Phoenix Rising

[AKMontana]

Hi all BYC members,

I guess it is time to introduce myself and thank you all for the beneficial information I have obtained on the forums here since this is my first time with chickens. I have raised all types of animals and exotics in my lifetime but I never knew how much personality chickens could have and now I have to say I am hooked! So this is how my story begins around March 07, 2013.

Well, my life has not been the same since I had to put my yellow lab and my companion for ten years to sleep in 2009. So, all the feral cats took residence utilization my garden as a litter box and my backyard as a safe haven for having kittens.

For some reason God has a sense of humor to help me out when he thinks I need companionship. I had prayed the night before that I needed to meet a female that would relate to my way of life so I would not have to be alone anymore and apparently I need to be more specific in my prayers. The next day in the late afternoon I find a hen chicken hanging out in my front yard. I ignored her presence at first until several hours later I heard the squawking and ran to find her on the roof of my Cherokee fending off a cat. Those dang feral cats!

I escorted her into the back yard, closed the gate, provided her with some old parakeet seed and water and waited to see what happened. The sun was well set and it did not dawn on me at the time she would seek a roost above the ground when I suddenly heard her at the window above my AC unit where she decided would be the safest place for the night. I know birds well enough that I needed to put cardboard under her to keep from ruining my AC unit and I continued with my work once I was satisfied she was content for the night.

I guess she was tired or was on a different sleep schedule because when I went into the kitchen around seven thirty the next morning she perked up and was watching me through the window. She quickly flew off her roost when I provided her with more parakeet seed and fresh water and once she was satisfied she began to explore my backyard, scratching and looking for succulent tidbits hidden in the fallen leaves and dirt.

Since she has become a new member of the backyard my feral cat problem has left. I did some research on the internet to find out what breed of chicken she could be and my best guess would be a Silver Phoenix and very capable of defending herself against predators. Wow! Super Chicken so bye, bye kitties, bugs and hello fresh eggs! Now I have another project to build a chicken shelter that allows free range.

To be continued.

 

[Teila]

G'Day and Welcome ... your story made me chuckle. Yep, chickens have great personalities .. I have spent hours watching my two girls in the garden .. they make me laugh. Looking forward to hearing how your new relationship goes and what her name might be and possibly a picture of her?

 

[AKMontana]

Hi Teila,

Thanks so much for your reply and I will provide pictures as I develop this thread. That is her in my avatar and it will be a spoiler alert if I elaborate since so much has taken place over the past two months.

I have yet to find her an apropiate name but many have suggested to call her CaCi for cat chicken. I can say her Chicken Coop turned into a condo and now could be considered a five star High Rise Suite with a 180 degree scenic view but again more details down the road.

My biggest surprise was how, intelligent, sweet and affectionate she could be and the past two months have been nothing but funny and interesting stories. So to keep from revealing too much I will restrain myself for now and please stay tuned for updates as quickly as I can type them.

Thanks!

 

[theoldchick]

My chickens like parakeet seed too!

 

[Teila]

I have two wild bird feeders in my garden which attract Turtle Doves, Crested Doves and Rosellas .. word has got around and I am now going through 2kg of seed a week; if they had their way I would be going through twice that!
My banties have their dinner and then they go and sit under one of the feeders and dessert on whatever gets tossed out by the Rosellas