How to get stray chicken into coop?

[Pyxis]

Congrats on getting her into the coop! Sounds like she's finding most of what she needs while out foraging. They really prefer the tasty things they can find while out to the pellets so they will try to eat as much of what they can get foraging before eating pellets to get the rest of what they need. As for the fruits and things, it's a possibility that in her old home, wherever she came from, they never gave treats like that so she doesn't recognize them as something edible. A lot of birds that come here have to learn from the rest of my flock that those bananas I'm throwing are delicious before they start eating them too.

 

[Fionich85]

I'm glad you're in an area where she can forage. My girls have a landscape covered by 3' of snow now. Your gal has found herself a great home. The fact that she's not eating much of the layer pellets says she's meeting a lot of her nutritional needs by her foraging. Good for her, and even better for your yard. As long as there are no predator issues, and as long as she returns to her coop at night, all is well. Continue to offer the pellets, be sure she has fresh water, don't let scratch = more than 10% of her diet, and save those meal worms for when you want to work on training her, for example: getting her into the coop at night, coming when called. Enjoy those eggs!

You know, I never considered the fact that maybe her foraging is helping in a big way to contribute to her nutritional needs. That's a good point. It looks like she's just kicking dirt around and pecking at rocks when she's free ranging, but there is probably more than what meets the eye going on there. I can be a bit too "helicopter mom" when it comes to animals and at times I forget how self sufficient they are. I hope you're right! I actually do use the meal worms to get her into the coop at night and it works like a charm. When she sees me and hears the bag shake, she (literally) comes running. It's really too funny lol. I had no idea that these animals have such huge personalities. Thank you !! :]

 

[Fionich85]

Lazy Gardener said it well. I too wish to congratulate you on your new capture/kidnapping/rescue chicken.
A lot of people would not have done the nice thing you did for her. She is a lucky lady.
Silkies are a breed that sometimes do not meld well with standard breeds like the one you have. It takes a lot of time for some chickens to accept newcomers. If she is eating and seems happy then she is an exception to the rule.

Babs

Thank you! My husband and I joke that she sure did pick the right yard lol. Our dogs are jealous of all the attention she gets, but she really is an amazingly sweet and entertaining animal with a huge personality and we're super glad she showed up that day :]

 

[21hens-incharge]

It is truly amazing the personalities they have. I used to think of chickens as basically one is just like the other. Not so much now. I have 19 currently and there are 19 different personalities there.

 

[KeriT]

I'm glad you're in an area where she can forage.  My girls have a landscape covered by 3' of snow now.  Your gal has found herself a great home.  The fact that she's not eating much of the layer pellets says she's meeting a lot of her nutritional needs by her foraging.  Good for her, and even better for your yard.  As long as there are no predator issues, and as long as she returns to her coop at night, all is well.  Continue to offer the pellets, be sure she has fresh water, don't let scratch = more than 10% of her diet, and save those meal worms for when you want to work on training her, for example:  getting her into the coop at night, coming when called.  Enjoy those eggs!

I agree with lazy Gardner. Congrats on your new family member! Scratch is not a good feed for laying hens, there is not much protein in it and it takes more energy to digest the corn than they get out of it plus it's not good for their heart and some chickens can even become fat and unhealthy from it. I would suggest just layer pellets, they are formulated as a complete balanced diet feed with everything a laying hen needs including vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and extra calcium for the egg shells. It's all she needs other than what she gets foraging. Don't give up on fruits and veggies either

 

[aart]

I'm back! So here's a little update. We finished the coop and run and were able to very easily convince the chicken ("Klucky") to go into her newly built home. She made herself right at home and seemed to be very happy in there. She started laying beautiful big brown eggs after being inside her new coop for 4 days.

Everyone recommended that I get her a friend because they said she'd be lonely as a lone chicken. So, we bought two silkies. They were the sweetest, cutest, most adorable little balls of fluff I have ever seen. I fell in love with them quickly. Unfortunately, Klucky absolutely HATED them. As soon as she saw the two silkies, she started doing this awful loud clucking sound and pacing her run back and forth. The night we got the silkies she refused to go in her coop, she just stayed down at the bottom of the run. Then when it got dark out, she started jumping up and down trying to latch onto the hardware cloth to get up high for the night. (She usually sleeps in her nice big coop which has a perch in it). We had to quickly improvise and drill a piece of wood on to the side of her run so she'd stop freaking out. She jumped up on the perch we made and went to sleep for the night.

However, the next morning she started doing the loud screaming clucking again as soon as the sun was up and she was pacing her cage again trying to get out. Finally, I felt like I had to let her out or she was going to have a heart attack, so I let her out to free range and the loud loud angry "BAWKBAWKBAWK!!" just continued (maybe even louder). I started freaking out because I didn't want my neighbors to complain or get upset with me. She was yelling and doing the angry BAWK for 24 hours when I finally decided that it wasn't going to work out with the new chickens. Let me also add that previously, Klucky was nearly silent. She would make sweet little light bawks every once in a while when she was happy or if I gave her some meal worms, etc. But before bringing in the 2 silkies, she barely made a peep.

I rehomed the 2 silkies to a girl who has a beautiful farm down the road. I know it will be a great home for them.

As soon as I got back from dropping off the 2 silkies, Klucky was back to her normal self. The screaming and anger was gone. She was silent and happy again and even went in her coop and layed an egg while we were dropping them off!!

So now I am convinced that she just really dislikes other birds and will be fine as a lone chicken. My husband works from home, so she will get plenty of attention.

Now that I've solved that entire crazy debacle, I am here to ask a question. I am currently feeding Klucky a Purina pellet and also a chicken scratch. But she doesn't seem to eat very much and when I let her out to free range, she forages for hours. I've offered her broccoli, yogurt, banana, and apple and she wasn't interested in any of those things! I read that chickens love fruits and vegetables and table scraps, but she seems very very fussy. The one thing she LOVES is meal worms, however I only give that as a treat. Am I missing something? Is it ok for her to eat nothing but the Purina pellet and scratch with a couple of occasional meal worms? I'm worried that she's not getting proper nutrition. Any advice that anyone can offer in regards to what to feed her and her measley appetite would be greatly appreciated.

Did you allow the new chickens to stay physically separated in an adjacent pen nest to Klucky's for a couple weeks to get to know one another before letting them meet?
The behavior you describe is territorial and would happen with almost any bird who had newcomers invade their territorry

 

[NaNa444]

My story is almost identical to Fionich85! I too had this little hen show up in my backyard about a month ago. She will not let me touch her, but she follows me around all over the yard.

My yard is rich in her favorite foods. She also enjoyed my apple trees.

I do not know where she roosts. She can be very secretive when it comes time for her to settle down.

Can someone telle what kind of chicken she is?? She has very colorful legs and thought she might be an Easter Egger, but I cannot find a picture quite like her anywhere!

 

[NaNa444]

Update on Charlie Red. She's now quite at home in her coop I bought her in October. She still free ranges in the day, gets visits from a neighbor rooster almost daily, and is laying pink eggs! She's gained weight and turned into a very pretty hen! At this point I'm fairly certain she qualifies as an Easter Egger. She weighs 2.8 lbs.

 

[NaNa444]

I'm back! So here's a little update. We finished the coop and run and were able to very easily convince the chicken ("Klucky") to go into her newly built home. She made herself right at home and seemed to be very happy in there. She started laying beautiful big brown eggs after being inside her new coop for 4 days. 

Everyone recommended that I get her a friend because they said she'd be lonely as a lone chicken. So, we bought two silkies. They were the sweetest, cutest, most adorable little balls of fluff I have ever seen. I fell in love with them quickly. Unfortunately, Klucky absolutely HATED them. As soon as she saw the two silkies, she started doing this awful loud clucking sound and pacing her run back and forth. The night we got the silkies she refused to go in her coop, she just stayed down at the bottom of the run. Then when it got dark out, she started jumping up and down trying to latch onto the hardware cloth to get up high for the night. (She usually sleeps in her nice big coop which has a perch in it). We had to quickly improvise and drill a piece of wood on to the side of her run so she'd stop freaking out. She jumped up on the perch we made and went to sleep for the night.

However, the next morning she started doing the loud screaming clucking again as soon as the sun was up and she was pacing her cage again trying to get out. Finally, I felt like I had to let her out or she was going to have a heart attack, so I let her out to free range and the loud loud angry "BAWKBAWKBAWK!!" just continued (maybe even louder). I started freaking out because I didn't want my neighbors to complain or get upset with me. She was yelling and doing the angry BAWK for 24 hours when I finally decided that it wasn't going to work out with the new chickens. Let me also add that previously, Klucky was nearly silent. She would make sweet little light bawks every once in a while when she was happy or if I gave her some meal worms, etc. But before bringing in the 2 silkies, she barely made a peep.

I rehomed the 2 silkies to a girl who has a beautiful farm down the road. I know it will be a great home for them.

As soon as I got back from dropping off the 2 silkies, Klucky was back to her normal self. The screaming and anger was gone. She was silent and happy again and even went in her coop and layed an egg while we were dropping them off!!   

So now I am convinced that she just really dislikes other birds and will be fine as a lone chicken. My husband works from home, so she will get plenty of attention. 

Now that I've solved that entire crazy debacle, I am here to ask a question. I am currently feeding Klucky a Purina pellet and also a chicken scratch. But she doesn't seem to eat very much and when I let her out to free range, she forages for hours. I've offered her broccoli, yogurt, banana, and apple and she wasn't interested in any of those things! I read that chickens love fruits and vegetables and table scraps, but she seems very very fussy. The one thing she LOVES is meal worms, however I only give that as a treat. Am I missing something? Is it ok for her to eat nothing but the Purina pellet and scratch with a couple of occasional meal worms? I'm worried that she's not getting proper nutrition. Any advice that anyone can offer in regards to what to feed her and her measley appetite would be greatly appreciated. :/

I am going to try incubating a couple of Charlie Red's fertile eggs. The hardware store is also selling chicks in a week. I can't wait. But I believe my little hen loves her solitary life too! It will be an adventure! I'll let you know what happens!

 

[A GIBSON]

since I'm the only person in the area with chickens,a neighbor and an officer brought this guy to me this evening. I explained that it was not my bird and I was told he/she had been running around alone for several days by itself. So I agreed to take it in if by chance someone reports a missing chicken they know where to look.... it appears to be pretty beat up so it's isolated for now... any suggestions and possibly anyone identify the breed??