Help me decide what to do...story & questions

[Egghead_Jr]

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I agree. If'n they want it back then try and see if they are missing it. Then again, it could be from far away. My uncle had a rooster for near a whole summer and the only chooks were a few houses up from him and was'nt thiers. Ya never know how far an animal travels to find a home

 

[Desert Rooster]

just keep her, if she wanderd over to you, then it just shows how much her owners really cared for her, just keep her

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

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The OP should memorize that speech; perfect. I'd be surprised if they didn't give her the hen. If they want a few bucks, so be it.

I agree here. They'll most likely say "go ahead and keep her". They probably don't want to mess with nursing a chicken back and who wants to eat a chicken that was chewed on by a coyote???

 

[peach]

Those darn coyotes, hubby shot one today and it still had my chicken in it's mouth! At least I know the culprit is dead. I would do the honest thing and tell the neighbors, at least ask if they are missing one. If not, then it's yours. If yes then tell them you found it and are nursing it, ask them if they want it back. Probably not and its yours. Good for you for at least trying to help it. Good luck.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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??? If the coyote had her, and brought her a long way, how is that the owner's fault that they do not live close by? It would be nice to know that every chicken lives in a Ft Knox henhouse, and never gets left out when the doors are closed and locked for the night, but the reality is...that is not reality.

You can place "found chicken" ads and flyers, or place a notice at the feed store. Do not give too much information, just enough that if someone is actually missing a bird they can call and say, "Did you find Alice? My barred rock hen?" or "Did you find Penelope? My light brown leghorn?" or "Did you find Sophie, my buff cochin?" And you will know that it is not Alice or Penelope, but it might be Sophie, based upon the description.

 

[billfields]

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??? If the coyote had her, and brought her a long way, how is that the owner's fault that they do not live close by? It would be nice to know that every chicken lives in a Ft Knox henhouse, and never gets left out when the doors are closed and locked for the night, but the reality is...that is not reality.

You can place "found chicken" ads and flyers, or place a notice at the feed store. Do not give too much information, just enough that if someone is actually missing a bird they can call and say, "Did you find Alice? My barred rock hen?" or "Did you find Penelope? My light brown leghorn?" or "Did you find Sophie, my buff cochin?" And you will know that it is not Alice or Penelope, but it might be Sophie, based upon the description.

The OP knows who the chicken belongs to. She doesn't need to place an ad, if she decides to do the honest thing she just needs to take the chicken next door and give it back.

And it doesn't matter how much the rightful owners care or don't care for the chicken. It belongs to them. Period

 

[can you hear me now?]

I agree, it is THEIR chicken. I have at least 41 birds and none of them have names. I would like to think if my neighbors found one of my girls that they would bring her back. I admire honesty, would probably let them have her as well. Taking it back would show honesty. A quality I feel is fleeting with each new generation. Only you can choose what is the right thing to do but the good book says to do unto others as you would want them to do to you. I would keep that in mind.

 

[tammyd57]

can you hear me now? :

I agree, it is THEIR chicken. I have at least 41 birds and none of them have names. I would like to think if my neighbors found one of my girls that they would bring her back. I admire honesty, would probably let them have her as well. Taking it back would show honesty. A quality I feel is fleeting with each new generation. Only you can choose what is the right thing to do but the good book says to do unto others as you would want them to do to you. I would keep that in mind.

Or, what goes around, comes around.
If the situation were reversed, how would the OP feel? Say, your hen inadvertently got out (since they free range, this is entirely possible) and went next door. The neighbor thinks "Oh, well, if they cared about their hen it wouldn't be in MY yard, so I'll just keep her."
Looks different from the other direction, doesn't it?​

 

[chkn]

Well, I vote in favor of whatever is best for the chicken. If the neighbors are slovenly and don't take good care of their chickens, keep the chicken if you can give it a better home. There really aren't any honest people in the world today (sorry but I don't have much hope for the human race), so you might as well get real and do the right thing by the chicken. Most of you wouldn't think twice about shooting somebody's dog who came inadvertently into your yard even though it might help to put up a fence.

 

[justbugged]

Actually the OP said that she thinks she knows where it came from, not that she did for sure. She is assuming that she knows at this point. Until she contacts the neighbors she can not know for sure that it is the neighbors.