Please Help Identify This Bird *New Pics Page 2*

[FamFitz]

I tried to post this earlier today, but now can't find the thread. So I don't know if I didn't post it correctly, it got deleted, or what. So sorry if this is a duplicate. =/

Anywho...A friend of mind found this chicken in her yard several days ago. She has checked with everyone in the near area if they are missing a chicken and cannot find an owner. She's been keeping the chicken in a dog crate in her garage at night and made a temp small run area for during the day. But she can't really keep it so she has asked if I would take it.

Can anyone tell me breed, approx. age, or gender?




Also, I'm new to chickens. In fact, my big coop isn't 100% together. My chicks are all 8-12 weeks but still in the "brooder". I am finishing up the coop this week and moving them to it this weekend. I do have an old 2 story rabbit hutch I was going to use as a temporary/quarantined chicken coop for this chicken. If there is any advice you have on taking in a stray chicken, please feel free to add it or PM me with it. TIA!

 

[lightchick]

Can you get better close ups?

 

[Basskids08]

Can you get better close ups?

X 2! It's very hard to see In the pictures you provided. Try to get close up and make sure you get a side profile, comb shot, and sometimes it help to get an above the chick shot too!

 

[FamFitz]

Don't have the chicken yet. These are just the pics my friend sent to me. Will add more tomorrow when she brings the chicken over to me.

Since I doubt age can be determined, do I feed grower pellets until 1st egg is laid then switch to layer?

 

[Half-Pint]

Looks like a red pyle OEGB, not sure on age.

 

[Kev]

yeah red pyle oegb is a great guess. looks like missing it's tail at the moment? It is fully grown, at leat a year. Go ahead and feed it layer right now.

rabbit hutch will be fine as long as it is raccoon proof. 1/2 inch wire or less.. if chicken wire, that's basically making her contained bait waiting for a raccoon....

as for what else to do- dust her with sevin dust. that will handle mites, lice. repeat in week to catch the ones that were in egg form at the first dusting. also worm her.

 

[donrae]

I agree a game hen.

since you other birds are on grower, just feed her the same thing. You don't have to change to layer right when they start laying, just offer some supplemental calcium like egg shells or oyster shells. Once your littles are of laying age, then you can change everyone to layer if that's what you plan to feed. No reason to use two different feeds at all, that's just a pain in the butt.

 

[FamFitz]

yeah red pyle oegb is a great guess. looks like missing it's tail at the moment? It is fully grown, at leat a year. Go ahead and feed it layer right now.

rabbit hutch will be fine as long as it is raccoon proof. 1/2 inch wire or less.. if chicken wire, that's basically making her contained bait waiting for a raccoon....

as for what else to do- dust her with sevin dust. that will handle mites, lice. repeat in week to catch the ones that were in egg form at the first dusting. also worm her.

My friend did say she dropped some tail feathers since she found her. She assumes it's just stress, but maybe it's something else? As far as feeding, what do I do when most of my flock isn't laying and are on just grower feed and are too young to be on layer? Obviously not a problem for the 1st couple of weeks while they are in separated, but will I really need to keep them separated for the next 10 weeks (when my youngest gets 18weeks which I was told was min for feeding layer)?

Here is the hutch we were planning on using for her for the next two weeks at least: http://www.terrificpets.com/pet_supplies/small-animal/cages-habitats/113410.asp Does it need better wire? We could probably wrap some hardware cloth around the bottom.

Sevin dust. Never used it before. I assume they sell it at farm supply stores (where I get all my other chicken supplies & food)? How do I worm her?

~~

After looking at pictures of OEGBs it does kind of look like her (but I've only seen the 2 pics I posted). I'll add more pics to this thread tomorrow when I have her so everyone can confirm. =]
And THANK-YOU to EVERYONE for helping. I've only been at this chicken biz for 11weeks. #Newb

 

[Kev]

To be honest, what donrae said is what I'd have done. Feed everybody on the schedule of the young ones. But some get upset over not feeding 'properly' so I was kinda answering that way to avoid any chance of that.

Example I've fed a mother hen with chicks either game bird or chick starter for months, if she molted during the process she grew glorious feathers... then switched to layer whenever I felt like it. None of the '11 to 13 1/2 weeks' or any of that.... to be extra honest, I never offer oyster shell or calcium supplements.... got a bag of oyster shell once ages ago and it was completely wasted and never got another bag again.

Birds can and do lose their tails when stressed, it's part of predator defense mechanism. It will regrow just fine, no need to worry about it.

Oh yes I would wrap hardware cloth around the bottom. If the hen sleeps on ground at night(that can happen if confused or does not want to go upstairs in that) and raccoon comes around, she will definitely be mauled to death. heading over to the predator and pests section will convince you of that. If possible, get cloth tall enough to cover all that wire and go out flat on the ground to deter any digging or reaching under the wood frame.

Sevin is a garden dust powder for bugs. It's in the garden section of any hardware store- Home Depot or Lowes and many feed stores have it or something marketed specifically as poultry dust. To use it, hold the bird, lift the wing, move the feathers to expose the skin on the body then sprinkle powder and sort of massage it to spread it around, do the same on the other side, then turn her head downwards to expose the vent, powder that area pretty good- a lot of mites and lice like to hang around that area and lay eggs on bases of feathers below the vent,, then do the back. That's it.

Chickens are very hardy and forgiving, as long as some general guidelines are more or less followed and the cages and coops are secure from most predators they will be fine. Have fun!

 

[BantamLover21]

Probably some sort of Old English Gaem.