Is my roommates chicken going to die!?

[johnconner]

I will be taking you up on bringing the chicken into the bathtub, boyfriends running out to get feed from petsmart ( it's probably not going to be the the best but hopefully better than white rice) is newspaper okay to use as bedding for the night? I can't take her into the shelter till tomorrow, is taking her again her owners wishes illegal? I just don't want this poor chicken to die

 

[farmtotable]

Newspaper is better than nothing, although if you can find paper that doesn't have printed ink on it that's probably best. Anything that's warm and dry is better than what she had.

So as to your other question. Yes, probably taking her to the shelter without her consent is technically theft (at least where I live) because you're intentionally depriving someone of their property. That's why I originally suggested telling your roommate the chicken died. I'm just trying to do what's best for the chicken here! And really, at this point, it's looking more and more like the chicken might die in reality. If you wanted to do it the 100% legal way, you could call the animal control division of your police department and explain what's been going on. Since the chicken sounds (and probably looks) like it's obviously suffering to a great extent, the animal control officer will more than likely take custody of it and bring it to a vet or a shelter (that's what happened at the department for which I worked).

So other than telling your roommate the chicken died and taking her to a shelter, or calling the police/animal control tomorrow, the only other option I can see is doing what you already are - making the living conditions actually livable at your own expense and labor. Doing one of those three things is the only way the chicken is going to live. At a minimum, she needs proper shelter from the elements, which includes some sort of bedding (pine shavings or straw, don't use cedar or sawdust), a feed made specifically for chickens, fresh water, a dwelling that doesn't accumulate ice, and space to move around in (at least 25 square feet outside, like 4 square feet inside).

Oh, I just thought of a fourth option - you could bring her to an emergency vet, tell the vet exactly what's going on in great detail, and hope the vet will recognize an abusive situation when he sees it and confiscate the chicken.

 

[farmtotable]

Here's another thought - call the ASPCA and see if they can help you. Here's the website with the "how to report cruelty" info: http://www.aspca.org/Home/Fight-Animal-Cruelty/report-animal-cruelty Hopefully one of the Colorado shelters can answer your legal questions. I don't know anything about CO state laws, but I would hope that if you're trying to provide emergency care for an animal you wouldn't be charged with theft....

 

[deserthotwings]

This whole situation is incredible. Chickens are farm animals, not meant for an apartment, or to be "cared for", or in your situation, "not cared for". Seriously, the bird would be better off put down than tormenting it as yall are doing. PLEASE take her to a shelter, who will find a suitable home for the poor bird. There is no way yall can possibly probably car for her. This is complete animal abuse and YOU sound like someone with enough sense to solve this nightmare. Telling this person that someone stole the bird is your best bet. I also am in law enforcement and no judge in this world would ever convict you of theft in this matter. PLEASE do what is right soon.

 

[johnconner]

I cannot thank you enough farmtotable, im pretty sure this hen would have died without the help an information you provided. I am going to do my best to keep the chicken warm and comfortable till I can have animal control sort it out, I hope I don't get in trouble too due to the shared living space. I'm a dog owner, but my dog is well cared for... Borderline spoiled rotten

The chicken seems to have warmed up a bit, moving/looking around more and making a racket, and pecking stuff. Hopefully we can get some nutrition in her tonight and keep her going until someone who has a better idea what they are doing can get a look at her.

I will be photographing everything, for evidence. That was a wonderful suggestion.

And here I thought I was going to have a quiet weekend without the crazy roommate...

 

[farmtotable]

This whole situation is incredible. Chickens are farm animals, not meant for an apartment, or to be "cared for", or in your situation, "not cared for". Seriously, the bird would be better off put down than tormenting it as yall are doing. PLEASE take her to a shelter, who will find a suitable home for the poor bird. There is no way yall can possibly probably car for her. This is complete animal abuse and YOU sound like someone with enough sense to solve this nightmare. Telling this person that someone stole the bird is your best bet. I also am in law enforcement and no judge in this world would ever convict you of theft in this matter. PLEASE do what is right soon.

I sure hope you're right that no judge would ever convict someone of theft in this situation, but where I live the judges are pretty crazy. I also hate to even seem like I'm dispensing legal advice... but ya, I would think that if for whatever reason animal control can't solve the problem tomorrow, AND you've taken photographs to document everything to prove the chicken is being abused and neglected, taking her to a shelter is the way to go. If your local police department doesn't have animal control on the weekends (some don't), take the hen to a shelter tomorrow then let the police know what shelter you brought the chicken to.

One other thought for tonight, try feeding her some scrambled eggs. I'm pretty sure she's in desparate need of protein.

 

[farmtotable]

Let us know what happens, yes? I'm really worried about this poor hen....

 

[johnconner]

Scrambled an egg, she wolfed it down so fast I could hardly believe it. I had no clue chickens liked to eat eggs. Checked my county's law enforcement web page, it didn't say the hours animal control kept, but I have their phone number so I can call first thing tomorrow. If they can't handle it tomorrow ill take her to the shelter and hope that either my roommate doesn't care enough to search for the hen or that the justice system will see I was stealing the chicken out of mercy for the animal.

I'm not a violent person but this whole situation is giving me the strangest urge to lock my roommate in her bedroom and feed her old white rice for a few months and see how she likes living in her poop and dieing slowly of malnutrition. Good thing I don't have the heart to do that to any living thing, even if they deserve it and would learn an important lesson from it. looks like all the stress and worry hav made me a bit grouchy.

But the chicken seems to have a breath of life in her now that she is warm and has a bit of real food in her tummy. Still very noisy...

Hopefully this chicken gets a second chance at life with a proper diet, coop, space, and lots of chicken friends!

 

[Poultry Couture]

I'm just saying, but how would you like it if you were new to chickens an just really didn't know how to take care of it and someone just decided to take it away with out asking? What if she reallys loves her and is trying her best? Honestly I DO NOT suggest a shelter. I've taken several birds to the shelter and they personally told me, " We don't take in birds so we will probably put it down." I even tried a wildlife shelter.

Please post pics of her and her " coop!"

Even for the next couple weeks or so I'd say buy or make a chicken diaper for her and keep her inside. Keep her in a pen with a bowl of fresh water and veggies and some meat scraps. Even that's a lot healthier than out there. I'd say do this until you can reason with her to put the chicken on Craigslist or find someone who's looking for a chicken local.

 

[Poultry Couture]

BTW white rice has no nutritional value whatsoever

It would probably be good to add some apple cider vinegar to her water!