep an eye out for.

I'm honestly just surprised that no one is coming forth to claim her yet - she is an extremely pretty, fancy little thing, and is clearly a layer. I'll give it a week at least to see if owners come forth, before just adopting her if she continues to look healthy. I know I'd be quite concerned if one of my ladies went missing suddenly.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

pictures ? Welcome to BYC ! Great advise there from MRS K

 

[TheLadyParadise]

We found the owner! She lives around the corner from us and came home and saw feathers and her chicken was missing and she panicked. So happy we were able to find the owner and keep this pretty girl safe and cozy for the night! Here's a picture of her next to her little white egg. Such a cutie.

 

[silly4buttons]

She so cute. I am glad you found her owner

 

[yickenscarf23]

I'm so glad she found her home! Good gosh she's a pretty one, too

 

[rosemarythyme]

Glad you were able to reunite the chicken and owner!

 

[ChickNanny13]

She is beautiful Glad to hear you found whom she belongs to