I Just Stole My Neighbors' Chicken: UPDATE! PICS

[redhen]

Go tell you neighbor that his chicken has make friends with your girls.. and you'd like to keep her for the winter..
I'm sure that he wont care.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

LJ chicken rustling is a serious offense girl

LOADS of people think that "keeping chickens" this way is okay. They mainly get them for pest control. Lots of folks around here do that too. It is sad to see them have to fend for themselves when the pred rate is SOOO not in their favor. You're doing a good thing by asking permission to keep the bird. I'm proud of ya!!! Bout time you did something right.

Ya know I have to aggravate you a little bit

I DO honestly hope he gives you the hen. It makes more sense than sacrificing her to preds, and if he doesn't want to give her up....

I'll come help you knock some sense into him

 

[dandelionheart]

You can always just get a processed chicken at the grocery store and bring it over as "payment".

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

It sounds as though, since you and the man are friendly, the only right thing to do is ask. i can't imagine him saying no with the approach you are suggesting. i hope it all works out.

On quarantining, i generally think that is critical, but since the hen is already amongst your flock, the cat is already out of that bag. Plus, you can quarantine a bird, but if they have something that only flares up during stress, you wouldn't see it until you have tried to integrate it into your flock. Since everyone is getting along fine, perhaps just do a worming on everyone, some Wazine in the water for a day. You might also want to check for mites, or treat everyone with the ivermectin drops on the skin on the back of their necks. You are VERY lucky that your chickens are accepting her. It's generally not a fun process introducing a new chicken. That must be a sign that she belongs there.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Personally I wouldn't say anything to the neighbor. If he cares so little for his birds he probably doesn't even know what it looks like and surely won't miss it since he's fed all the rest to the wildlife in the area.

 

[Phage]

But asking is the right thing to do AND the OP won't be worrying for the rest of the chicken's life if the neighbor finds/found out which will be stress for her, and potentially a hostile neighbor for ever.

 

[rancher hicks]

Clearly your neighbor has little or no care for his animals so I would just leave things as is and not say anything. If he does say she followed you into the coop and wouldn't didn't seem to want to come out so you just left it.
Chances are he won't notice.

Quite frankly I can't see why you havent' reported him by now. I know your concerned with him getting upset but which is more important? You report him he gets mad. He doesn't care for his animals you get mad. Better he get mad than you.

Or look at it this way, You take his chicken in, she's happy and your happy. You don't take the chicken in and the chicken is unhappy, your unhappy and he doesn't care. Two out of three wins.

Sometimes ya gotta speak up for the innocent.

Rancher

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
This! He doesn't even seem to care that they have been disappearing!

 

[mercedes]

Quote:
So true,I could not agree more.That sweet little hen has suffered enough.My neighbor got some ducks last spring and just let them run around the pasture.One by one they got killed and those horrible people did not even care enough to pick up the remains.

 

[Laurajean]

**UPDATE**

Okay, an hour and a half later I am no longer a chicken thief, but a proud new chicken adoptive parent.

It's a bittersweet victory though, I feel some sadness for them, but relief for the chicken. I went over and sat down, brought it up, said that she likes to get into my coop and doesn't want to leave, etc. That she gets along with my chickens, etc. I said that I've felt terrible about the chickens they lost, and that I hate to see this last one get taken too. They are a gay couple (I only mention that for clarity when referring to the 'boyfriend'). So the boyfriend was agreeing with me, that the chicken is probably lonely, and probably will get eaten. The other guy, who's really the animal keeper of the two, showed me a platform that he built outside his kitchen window on his back deck. It's literally just a small platform, coming off his window, almost like a window box, but larger and flat. He said she sleeps there and lays her eggs there.

I said that the platform is good, but wondered aloud if she would freeze alone. Plus, a predator could still get her there. We chatted about it for some time, and I could see that the boyfriend thought me taking her was an excellent idea, but his other half was reluctant. I said there was no pressure, that I certainly would never steal his chicken, but that if he wanted her to live, she would surely be safe in my coop. He mentioned something about her eggs, and showed me one of them. This made me think the eggs were a big factor, so I told him I will gladly give him ALL of her eggs. I have plenty, I don't need them.

We chatted about other things, and then before I left, I wasn't sure where we stood. The boyfriend thanked me and said this is a good thing, and I looked to his other half for approval. I said, "I don't want to take your chicken from you, I just want her to not get eaten and to be safe. She'll have body heat from mine, and she'll have their company". Then I offered to let her out in the morning and let her decide if she wants back in the coop again. I know this was slightly unrealistic, but I was just trying to let him know that it is, of course, his option. He said, "No, if you're going to take her, she needs to stay there, don't let her back out". I said, "Well, I'll only take her if that's what you think is best." He said yes, that we should try it, and see if she gets along with my chickens. He said if she starts to pick on them, or vise versa, then I should return her. I agreed. He said I can leave her eggs between their front doors, and I agreed to that as well.

He then made a few comments about trying to "put up netting", and even tried for a while to keep her in the basement, but it just didn't work. I guess he was trying to show he had been trying to keep her safe. I felt bad, because I knew he felt slightly defensive, and I just assured him I only want her to be happy and safe. I told him if he gets a better setup, aka COOP, to let me know and I will return her whenever he wants. I know that will not happen, so she's pretty much mine now, unless a problem develops and the chickens don't accept her.

I left feeling sad for my neighbor, but happy for the chicken. He's a good guy, I know he means well, but he's just not equipped to keep her. I think he's sad to lose her, but I think he knows that this is for the best.

I came back and it was dark and I checked on them. She is up on a roost, a tree branch that I have in the coop; the others are all cuddled together. I am hoping that they will accept her, and maybe she can eventually cuddle with them for warmth, but I imagine that will take time. She was sleeping alone before anyway, so at least now she's SAFE.

This whole thing is very bittersweet. I feel for my neighbors' loss. He genuinely seemed sad, but I don't think he would have let me keep her if he didn't agree that it was for the best.

PS: I asked if she had a name. My neighbor said no, but his boyfriend said "I call her Henrietta...". So Henrietta it is.

Thanks for the encouragement that I did the right thing. I could still use a little reassuring to be honest. Taking someone's pet is a painful thing to do, even though I know it's better this way.