Is a Coop necessary?

[chics in the sun]

The lady you spoke to probably meant that your chicken is a Production Red, an breed that originally came from crossing Rhode Island Red's with another breed, although I can't remeber what right now. If she is that smart and friendly, consider yourself lucky. The one I have is skiddish and dumb as a doornail (see my one of my other posts for a description of what it takes to get her into the coop at night, and yes, it is still going on). I love her all the same, and am waiting for the day she beigins laying like yours is! What part of the country do you live in? I am in Florida, and down here we do have flocks of feral chickens that survive just fine on their own, no coop needed. It might be nice for her to have a little sheltered area for rain, though, and maybe some food and fresh water. She certainly sounds "plucky"!

 

[thesearcherman]

I live in Virginia. I built her a hen house, still have to paint it. She seems to have little interest in going in. Tomorrow morning, I will see if she lay her egg inside. I put wood shavings inside.

 

[CheepSunglasses]

Howdy! We are in Virginia, too (50 miles west of Richmond). We put our girls in at night because we have a lot of predators in our area. Raccoons, in particular, are both smart and good climbers. If you have them in your neighborhood, it isn't a question of if, it's a question of when. Other nocturnal bad guys here include foxes, opossums and owls. You sound as if you really lucked out with this girl. Production reds lay a lot of eggs, and nice ones! If you start feeding her in the coop, she will figure out quickly that being in there is a good thing.

 

[catsmithpuddin]

Sounds like you have a chickinator to me. LOL Had a rooster show up at our last house one time. He lasted about 2 weeks sleeping in a magnolia tree outside someones window. His time clock was definatly off as he would start crowing most mornings about 0230. I think the predator that finally got him probably did not have 4 legs though. Nobody could catch him. Try and get him off the roost and there was enough light from the street lights that he never did really sleep at night. He would jump down, run to another tree and lite up there.

ferrel chickens are the best!

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Chickens will not go in a coop unless they are contained inside the coop for a little while. To get her to go inside you have to put her inside, close it up and keep her in there for about a week. Then you can let her out and she will most likely return to the coop like it was her home all along. You should set up some sort of barrier as well to protect her from stray dogs, cats, coons, possums, and other predators of the such.

As to your question "does she need a coop" the answer is yes if you want her to stay alive. It sounds like you have already built her one, now its your job to get her use to it by doing what I mentioned earlier in this post. Why does she need a coop, you might ask? Even if she roosts in a tree, animals will get to her eventually. Owls, coons, possums are the worst night time predators. They will get your hen even if she is in a tree 100 feet up. During the day you have to worry about hawks, dogs, cats, among other predators. During winter she will need a place to keep warm. Chickens can warm a hen house with just body heat. She would need more then one chicken with her during the winter to keep warm however so you should get her some friends.

They might not get along right away. But just keep an eye on them, the way chickens establish who is boss, is by pecking and flogging each other. The attacks will slowly stop once the order is established. Also, the new chickens will need to be pen'ed for a week or so or else they will run away naturaly.

 

[CityChook]

Quote:
heh heh - She's a loner, a rebel....

 

[MissJenny]

What a fun adventure for you -- to have a chicken show up on your doorstep -- to essentially "choose you". It is possible that the thing that "tore up" your chicken was not a rooster but perhaps a predator... a dog, raccoon, hawk.

If she is eating out of your hand then chances are she was previously someone's pet and has some experience with being in a coop at night. What lots of people do is lock their hens in the coop for a week to give them the idea that this is home. I am not sure what to do if their are two new ones added to the mix. Often what works when adding new hens to a flock is that they are slipped onto the roost at night. Somehow they wake up with an acceptance of one another. (I try to not think about these things overly much -- if it it works then great.)

One thing to be aware of when introducing new hens to a flock is that they should be quarantined from one another for a minimum of 30 days, lest one has a disease that might infect the whole flock. yours have already been introduced so this is no longer an issue -- I am merely pointing it out for future reference.

Their coop should include a roost, vents to allow the escape of humidity and noxious gases from their droppings and a lockable door (to keep nasty varmints out like possums and raccoons).

What are you feeding your hens? They ought to be on laying feed. Treats and table scraps (no potato peels) should account for no more than 10% of their diet.

I hope some of this information is a helpful start. This website is a font of valuable information. Best of luck to you and your hens and may I add:

Jenny

 

[thesearcherman]

Yep, I think you are right. I am going to take a pic of "Big Red", and look for another free roaming production bird. Can a chicken be over fed, or overweight?

 

[thesearcherman]

What is laying feed?

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Laying feed is what you should be feeding your hen. You can find it in Tractor Supply or Agway, as well as other stores that sell livestock food and supplies. Chickens can be overweight. I'm not completely certain the amount of feed a bird should have a day, as we do a mixture of feed and free-range. But the thing is not to give too many treats. Fruits and veggies and breads should be fed in moderation-mostly breads. The thing about produce is that it's not recommended to be the majority of a bird's diet. Look for layer crumbles/layer pellets.