- Dec 6, 2013
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Dear chicken lovers,
My parents knew absolutely nothing about raising chickens but decided to get 10 eggs from a friend. They hatched. 9 were given to good homes. The sickly runt, named "Birdie", remained with my parents. He had been rejected at birth by the mother hen as he was unable to walk or eat. My parents literally saved his life by feeding him with an eyedropper and keeping him warm with a heating pad in a box inside their house. As he grew he moved to a "chicken-friendly" dog cage with supervised treks outside until he became a rather large and feisty rooster. He now resides in a 10x10 enclosed outdoor pen with an elevated roost to keep out predators. Birdie seemed content to freely roam the yard during the day and return to his roost at night until recently. He's now trying to get back into my parent's house. Is this because he's cold and/or lonely? He followed my father around as a baby chick. Perhaps he's longing to be with him? Birdie's never been with other chickens. I don't think he knows he is one! Every attempt to introduce him slowly to his flock was unsuccessful. We want to do what's best for this lovely creature. Your expertise would be most appreciated.
Kindest regards,
Wendy
My parents knew absolutely nothing about raising chickens but decided to get 10 eggs from a friend. They hatched. 9 were given to good homes. The sickly runt, named "Birdie", remained with my parents. He had been rejected at birth by the mother hen as he was unable to walk or eat. My parents literally saved his life by feeding him with an eyedropper and keeping him warm with a heating pad in a box inside their house. As he grew he moved to a "chicken-friendly" dog cage with supervised treks outside until he became a rather large and feisty rooster. He now resides in a 10x10 enclosed outdoor pen with an elevated roost to keep out predators. Birdie seemed content to freely roam the yard during the day and return to his roost at night until recently. He's now trying to get back into my parent's house. Is this because he's cold and/or lonely? He followed my father around as a baby chick. Perhaps he's longing to be with him? Birdie's never been with other chickens. I don't think he knows he is one! Every attempt to introduce him slowly to his flock was unsuccessful. We want to do what's best for this lovely creature. Your expertise would be most appreciated.
Kindest regards,
Wendy
and Welcome To BYC! It could be both, how cold is it where he is, is the perch in a coop in the run? Chickens are flock animals, so Birdy is probably lonely also even if he doesn't quite know he is a chicken. When you tried to introduce him back in to the flock, what was happening? It takes awhile to integrate a new chicken into an existing flock, though trying to add an adult rooster to a flock of hens usually works pretty well.
