Henrietta122

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Henrietta122

In the Brooder
Feb 3, 2025
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Hello, I have my first Chicken.
We call her rita. Rita is one of nine chickens a neighbor had. On the morning of December 27 due to the negligence of her caretaker because her owner was out of town. It was a freezing night. The door was not put back on the coop. something got into the coop the next morning I was alerted by my Aunt running up the driveway with a chicken clutched in a blanket.

I asked her what had happened. She had told me with tears running down her cheeks. They're all dead. Something got to them. This one still alive, but barely , I quickly went over to assess the other chickens, I grabbed two that were still relatively warm and brought them back into the bathroom for some heat, blankets, and a blow dryer. Sadly, the other two were Rhode Island reds beautiful birds they did not survive. The lone Survivor. Rita became my chicken that night she fought hard to survive. Now I need to fight for her to stay well. So, until spring she lives in my bathroom with the goal of getting a fertilized sexed egg for another girl and let her sit on it so she can start her family over
 
pennyJo1960 said:
Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out. You will need to buy a a couple bird friends.
They are very social creatures.
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That explains why Ritta has found a high spot she likes to frequent every night when she gets to come out of the bathroom and roam around the kitchen and the bedroom. Rita found a perch. High enough to see everybody in the room including the TV and she will go there every night, when she's out of the bathroom . One night , I stepped out for a moment to feed the cats when I came back in the house I couldn't find her, and when I got to the bedroom, she was sitting on top of my comforter with my other two cats, looking at her and then looking at me as if asking for an explanation.
 
Hiya, Henrietta, and welcome to BYC! :frow

That is quite a bittersweet story with a happy ending. That had to be devastating, but glad Rita is fine.

I'd watch Facebook poultry groups for your state/area for someone selling chickens close to you so you wouldn't have to start with chicks. Chicks are definitely fun, but if you're not set up for them, or even if you are, it's going to be months before you'll have any ready to breed or lay eggs. Rita may lay eggs, but if she had a rooster before, she'll only have fertile ones for a few days/weeks.
 
Henrietta122 said:
let her sit on it so she can start her family over
Click to expand...
There's no guarantee your Rita will want to sit on eggs when you provide her with one or more. The desire to "set" or go broody is hormone-driven, and some hens never do. If you want company for Rita, your best bet is to order a few baby chicks and raise them up this spring to join her in your chicken coop when they are about 5 to 8 weeks old. We'll be happy to help you, so if you decide to do that, let us know and we will coach you through it!
 

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