Re-homing A Chicken

[maia160]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate section but here goes. I posted a thread on another forum about this topic and a member of that forum directed me here.

Here's a link to that thread.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/garden/663261-neighbors-chicken-my-garden.html

That thread has grown to 7 pages, so I'll try to summarize.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I heard my dogs barking at the patio door. I looked outside and saw a chicken standing on my patio. I was surprised because we live in a suburban area and have never seen chickens in this neighborhood. I had just planted a container garden that sat on the patio so I think she was attracted to the bugs that the container garden attracts.

I walked outside and she seemed to be very friendly. She walked right up to me and followed me around the yard singing to herself. I was curious as to who she belonged to so I peeked over my neighbor's fence and saw chicken supplies. So, I walked to his front door to let him know that his chicken was out. He wasn't home.

I've never been around chickens so I asked my husband to catch her and put her in our large dog crate until the neighbor's returned home. I was worried about her being attacked by predators, especially dogs as they sometimes get loose in this neighborhood. He caught her and we put her in the crate with water and a blanket on top to keep her calm. Then, we left a note on the neighbor's door to let them know she was safe. They returned home but did not come to pick her up after several hours.

My husband walked next door and all they said was, "Yeah, we have a chicken running around somewhere. We know she can get out of the fence. It's a pet." They were not friendly, at all. But, they sent their son over to pick get her.

I thought all was good, but the next day I saw the chicken wandering around my patio again. Now, don't get me wrong, I like this chicken. She's got personality. I don't have a problem with my neighbor keeping a chicken. But, she was stripping the leaves off my young pepper plants. More importantly, I'm worried for her safety.

I noticed that she gets out of the fence through the gaps in his fence. She can walk right through and from what I can see they've made no effort to contain her. So, for the next several days she wandered the neighborhood but seemed to like my patio the best.

I had to go out of town unexpectedly for 10 days and worried about her while I was gone. To my surprise, she was alive and kicking when I returned home. She had also stripped several off my pepper plants of all their leaves. Oh well, better luck next year.

By this time, I've become very fond of her. I enjoy seeing her on my patio. So, I wanted to know if I could keep her. The neighbor's don't seem to care much about her. The problem is that I rent my home. Before I could even approach the landlord, who does quarterly inspections, I wanted to know the zoning laws. Unfortunately, it's a no go for my area.

At this point I would just like to re-home her. I guess I'm going to be a chicken-napper but I don't think the neighbor's will notice.

So, my question is: any ideas on how to find her a home? I live in Middleburg, FL which is close to the Jacksonville area.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chickenbottom]

ide take her my mom is going to the airport wednesday to drop my grandma off and ide love to add her to my flock

 

[maia160]

I would be more than willing to meet her somewhere to drop off the chicken.

Poor girl, she seems to be very lonely and needs a good home.

 

[chickenbottom]

mmk let me talk to my mother and is there any way to get a picture im itching to know what breed she is IM JUST EXCITED lol and thank you and she would have a great home with me and have alot of other friends for her to play with

 

[maia160]

Great! Just DM me after you talk with your mother. If she agrees, we can decide on where to meet. I can also give her my cell number.

I'm so happy she'll have a good home with a flock to keep her company. Here's some pics I took yesterday:

 

[mtnhomechick]

She's a healthy, pretty one. Just trying to understand how you can give someone else's chicken away. Or maybe I misunderstood.

 

[wyo-helpmeet]

How is it a no-go if your neighbor's have her? Or is it a no-go from the LL?

 

[chickenbottom]

shes beautiful looks very hardy and looks like a rir to me my mother said she is going to have to talk with my grandmother and she will tell me the news tommorrow to make it final and i can of corse give you my number or vice versa on where to pick her up at and if the neighbors dont take care of her then why is this a bad thing? i dont see this as stealing and if they cared so much for her why would they not treat her right

 

[maia160]

@mtnhomechick: She basically lives with me now. She is either wandering the neighborhood or, more often than not, underneath my patio chairs. They know she can get out and don't seemed concerned with her welfare.

I guess I could drop her off at animal control and I would have every right to do that since she's not contained. Our area is also not zoned for her and she's eating my garden. I don't want to do that as I fear she would be euthanized upon arrival.

So, it boils down to the lesser of two evils for me. I prefer to find her a home where she's safe and happy.

 

[Freebie]

Quote:
I think the area is not zoned for chickens, so her LL will not allow it. Her neighbors are just not abiding by the law, I think.