Hello! From Nottingham, England

[Stephen67]

Hi All,

I'm now the very proud owner of my first ever chicken - a Gold Laced Orpington. She's called Mabel and is just six weeks old. She's absolutely adorable and I'm gonna spoil her rotten

She has such a wonderful personality - to be honest, I think she's got an identity crisis and thinks she's a cat 'cos she curls up on my lap and rolls on her back to be stroked!

She's in perfect health and seems very happy (she makes that strange 'trilling' sound when I stroke her. I had to google it to see what was going on, and apparently it means she's content - which is great news!) She also squaks the house down if I leave the room - and makes a bee-line for me when I return

She is a sort-of 'pet', but I do hope to get a nice egg or two from her when she's ready for laying

Any tips and tricks to ensure she remains a happy chicken would be appreciated. Special treat foods and foods to avoid? When will she lay her first egg? Anything more I can do that I'm not already doing to make her even happier?

Best,
Stephen.

 

[Imp]

A warm welcome from an imp in Washington state.

Sounds like you got quite the chicken.

Imp

 

[Jenski]

Welcome!!! You are at the beginning of a fun adventure.

Keep her warm and dry, make sure she has plenty of food and water . . . and get her a buddy as soon as you can. Chickens are flock creatures, and will get very lonely and agitated without a friend.

Enjoy your new girl!

 

[justbugged]

Another soggy welcome from Western Washington State.

Mabel thinks that you are her flock so as long as you can spend all your time with her she be a happy contented chicken. But I will say that most of us can't spend all of our time with one chicken. They are flock animals and really depend on other chickens for their social needs. I would wait very long before getting Mable another chicken playmate. You wouldn't want to make it so that she doesn't know how to be part of a real chicken flock.

 

[rebbetzin]

Sounds like she is getting very good care. Chickens like to have friends, so you might think of getting her a couple of chicken friends. Do you have a nice secure coop and run area for when she gets older?

My chickens love Dandelion greens, leaf lettuce, beet green, chicken scratch, black seeeded sunflower seeds. They drink goat milk when it gets "goatie" tasting to me. They seem to like most anything I give them. There are posts on here somewhere of things that are not good to feed them.

We would love to see a photo of Mabel..... I have never seen Gold Laced Orpington. I had two Buff Orpingtons they were great!!

 

[Stephen67]

Thanks for the replies guys

Yep - she's gonna be well looked after! It may sound daft, but we've completely bonded. She won't leave me alone for two minutes - if I put her down, she's straight back up! Oh, I was amazed at her flying ability already - for one so young she's certainly found her wings!

Thanks for the advice btw - and I agree, she will need a mate. Unfortunately she was the last chick left from the farm I bought her from. I deliberated for weeks on the breed I wanted to keep, and after finally deciding, I'm now on the search for another gold laced orpington - which is proving to be a bit tricky...

I'll keep you all posted on the progress though....

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. It sounds like she has it made. She should start to lay around 20weeks.

 

[Stephen67]

Wow! It's been ages since I was here (well, it's six months, but it seems longer). I do try and check the posts from time to time and thankfully get the newsletter so I haven't completely forgot you guys!

Just wanted to post an update on my beloved girl, Mabel...

She's doing really, really well. She's just over seven months old now and is in superb health - but it's not been without problems....

A week after my first post I nearly lost her :-( She started pooing blood - a lot of blood. I was devastated. Completely clueless as to what the hell was going on etc, and just panicked. I rushed her to the vets who told me she had cochidiois (spelling?) and gave me some weird blue liquid type stuff to mix in her water. She was weak, wouldn't open her eyes or eat or drink. I had to literally pour the mixture down her beak. I didn't go to work, and just nursed her. She was on the brink of death and I cried a river. After two days she started picking up and managed a bit of food and was drinking for herself. I kept a close eye on her and was so relieved to see her poo returning to normal (there was still red in it, but not so severe). I'd got her back. Thank God.

Fast forward six months and she is now a very happy, healthy chick

She's laying every day - a fresh, pale blue egg. And they taste absolutely delicious! They're still a bit small, but I don't care. I'm really proud of her. I spoil her rotten (and I mean really bad lol). All my friends think I'm completely insane because I treat her like a newborn baby, but were total companions and there's nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy. She lives with me full time now (I can't bear to have her in the shed) and is a full on 'house' chicken. She follows me everywhere and won't leave my side. I wouldn't part with her for the world.

And here she is:

Best,
Stephen.

 

[texasgal]

A big Texas sized

Glad you came back to update!

 

[Kitt]

Hello and

They have a list of things a chicken can and can not have on here. It's awesome.
I have to warn you...chickens are addictive. I haven't seen anyone who could have just one.