Rescued abandoned chicken - no prior chicken experience - HELP

[DeckDuck]

This hen sounds like a very resourceful bird! A true survivor. I sometimes use large cardboard boxes with holes, and plastic storage containers with the lid ajar, to temporarily contain chickens. They seem to find those things to be kind of cozy, like a nesting box, and will generally go right to sleep if they're in darkness.

As for the cat food, either kind would probably work. I've known chickens to steal both wet and dry cat food with gusto!

 

[Eggcessive]

Dry cat food has more protein. Oats from the kitchen cupboard are well liked also. Plain yogurt, yum!

 

[gryeyes]

And for treats she would probably love a few raisins....... in case you happen to have any in the house.

Nothing says you cannot give a treat or two to your temporary hen. (No more than 10% of total consumed.)

 

[nibog]

She has had a few raisins - she loves them! Plain Yogurt, squash, zucchini, bread, a bit of wild bird seed, sunflower seeds, cheerios and carrots. I'll throw out a tiny handful of my cat's dry food later on too. She is such a character - I never know chickens could have such huge personalities.

 

[gryeyes]

She has had a few raisins - she loves them! Plain Yogurt, squash, zucchini, bread, a bit of wild bird seed, sunflower seeds, cheerios and carrots. I'll throw out a tiny handful of my cat's dry food later on too. She is such a character - I never knew chickens could have such huge personalities.

This is exactly what I and many, many others have have said! I started with 8 small chicks which displayed individual personalities and now I have a whole flock of more than fifty of them. All individual personalities - some of them quite canny and hysterical.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Do you know what happened to the other hens? I hope they weren't grabbed by a predator
She's very pretty, glad you took her in. A laundry basket will work but I suggest putting it in the house, assuming you weren't planning to.a towel is a good thing to catch chickie poo
Best of luck

 

[nibog]

I think they were let go into the park at the end of our street. I haven't been able to find the rest. I can't take her in the house - hubby would kill me

 

[FuscoFamily]

Oh, NIBOG!! What a SWEETIE you are!! I swear, you make me want to move to Rhode Island!!! I want to be your neighbor, dammit! And I am a GOOD neighbor!

I LOVE the photos! And I enjoyed your story. I an a newbie, too - in fact, I'm here because I'm DREAMING about retiring in two years and moving to be near our granddaughter... and having CHICKENS!! MY grandmother had 'em. I want to be that grandma!! So I'm here learning about chickens. That way, once we are ready to actually GET SOME, I'll only have ONE million questions rather than the 3.7 BILLION I have today!

Anyway - just want to say THANK YOU for being such a WONDERFUL animal advocate! I don't doubt you'll enjoy getting to know that bird... and every time you look at her, you KNOW you rescued her. Isn't that a grand feeling?! LOVE the photo of the kitties - and thank you for keeping them inside. They'll live longer... and the local birds, lizards, etc. thank you. I read a study (I'm a researcher) that found that pet cats who are let outside decimate the local prey species - much more so than feral cats. I was stunned to learn that - but they are well fed and fit & healthy - so they have the get-up-and-go to catch and kill as their instinct drives them to. You're doing SO much good.

That's all! I have NO wisdom - only questions. Just wanted to praise you for being such a grand lass!

XO!