Need help!!

[sanderslm]

I have 6 chickens about 9 weeks old and recently got two more chickens that are now 3 weeks old. Two days ago I went out to let the chickens out and one of our baby's was gone and the other was in the bigger chickens run area. Dolly (our baby chicken that we still have) was very dependent on our other chicken who is now gone. She cried the first day so I carried her around and snuggled her and the boys played with her in the house. She even slept in the house snuggled in a blanket right next to a mirror (only place I could get her to stop crying without one of us around her. Today I went and got another chicken and she seems to be doing really well with her. The only thing is when I went to close her in she stayed right by the door chirping and crying. Does anyone have experience​ with a situation like this? Will she now think she belongs inside? Today She came to the door a couple times and chirped until I opened it and then she just walked on in.

 

[Folly's place]

Unless you really want 'house chickens', be firm about keeping them out. It's generally better to get groups of at least three, so there won't be a lonely survivor. Have you sorted out what happened to your missing chick, so there won't be more lost? Mary

 

[3riverschick]

Maybe she would make a good therapy chicken have you thought of that take her to Old Folks homes and let them play with her it sounds like she's a very special chicken

 

[3riverschick]

Give her a bath with some nice gentle shampoo blow her dry and take her out and let her be a therapy chicken

 

[3riverschick]

Don't forget to clip her nails so nobody gets scratched

 

[3riverschick]

Terry Ryan has a chicken Workshop where she teaches dog trainers to teach chickens tricks it makes better dog trainers she has a DVD set she sells that teaches you how to train your chicken to do tricks look up on the Internet she has a website.

 

[3riverschick]

Seriously these old people grew up with chickens in their backyards all the time and then miss them. you should see their faces light up and you have a chicken that loves to be around people
. so train it to do tricks and take it to the old folks home and watch their days just brighten up thank you bye

 

[lazy gardener]

Wonderful idea. But I have 2 words why that might not be welcomed: infection control.

 

[debid]

Um, yeah. Avian influenza in the news and you want to take a chicken into a nursing home? I really don't think that would go over so well.

My suggestion is to get your lonely chick two more friends (it's OK if they're a couple weeks younger) and look for the problem spot that resulted in a loss. FWIW, a snake big enough to eat a chick can get through a pretty small gap and then leave without a trace.

 

[sanderslm]

Thank y'all! She is a great chicken. We actually live next to a community center for older folks and they always tell me how much they enjoy watching the chickens grow. She goes over to visit them and they love it. We figured out what the problem was. We came home the other night and found two chickens inside the coop 3 on top and one missing. Eventually about 15 min of looking we heard a squawk and and a thunk and found our chicken by the tree way away from the coop. The problem is a stray cat.