Keeping 1 chicken at home ?

[cafarmgirl]

I agree with not breeding this bird and potentially passing along her defect.

A broody hen sits relentlessly on the nest, only getting off a couple times a day to eat, drink and poop. And when they do get off the nest they are cranky, nasty things! They will often puff up like a bowling ball and walk around growling while they take care of necessities, then it's straight back to the nest. If you mess with one on the nest you may get growled at or pecked.

The other issue you would have in letting her brood, if she went broody, is that then you will have to figure out what to do with the roosters you hatch. In your particular situation, if you wanted a few more hens, I think I'd go with buying some sexed chicks. That's not 100% fool proof either but your chances of getting roo's are much less.

 

[perchie.girl]

as promised

Amazon

Pampered poultry

Hen holster doubles as a harness for a leash

BYC thread with a pattern on how to make and assemble one

YouTube Video This one is hilarious her "subject" keeps wandering off.

HOw to put a diaper on Again dang cute with a bantam but I never saw the process before.

Lots of resources.

bottom line make a spot for her similar to a dog crate where she can be without a diaper.... inside for her inside house.... then go from there. I dont know where you live Here in CA we dont build houses with basements. That is a decent place to set up a home for her.... especially if she can go out in the yard to get sun...

REmember Birds of this size wether it be Macaw or Chicken make alot of dander... Yep they make Macaw diapers too.... LOL.
there are threads here on BYC about people in your situaion in varying degrees. Key in the word "Stealth" Coop. House chicken


deb

 

[brooklynbirds18]

Now that you mention it we had two or three other broody hens.. Our BO would always just sit on her eggs and like you said only get up for necessities but she was very sweet to us.. On the other hand we had two other RIR that would peck and growl at you if you touched them in the nest. Our Ameraucana has none of those agressions maybe she just isn't cut out to be a mother although we'd love her to be. Also like mentioned earlier it could be genetic with her beak problem but when i googled it, it seems more of an issue with her diet and a lot of birds In general get it when they lack vitamin a and d in they're diets.

If she were to lay eggs we'd remove the Roos once identified, we had an Ameraucana roo who was the best of all, and the day we gave him away a coyote apparently attacked him (

 

[perchie.girl]

I would deal with a broody issue if it comes up. Being Americana she might.... some of mine did. It just depends on the blood line.

The deal is when they go broody they stop laying eggs completely. Deal with that if it happens there are lots of people here that can help you with that.

Right now winter is coming so lots of hens all over are scaling back the egg production.... And its a matter of overall sunlight not necessarily temperatures that effect that.

With regard to passing on her genes..... if she goes broody you can give her eggs.... Or you can let her set on some falsies like golf balls for a couple of weeks then give her some Feed store chicks. Just slip them under her at night carefully removing the falsies.... Feed store chicks will be sexed.

deb

 

[brooklynbirds18]

I would deal with a broody issue if it comes up.  Being Americana she might....  some of mine did.  It just depends on the blood line.  

The deal is when they go broody they stop laying eggs completely.  Deal with that if it happens there are lots of people here that can help you with that.

Right now winter is coming so lots of hens all over are scaling back the egg production....  And its a matter of overall sunlight not necessarily temperatures that effect that.

With regard to passing on her genes..... if she goes broody you can give her eggs.... Or you can let her set on some falsies like golf balls for a couple of weeks then give her some Feed store chicks.    Just slip them under her at night carefully removing the falsies....    Feed store chicks will be sexed.  

deb

I'm sorry I don't exactly quite understand, and please correct if I'm wrong. If she were to stop laying eggs completely doesn't that mean she is stressed out? It is the winter season tho so that would also make sense, but maybe I don't understand what it means to be broody idk. How would not laying eggs at all mean she's becoming broody, doesn't she need to sit on them to express that she is ? Hopefully she continues to lay, she gets a lot of sunlight but I can't say she will be if se becomes a house pet.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Nope not stressed out at all. Its part of Chickens natural biology. When it comes time to reproduce in a flock one or more hens might go broody sitting on an egg or a few... Other hens will add to that clutch of eggs but once a hen commits her self to setting on a nest.... she will stop laying eggs.... there is a hormonal change involved.

Broody is term to describe it in one word. there are several symptoms..... some not necessarily all will apply. It varies from hen to hen in degree.

She may remove some feathers on her breast to give good contact to the eggs.
She will hunker down on the nest and kind of look hypnotized.
She will Flatten out like a pancake making as much contact with the eggs as possible
She will get off the nest for no more than ten or fifteen minutes..... At which time they will run out Take a HUGE poop. then eat fast and furious Drink some water then Run back to the nest. Some hens will only get off the nest once a day but I have heard of owners who have had hens that wont get off.... in which case they have to be taken off the nest.... Survival will kick in and they will eat and drink and poop. A broody hen should NEVER poop in the nest..... its important thats why people make sure they get off at least once per day.

Also because she has stopped laying due to hormone changes her comb will get pale.

All come back to normal once the chicks hatch and she can go back to her regular routine. But she wont start laying again till the chicks are at least partially fledged. That can be anywhere to a couple of weeks to a month or two... Cochins and Silkeys are the most notorious broody hens and hanger ons to their chicks.

deb

 

[brooklynbirds18]

I'll take it that my girl isn't broody then, as I've never really seen her display any of those traits, and I've never had enough eggs to see if she'd sit on a bunch all at once. However one time when we all thought she wasn't laying we found about 12 or 13 of her eggs under a shaded bush but still, dunno if she sat on them and flattened her body to cover them all.

Anyways my main concern is just that she doesn't go nuts being the only chicken here. I need to pay attention and make sure she is happy and healthy and not depressed at all.

 

[PrairieChickens]

We just go our first broody hen a few weeks ago, and I have to say--once it happens, there's no mistaking it! It's just like the other poster said--she'll get off the nest rarely (if at all--I often have to remind her to take care of things off the nest), and when she does, she is a puffed-out terror! Surprisingly, she never pecks or growls at me, even when I remove her from the nest, but she terrifies the other chickens. She may just be a little banty, but she comes racing out in a fury, feathers puffed out, wings dropped, charging anyone who looks crosseyed at her--not even the roosters will mess with her then! I have to say, I'm a little bit proud! XD

As for being concerned about her going nuts from being alone, like I said before, as long as she's getting all the social interaction she needs from you, she will spend the rest of her life being a happy chicken. I've owned a lot of chickens over the past few years, and some of them wouldn't bat an eyelash if they were suddenly the only chicken, whereas others would have a total meltdown. My Polish Crested hen Chicky Gaga, for example, would prefer the company of people over chickens anyway, and would be quite happy to become a house-chicken, whereas another Polish Crested hen named Bjork would lose her mind and die a neurotic mess if we tried to remove her from the flock. Every chicken is unique. While they all need socialization, they don't necessarily need other chickens to get it.

 

[brooklynbirds18]

 I've owned a lot of chickens over the past few years, and some of them wouldn't bat an eyelash if they were suddenly the only chicken, whereas others would have a total meltdown.  My Polish Crested hen Chicky Gaga, for example, would prefer the company of people over chickens anyway, and would be quite happy to become a house-chicken, whereas another Polish Crested hen named Bjork would lose her mind and die a neurotic mess if we tried to remove her from the flock.  Every chicken is unique.  While they all need socialization, they don't necessarily need other chickens to get it.

How were you able to tell one was having a meltdown compared to the others than didn't mind? As of now i don't have a diaper for her yet so she's outside the majority and doin her chicken duties. But she comes to the door a lot and we let her in, and we try to stay out when she's out

 

[PrairieChickens]

Chickens are very vocal animals--they'll let you know when they're not happy. Whenever Bjork gets separated from the rest of the flock, she fusses and frets and makes anxious noises until she finds them again. Gaga on the other hand, if she gets separated from the flock, her behavior doesn't change. She keeps eating, foraging, dustbathing, and making happy chicken sounds.

Chickens may not be able to purr or wag their tails, but they do let us know when they're happy.