solo chicken?

[MissJames]

Quote:
like I said, don't inflict human emotions onto animals..

It's not a matter of human emotions IMO.Chickens are meant to be flock animals and are more content that way.It makes for a healthier chicken.A solo bird may start to exhibit unwanted behaviors. Feather picking and the like.It has everything to do with what nature intended and animal instincts.

 

[TreeFever]

Agreed to above.
Any flock animal is going to feel somewhere deep in their brain that things are out of place if they are meant to be in a group and are instead solo. Giving your hen flockmates will make her feel safer and more "right".

Three is a nice number to start a backyard flock

Building a simple coop shouldn't be too much of a hassle for you. I do recommend that it is designed to be predator proof, even if you haven't seen predators around. Even rats can be a real problem and they are absolutely everywhere. S. Jersey does get snow, so you would want the coop to be nice and cozy.

Good luck in your endeavor!

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
I agree with human emotions not being inflicted on animals and I treat all my animals as animals but as humanly as possible. I defently disagree about one chicken. This chicken will be very flighty and not sociable at all! Chickens are as people have already stated flock animals and as such they need other chickens around. In my experiance a solo chicken will freak out and not produce eggs and constantly seek other chickens as its instinct tells it to do. Chickens just want to have a flock and they don't imprint like ducks. Even birds I have raised from chicks although they are friendly they are not imprinted on me and don't treat me as a flock member.

Just my 2 cents!

Henry

 

[PortageGirl]

Yep, they really prefer being in a flock but I suppose you can see how just one goes. *shrugs* up to you. I don't know where you are, if it's warm enough to have it open all the time, as long as they can get out of rain and wind, I suppose it'd be ok, but yes, hardware cloth would protect them from preditors. Finding a corps that's been ripped apart in place from a racoon grabbing it is not pleasant.

Also, having a few means that when it does get chilly they can huddle together a bit for warmth. I was just corrected by someone in another thread about how it can and does get cold below the mason dixon line, and when a coop is built more to keep it cool in HOT weather, when the temp drops suddenly, it can be quite bad especially when hens are used to warm tems. You know, like how residents in Florida are wearing winter coats when tourists are in shorts and t-shirts! perhaps a hinged wall that will open in hot weather and can be closed up in cold?

 

[All about the EGG]

Someone posted a while ago about only having one chicken. They said make it a "house chicken." Makes sense. Keep it in the kitchen in a cage.

 

[Qchicken6692]

I suppose it is naive to think there are no predators in my area, even though it's south jersey, so I'll make sure to have a safe, enclosed section of the coup. But their seems to be a miscommunication going on; the chicken isn't really going to be a pet to me. I plan on raising it to maturity and then, depending on how my family and I feel, I will either have it slaughtered or have it adopted. That's what I ment by learning experience. I will consider having two chickens if you would consider it inhuman not to, but I'm not going to be treating this chicken like a pet.

 

[chicksalot]

many years ago we started out with 2 chicks...1 died. The lone chick grew up fine by herself, but she was considered a pet (not an indoor one, tho). She did 'hang' with us humans when we were outside...so I guess we fulfilled her 'social' needs. It was probably lonely @ nite for her tho... still,she did lay an egg daily for us...always left up on the deck, in the chair cushions! Good Luck to you.