Inheriting 1 lone pecked pet chicken (?)

Date sort Score sort
TheLoneHen

TheLoneHen

In the Brooder
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
29
This weekend a neighbor who is moving out of a next door apartment is leaving his chicken with me. He can't take her and I've been visiting the chicken every day spending time with her, talking like a chicken, bringing her treats. She runs to me. I usually am who goes into their yard in the morning ot let her out of the coop. It's a small one chicken coop (maybe two), she has no one huddle with, it's wet where I live, her coop seems wet inside, I shovel out moldy poop, keep her water clean. It's getting colder, and now that she will be mine I want to know how to keep her coop dry, warm enough, and what she needs. (I read stuffed toys, mirrors, etc.). My neighbor said that where she was before she was attacked by other chickens and she's lived next door a year now and still carries the bald spot on the back of her neck. Winter is setting in so I'm thinking even if it is possible to integrate her into a flock (because I love her) that winter is the wrong time. Any advice is welcome - I know nothing. She's crazy about me. I'm who keeps her from alone. I want what's best for her. (She lays eggs but not important to me because I don't eat eggs. I'll give them to neighbors. I just want her to be ok.)
Thank you. Glad to be among so much experience.
 
welcome-byc.gif
Keep her warm, dry and well fed. Perhaps adding more birds in the spring is a path that you might consider.
 
Hi :welcome

Glad you could join the flock! How nice of you to care for this chicken, I'm sure she really appreciates it. The learning centre has a great section on getting started ~https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens
I'm sure you will find some very useful articles there. Keeping her coop water tight but well ventilated should keep the moisture levels down.

Good luck with her and enjoy BYC :frow
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock.Sourland has given you some good advice. When you do decide to add more hens, be sure and do so carefully and slowly using the "look but don't touch" method. There is a good article at https://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/introducing-new-chickens/. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
welcome-byc.gif


Chickens generally do a pretty good job of keeping themselves warm, try to keep her bedding dry and clean. It's nice you've grown attached to her, chickens are social animals and don't really like being all alone. It sounds like she will have a good home with you.

If you have questions, always feel free to ask. There's a lot of information available here and a lot of helpful members.

Thanks for joining us!
 
Actually, I think the best thing for you to do is make her a house pet chicken. She will be warm and safe and have companionship ( you). Sometimes bullied birds are fearful of others and will get pecked on again. They tend to gravitate to humans who will treat them kindly. You may find you both get along so well that you won't think of getting more birds. Chickens are kind of the new "dogs," for people especially where chickens are not permitted.

Please check out the popular thread "People with house chickens." I think you both will be very happy together. My friend has 3 house pet bantam hens and they sit in a chair and watch TV with her every night. They stay on a rug by the front door when she runs errands and welcome her when she comes back home. Just like a dog but, eats a lot less and smaller messes to clean up.
 
It was fun and informative reading the info, wisdom, welcomes and ideas. My dream for her is to be able to eventually find her chicken friends, understanding the challenge. I'd never push if it wasn't working. The link about adding chickens will probably work in reverse - trying to adapt her to others. (I won't try before Spring.) A chicken deserves the right to have the chance to huddle. I have taken on chicken ways, scratching moss in the grass with the gardening claw alongside her - she loves it, scratching next to me. I'm laughing. I can sound like her. I bring her out treats a few times a day in addition to food and worked all day in the cold rain today (wearing a Hefty bag for dryness) while preparing a place for her coop and clearing space for her. While I worked I opened the back door, sectioned off half the laundry room for her and ShamWowed her dry. She was in heaven. But as the rain let up and went to a drizzle I brought her out to find the paradise of bugs and worms every time I moved a piece of wood or pulled up a plant. We had a blast. I will read the links. And I would love to have her as a house chicken but I have COPD and when she ruffles her feathers by my air purifier the lights turn red, the fan revs up - immediately. (Maybe she had a dirt bath that day but scared to risk it - yet.) Also I have a parrot and cockatiel and am not familiar with detecting chicken mites yet. But she will NOT be out in freezing weather, mean winds, or anything scary or uncomfortable. She's got her indoor space that may be where she sleeps most nights in winter. Chicken bed or roost in a room? I'll look it up tonight. Also I'm vegan so I need to figure out what to do with the eggs. If it makes her healthier and it's possible - we can slow that process down. THANK YOU ALL.

Off to look over the info you've all provided.
~ Dee

Photo: Flo walked in the front door and jumped up on the couch with me in Summer... the day she made the air purifier go crazy. :) If my door was shut she'd come talk at my front door until I opened it and came out or brought her a treat.
 
Tomorrow my neighbors will be done moving and she moves into my yard.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom