New Chicken Gone Missing

[zanala]

I just bought a new chicken yesterday. She is a 5 month old sexlink. Last night, when I went to make sure everyone was in their roost, the new girl was missing. I looked all over my yard, in the trees, on the roof of the coop and even the house. I could not find her anywhere. She's not socialized and has no relationship with me, my hens or the yard. What can I do to find her? My other girls were all raised from chicks and are very social - they know I am the food provider and what my voice sounds like so they're easy to find. I am at a loss as to how to find the sexlink. She's so timid, she wouldn't let me touch her. I'm hoping that she will come back to where the other hens are since chickens are social creatures, but she doesn't have a relationship with my hens yet either.

Any advice is MUCH appreciated!!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Perhaps you can contact the person you got her from to see how they called their chickens, and try to replicate their method? Shake a can full of feed? Here chick-chick-chick? I quarentine all of my new birds in a cage far away from my main flock, so I've never had this problem. Good luck, I hope you find her

 

[zanala]

I received her from a feed store that got her from an organic farm in Eastern Washington so I can't get in touch with the previous owner... Any other ideas? Will she naturally hang out near the chickens run area, wanting back in with her own kind? I'm really worried... I also work fulltime and am unable to keep an eye out for her during the day.

 

[kevinhannan]

I had a new ex-bat that 'did a Steve McQueen' - after really injuring myself
to rescue her, I gave up (in the sense that there was really nothing more I
could do to retrieve her) and hoped that she would remember where she
lived. At tea-time, she came back because she heard the others making a
noise for their food and she was hungry enough to be caught!

All the birds got their flight-feathers clipped the next day! And all perimeters
were re-doubled and re-checked to prevent any more escapees.

Since then, I have made great efforts for the girls to associate me with worm-
feeding so if it happens again I just need to dangle a few tasty worms to get
them back! Fingers crossed, though, that I don't need to.

Good luck with your situation.

e2a: spelling

 

[zanala]

Got her back! In case anyone else comes across this post and has a similar problem, I got my girl back by letting my other hens out of their run. Since they know the property and don't leave, I left them out and unattended for an hour or so to do some chicken business, hoping that the other hen would see/hear them and come back. When I came out, the new girl was just approaching them. Hooray!

 

[kevinhannan]

Marvellous!

Well Done, We're all pleased for you!