Lonely/sad Chicken.........Advice needed PLEASE!!!

[Litleburgs]

Hello...

Not sure where to begin with this, i am new to posting stuff and threads, etc., however i am hoping someone out there can help me out.

It has been a rough month for me with my girls. I started with (3) 7 month old silkies for pets. We had a wonderful summer and everything went great- the girls free ranged, slept in their coop at night and when i was gone during the day, etc., About 3 weeks ago, my special needs silkie was killed by a hawk when i went inside to fold laundry.

This past weeekend, while i was out of town, my housesitter/petsitter said she had trouble securing the coop doors so she duct tape them. (duct tape??!!) Anyways, the next morning she woke up and the coop door was open and my tan silkie, Rosie was missing. All my girlfriends stepped up to the plate and did a mass search for hours (as i was 500 miles away) trying to find my girl and the consensus is she was eaten by a raccoon. There were feathers going up a tree.... just breaks my heart.

I guess what i am trying to figure out, is what i should do now???? Loretta, my last hen, is beside herself. She is calling out trying to find her best friend Rosie and i am just sick to my stomach. I have a crib in the house that i always put the girls in when the weather is bad and that is where i have Loretta now. I dont want her out in that coop all by herself- at least she has the dogs, myself and the kids to keep her company.

With this said, i have looked online to see if there are available older silkies in the area that i can adopt for her as a companion as soon as possible, but i cannot find any. (i live in a suburb of Chicago)

I am hoping someone out there can help me... either by knowing of a breeder where i can find another silkie (as i feel like it is a hard time of year to find one) or give me ideas on something that might soothe her while i work on finding her a companion.

I really appreciate anyone who has taken the time to read my post, thread, or whatever this might be that i have typed up. We are heartbroken over here and appreciate any and all help that we might receive.

Thank you so much,

Mollie and Loretta

 

[sezjasper]

I am so sorry for your losses...I am a newbie myself so unqualified to advise you, but seeing Loretta in her crib is heartbreaking. Have you tried looking on Craigslist in your area? Have you considered maybe another small breed? I don't think Loretta would care if her new friend wasn't a Silkie... The only thing I do know is, when you do find a friend for her, the new hen would still have to be quarantined for Loretta's safety, so please resist the urge to try to put them together right away! Good luck to you.

 

[Litleburgs]

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to my thread about Loretta. It has been a rough few days, but seriously, notes like yours are so meaningful. I really appreciate it. I also appreciate your advice about not rushing to put them together. I guess i better read up on that whole situation this evening. Thank you so much again and take care.
Sincerely yours, Mollie

 

[featheredmom]

Hey Litleburgs,

What Chicago suburb are you in? My mom lives in Lisle and I will be going to visit sometime in the next month or so(after our eggs hatch). If you can wait that long, I can bring you one of ours. I do not know which of our two the kids would be willing to part with, we have a blue and a partridge, it would be up to them as the silkies are their chickens. They are 6 or 7 mos old(sorry, I do not remember exactly when we got them, we had 3 orders this spring along with a liter of puppies born in June and my human baby now 11mos(along with 2big kids and a business)after awhile it all runs together).

I hate seeing Loretta so lonely and am willing to part with one of mine if it would help her out of her misery!! We just received an order with 3 more silkies, so the kids will be OK

In the meantime have you tried mirrors or toys? Possibly even getting a baby chick for her, our silkies love the babies!! Our other breeds are very territorial and don't accept babies well, the silkies just love them and try to "mother hen" them, its adorable.

Whatever you decide, good luck!!

 

[Litleburgs]

Hi Featheredmom!

I literally was speechless when i read your note to us about Loretta. I cannot thank you enough for being so kind and thoughtful with regards to selling us one of your girls. So very thoughtful of you and much appreciated.

We actually found a lady in Indiana and purchased three silkies from her a couple days ago and we are slowly introducing the girls together for little periods of time. Loretta spirits seem so much higher and i am pleased to say i think she is going to be just fine!

I really appreciate your thoughts and it means a lot that you would have done that for Loretta.... so cool.

Anyways, i live in Downers Grove, right next to Lisle. Would love to stay in touch with you- where are you from?

Again, thank you so much and i wish you luck with your new batch of chicks!

Sincerely, Mollie

 

[featheredmom]

I am so glad that you found friends for Loretta!!

I didn't want to sell you a silkie, I would've given her to you. I hated to hear of your lonely chicken, I love my chickens, they are my feathered babies and I would've hated to be in your situation. When we lost 2 to a weasel a few weeks back, the dynamics of my flock definitely changed, although they still had friends(we had 36 more) it just wasn't the same-although part of that could've been a projection of my personal feelings, one of the babies we lost was our favorite hen.

I grew up in Lisle, on Rt 53 between Trinity Lutheran and Maple Ave. I then started moving all around the country, I have been in Philadelphia, upstate NY, Los Angeles, Houston, Huntsville, and now in the country outside of Shreveport, LA. Hopefully this was our last move and we are staying(it looks promising )

Our babies are doing exceptionally well!! The kids are doing a great job of caring for them, I am very proud of that! I truly figured that after the first day or two it would be either a fight or I would have to take over, but they have been doing a great job, I just supervise! We have 45 right now and another 50 arriving in 2wks, plus 24 eggs that should arrive any day. Our little backyard project has definitely taken on a life of its own!!

Please do stay in touch!!
[email protected]

 

[dam danny]

meyer hatchery 1-888-568-9755 murray mcmurray 1-800-456-3280 both sell them but the shipping is high you might live near or be near them in your travel to save shipping you can shop them online to see what you want