Hello! I have 6 funky/happy hens here in Portland, Oregon. I've been lurking for a bit, so now I'm looking forward to being part of this website. I currently have 2 Americana's (Henrietta and Mrs. Beasley) 2 buff Bantam Brahmas (Pearl and Lulu Belle) 1 white Bantam (Pekin?) of unknown origin (Daisy Omelette) 1 showgirl black bantam silkie ("Flo of the weird toe", or just Flo for short) She has six toes on one foot! I just rescued the last two the other day. They were in horrible shape and didn't even act like chickens, they were completely despondent. When I saw the ad on craigslist, and I saw the horrible conditions at this "farm", I knew I had to go save a couple souls. It was a 3 hour round-trip but worth it. They were covered in feces, and were terrified of humans. I am not kidding when I say that as soon as we brought them home and bathed them, they just knew we were helping them, and 48 hours later, they act (mostly) like normal chickens. They were caged in packed conditions and had never seen anything green. I'm still trying to teach them to eat anything other than bread. I can tell that the prior owners fed them only bread. I saw no food or water in their wire cages, but stale bread on a table nearby. I can tell you in all honesty I came close to reading this woman the riot act about how she treats her animals. One note: when we brought them home, and began to bathe them, they allowed us to use the sprayer and everything. You could just see the feeling of "Oh my God, that feels sooo good" on their little faces. It was amazing to me since I was expecting the exact opposite. I doubt they had ever been able to preen normally prior to this, ever. Anyway, hello everyone!
Hello and welcome to BYC I'm so glad you saved those poor hens! Some people just They will probably need a little time to recover completely and "be chickens". The rest of your flock will teach them though. With that being said, I hope you have them quarantined? Just to make sure the poor things don't have mites or worms or something nasty, which is a possibility, considering their past home. Good luck with them!
Hello, Funky Chooks, and ! Great to have you here! I'm glad there are people like you in the world that would rescue those chickens - great work. Good luck to you!!
Hi There! I should have said so, but yes, I am keeping them separate for now. They are only 4 months old, and my other hens are about 7 & 9 months. They showed no outer signs of disease, just neglect in spades. They are malnouirshed, but I'll be working on that with lots of treats. I've uploaded a couple pics! They still aren't completely clean, which is why Daisy's little butt is yellowed. I literally had to cut off hanging feathers with rock-like crusts attatched to them, and their feet had dirt so compacted on the tips that it was difficult to break off. The first 24 hours home, they kept staring at their feet as if they normally hurt a lot. Daisy is turning out to be a real joy. Her personality is coming out. Flo is pretty sedate and doesn't do a whole lot yet.
& from Alabama. Glad you joined us. What cuties! It sounds like they'll found a wonderful home with you
