I've found a chicken

[greeneyedbeast]

Hey,

About four days ago I saw a chicken wandering in our back yard, and when I came out to have a closer look it looked terrified and ran away into the bushes and hid from me. After having managed to feed it and calm it down a little, it has taken to me. A few days later its still here in our back yard and its not scared of our cat, nor is our cat chasing it or wanting to harm it in any way. I'm unsure if its a female or male and how old it is, but by the look of it its still quite young and looks a little battered. It now jumps up and rests on my shoulder or sits on my lap and cleans its feathers so it doesn't look like its in any hurry to leave, and I'm completely unsure of what to do or how to take care of it. It seems to have found itself a nice big pot plant to rest in at night time, but it wanders around the whole yard pooing everywhere. A little advice would be good before my parents decide to get rid of it because I've really taken a liking to the chicken. Shes about the size of two closed fists placed together (female). We also live NO WHERE near a farm nor do any of our neighbours own chickens so shes kind of walked out from no where haha.

 

[kidcody]

from washington state glade you joined us!

 

[sumi]

Wow, what a story! It looks like a "she" and, guessing here, I'd say she's around 3 months old. She looks similar to my 3 month old youngsters.
Can you build her a coop and a run perhaps? That'll take care of the poo problem, at least. Maybe also get her a chicken friend to keep her company. Chickens are social creatures and love to hang out with other chickens.
Keep us posted!

 

[greeneyedbeast]

Thanks should go to this little one for bringing me to this site haha. Any advice on how to get started taking care of it? And how to tell if its a male or female? and I'm reading up on what chickens eat, and it appears they eat practically ANYTHING, is that true?

 

[Buckhunter76]

Looks like a hen, not sure what kind, lol, and

from Ohio

 

[chickers]

You tell a chicken's gender from the way they look as they mature. The only time you can be completely sure is when they lay an egg or crow. So far, yours looks like a hen, or more accurately, a pullet, which is young hen.

And yes, chickens are true omnivores; they will eat anything. If you get to keep her, you can buy chicken feed at a feed store. In the meantime, she would love any table scraps and bugs and plants in your yard. Mine are particularly fond of plain yogurt.

She will eventually need some sort of outdoor housing. Sleeping outside in the open makes her too vulnerable to predators.

Good luck, she's adorable!

 

[greeneyedbeast]

Thank you so much for the advice! I really hope I get to keep her because shes absolutely adorable, my only issue when shes on my shoulder is that she's gunna poop on me, which she ended up doing yesterday haha. I'll have a look into creating some form of housing for her to sort the pooping all over the yard and predators issue. Oh, and Hello from New Zealand

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Check out the Learning Center for help on how to care for your little hen.

 

[philbfarm]

Great story. Well...it looks like that little girl picked you! Hope you can keep her - you'll enjoy the experience! Check out the information centers, everything you need to know is there somewhere, or just ask. Lots of experienced folks here to help you (they've helped me so much). Definitely try to put together some sort of shelter for her. Good Luck - Let us know how it goes.

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.