I found a chicken, please help!!

[jordanwang07]

Quote:
I'm in th Central Valley and it gets really cold here. More than people realize, but as long as she is not wet or have drafts, she should be fine with no heat. Matter of fact, sometimes it's worse to add it. She'll be fine. If you need a friend for her and don't care what breed I can give you a 3 or so month old pullet to keep her company. It will either be a brown or green egg layer. I have one or two that I may be willing to part with. I'm concentrating manly on my pure bred right now and trying to build those up, so I'd be happy to give you one of these mixes.

Thank you so much for the kind offer! I was just looking into where to buy more chickens to give her some friends. I'm very tempted to take you up on the offer, but I won't be able to give you a definitive answer for a few days.

The problem is I don't have a chicken coop, so i don't have any place to house them at night. She's currently roaming around my backyard, but I can't catch her to bring her inside at night, so I'm even hesitant to just let him roam the yard. I'll try to attract her with some food to see if i can get her in the garage, then she would be much easier to catch. I wouldn't mind building a chicken coop (it seems like a cool weekend project), but I'm completely booked with work until December.

 

[silkiechicken]

People in Alaska raise their chickens without heat.... they are usually pretty tolerant. Pine is a fine shaving, you can get chicken formulated feed from a farm supply store, dog house is fine... I do have to ask though... are you sure what you have is a hen?

Posting a pic would be great if you can. You'll need 10 posts or you can put it on your personal page ("my Page" in the blue bar 6 from the right).

Oh... and if you add a run to the dog house... that is a chicken coop right there!

Welcome!

 

[wood&feathers]

Can you put a secure door on the dog house? For an OEGB or two it might suffice at night. I don't know how tall the dog house is, but you might be able to put a perch inside too. Better yet raise the dog house up off the ground on legs or something.

 

[carladababe]

I love to hear about random acts of kindness, you are a wonderful person for taking on the care of a lost, scared little bird. Good luck, you guys are in my prayers, please keep us informed.

 

[jordanwang07]

Thanks for the advises everyone, so far I'm trying to find a temporary solution before I build a coop.

It's starting to rain outside, and I was finally able to catch her and put her in a cardboard box. It's pretty small, maybe 1.5 foot by 1.5 foot, and not big enough for her to stand up. I put some pine bedding on the bottom and closed the box. Can I keep her there over night? And what should I put her in during the day?

 

[rancher hicks]

Well you couldn't have come to a better place. Your sure to get lots of helpful advice so I won't offer any.

Just say thanks for the rescue,

Rancher

 

[wolftracks]

Quote:
I'm in th Central Valley and it gets really cold here. More than people realize, but as long as she is not wet or have drafts, she should be fine with no heat. Matter of fact, sometimes it's worse to add it. She'll be fine. If you need a friend for her and don't care what breed I can give you a 3 or so month old pullet to keep her company. It will either be a brown or green egg layer. I have one or two that I may be willing to part with. I'm concentrating manly on my pure bred right now and trying to build those up, so I'd be happy to give you one of these mixes.

Thank you so much for the kind offer! I was just looking into where to buy more chickens to give her some friends. I'm very tempted to take you up on the offer, but I won't be able to give you a definitive answer for a few days.

The problem is I don't have a chicken coop, so i don't have any place to house them at night. She's currently roaming around my backyard, but I can't catch her to bring her inside at night, so I'm even hesitant to just let him roam the yard. I'll try to attract her with some food to see if i can get her in the garage, then she would be much easier to catch. I wouldn't mind building a chicken coop (it seems like a cool weekend project), but I'm completely booked with work until December.

You can pm me when you decide.

Have you looked at all the coops on this site? There are some really nice ones and not hard to make.

I'm bulding two right now out of peach bins that another BYCer was able to pick up from her friend who sells them. They are still out at her farm, but last week she kicked butt getting everything cut and ready for me to do the first one. Once I have my space out back done, they'll bring both bins over and I can put the first one together. I want to get the inside painted before I add everything. The second one will be my experiment. LOL

Wanted to mention that Home Depot and Lowes usually have a section of wood that has been cut and the prices lowered. They also sometimes have stuff they will just give you. That's how I spent my summer. Collecting free wood. My biggest problem in transportation. My van has been out of commission since this time last year. My car isn't exactly a hualing vehicle, so I'm kind of restricted on how much or how big I can get, but everything helps.

You can also check craigslist for things to convert, like packing crates. Plus, so many people have built some awesome coops out of old pallets. I even have a thread somewhere with things made of pallets that are just awesome. I should look for it and post the link in here.

You're biggest expenses if you do it right are hardware cloth, hinges, nails and screws. Maybe washers too since they work really good at securing the wire. Most everything else, check craigslist and use your imagination. Look for the free stuff first.

 

[wolftracks]

Here's that link.

Pallets aren't just for coops, so it all this can be done, just imagine what a coop would be like.

 

[ChooksChick]

Hiya, you super-spiffy-hen-rescuer!

Welcome to the new addiction...

If you click on my hints in my signature, there are some articles to help you get started. What important features your coop should have, how to get her to go in the coop at night, how to introduce new birds to her, etc.

Definitely get her some pals from someone nearby right away, and make her a safe home for night, even if it's just found materials. During the day, she should have a fenced yard at minimum, or make her a small run that stray dogs and cats won't get into. I have used cheap found lumber to make a 4x8 covered wire run in a pinch, and using screws and fender washers, you can attach hardware cloth in no time. You could put her doghouse on legs and set it inside the run. She'll have underneath for more space, and she'll be up off the ground at night, which is a basic instinct for them.

Good luck, and look at CraigsList for cheap coops- there are often many in your area. An old shed or playhouse could work with some modifications, as well.

 

[deserthotwings]

Sounds like your doing great, but just a couple more hints. If and when you find her a friend or friends, stay away from Males (roosters) if you live in the city, having a rooster would be a disaster. They are very loud and your neighbors might want to rebel. If you are having trouble catching her, chickens or defenseless at night. You can just walk up and snatch her. Not only you but any other kinds of predators which might come around. Chickens are a lot of fun and intertaining. Your getting some good advise from some experts so I'm sure your do well with your new found friend. Good Luck Amigo..