one chicken alone, ok?

[freder77]

I'm sorry to say but we had to put one of our chickens to sleep today. She'd been sick for longer than we had known and by the time we got her into the vet it was too late.

Currently in Seattle the temperature is below freezing and will be for at least a couple more weeks. We do not have heat or electricity run to the coop, and don't have any power to the exterior of the house.

There is only one chicken in the coop now, and we're worried about her living out there by herself for the remainder of the winter. We're considering trying to find her another home where she can live with other chickens. Does anyone have any advice regarding a chicken living alone in cold weather?

Thanks.

 

[BeardedChick]

Rehome the poor girl or get more chickens ASAP. I think they get depressed when they are alone.

 

[#1California Chick]

Do you have a pet carrier that you could put her in at night and bring her into a warmer place (like in your house)?? She obviously needs some friends, but maybe you could be her "buddy" until you can get some more hens!!

 

[rooster-red]

Chickens are social animals, you will need at least one more.

 

[Balfour Girl]

I just went through this exact scenario. One of my two chickens was killed by a predator. I tried to give my remaining girl to another woman who had 3 hens... my chicken attacked them and wouldn't let up, and I finally had to pull her off them and take her home. She lived alone for a few weeks and seemed fine, but then I heard the cold snap was coming. I got 2 roosters (I've been criticized for that on byc... apparently 1 rooster for 10+ chickens is the correct formula). All I know is that they fought for 5 minutes for pecking order and have lived in harmony since. They all three cram themselves into a nesting box to keep warm at night and - maybe it's the cold - but they aren't wearing my hen out... yet! My hubby and I did wrap plastic all around the inside of the coop to keep the wind from coming through the cracks, and we've put several bales of hay in there for them to tuck into. They're weathering the cold snap just fine... check out my BYC page for the full story with pictures! And good luck...

 

[SussexInSeattle]

What did the other chicken die from? Contagious or otherwise? There are two solutions that I can think of, one being that I know of a feed store where you can buy an adult rooster if you are not tight in the city, what part of Seattle are you in? The other thing I thought of was that maybe I could take her into my own barn if the one who died wasn't contagious.

I don't think that you should bring her in the house at all though, she is likely acclimated to the weather already and if you have a good airtight coop, she should be able to keep warm enough with her feathers without making her hot and cold all the time.

There is another member on this list who has two black Australorps and German Shepherds and lives somewhere north in Seattle with a small coop that maybe, just maybe, he may have space.

One last thing is that the feed store I mentioned above may possibly have some feathered out pullets that you could join in with yours. I have not been there in a month but it is still possible.

 

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I completely agree with the previous posters. Chickens don't do well alone (even if it's not cold out) and it would be best for you to rehome her or get at least one more chicken. I guess a rooster would be okay but my own choice would be another hen, as I think there would be less of a possibility of problems.

You may be able to keep her in the house for now if you have a small room that isn't heated. I have what I call my "mud room" at the back entrance (where we leave our boots, etc. when we come in the house) which would work very well for that purpose. In the wintertime, I use it as a spare "refrigerator" to keep drinks and such cold!

I'm very sorry about your loss. Good luck! Genie

 

[swtangel321]

So sorry about your loss

Did you try searching Craigslist.com in your area for "laying hens" or "hens" even "chickens" works.

Hope you can find her a friend !!

 

[freder77]

We live just outside of Seattle in shoreline. I'm thinking the best thing to do is find her a new home. Winter never seems to be the best time to find a new hen. And it would need to be a hen though because of city regulations.

We are not entirely sure why the other chicken became so sick. She had an intestinal blockage but the vet wasn't sure why or what exactly it was. Musubi, the chicken still with us seems to be doing fine and not showing any similar symptoms.

I brought her into the garage last night and will put her back out today. It's snowy but not nearly as cold as it has been.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Let me know if you know of someone who'd be looking for a new addition. Musubi is a red sex link, about 1.5 years old. Still lays 5 days a week.

We're going to try meetup.com and craigslist too.

 

[coffeelady3]

Look on Craigslist. There's always hens for sale on there....