Here's some background to the story: In Feb, my husband and I adopted two one-day old chicks, which turned out to be an RIR (Buffy) and an EE (Hoot). [There was an issue of me thinking Buffy could've been a roo, she had some comb on her pretty young, but it hadn't yet turned red- I still call her a she]. We had one other hen, who died shortly after we brought them here (She was old), so they were our only two chickens. In May, Buffy up and disappeared. I saw a bunch of feathers in one area but no other sign of her. I even searched the neighborhood calling her name, and got nothing. I assumed she had been snatched up by something. Our yard is not fenced in, so running away was a possibility, but I didn't think it was likely, especially since she had always come when I called her and I looked EVERYWHERE (so I thought). Tomorrow will be 8 weeks since she went missing, and she's 22 weeks old now. Since she's been gone, Hoot has really grown into her own, whereas she used to follow Buffy around. She's a very friendly lap chicken now and I love it. She just started laying, too.
Well, today a friend of my husband's who lives in the neighborhood knocked on my door. He said him and his son saw my chicken running around in the condos across the (neighborhood) street from me. I assumed he meant Hoot, of course. I checked my yard and Hoot was sitting under a chair, content as can be. Then I was confused, so I went to go check out the chicken he'd seen, since I had not known anyone else around here kept chickens. To my amazement, it was Buffy! She didn't really respond to her name how she used to, but she definitely perked up to my voice. She was still pretty friendly towards me, but not as friendly to my friend.
Here she is shortly before she went missing:
Here she is just today:
So here's the dilemma: I don't know if I should try to get her back here or not. I would talk to the people who are keeping her now, and see if they would give her back, of course, but she was mine to begin with.
I was VERY attached to Buffy before she disappeared; I had picked her, and my husband picked Hoot. In the last 8 weeks, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I would not see her again, and had let her go a little bit. I'm expecting a baby in December, and have been trying to focus on the positives and not dwelling on the chicken I lost. Seeing her again, I definitely still would love to have her back! But I'm afraid of all the issues that could bring up, and keeping one has been much simpler than having two (or 3).
My first issue - in no particular order - is that I don't want to take her out of a happy situation, to one where she has to adjust again. If she's healthy and happy, I don't know if I can force her into a "new" place. Second, I literally live across the street from where she is now, and she could easily run back over there at any given time, and Hoot could follow her. Then they would both be lost. There's also the issue of how Hoot and she will get along after 8 weeks apart. They were best buddies before, but time and age can make a difference. Then, of course, there's the issue of her being a roo, which are illegal to keep in city limits here. I'm sure there are many more things to worry about as well!
So any advice? What would you do in this situation? I'm so confused!
Well, today a friend of my husband's who lives in the neighborhood knocked on my door. He said him and his son saw my chicken running around in the condos across the (neighborhood) street from me. I assumed he meant Hoot, of course. I checked my yard and Hoot was sitting under a chair, content as can be. Then I was confused, so I went to go check out the chicken he'd seen, since I had not known anyone else around here kept chickens. To my amazement, it was Buffy! She didn't really respond to her name how she used to, but she definitely perked up to my voice. She was still pretty friendly towards me, but not as friendly to my friend.
Here she is shortly before she went missing:
Here she is just today:
So here's the dilemma: I don't know if I should try to get her back here or not. I would talk to the people who are keeping her now, and see if they would give her back, of course, but she was mine to begin with.
I was VERY attached to Buffy before she disappeared; I had picked her, and my husband picked Hoot. In the last 8 weeks, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I would not see her again, and had let her go a little bit. I'm expecting a baby in December, and have been trying to focus on the positives and not dwelling on the chicken I lost. Seeing her again, I definitely still would love to have her back! But I'm afraid of all the issues that could bring up, and keeping one has been much simpler than having two (or 3).
My first issue - in no particular order - is that I don't want to take her out of a happy situation, to one where she has to adjust again. If she's healthy and happy, I don't know if I can force her into a "new" place. Second, I literally live across the street from where she is now, and she could easily run back over there at any given time, and Hoot could follow her. Then they would both be lost. There's also the issue of how Hoot and she will get along after 8 weeks apart. They were best buddies before, but time and age can make a difference. Then, of course, there's the issue of her being a roo, which are illegal to keep in city limits here. I'm sure there are many more things to worry about as well!
So any advice? What would you do in this situation? I'm so confused!
