Stray Chicken?

[fifenashia]

About a week or two ago I woke up one morning to find a strange chicken in my yard hanging with all my birds. We have about half an acre fenced in with livestock fence and a coop with hen house in the back yard. I currently have 4 hens, 4 ducks and 3 goats that all share the backyard together. This chicken shows up in the morning, stays all day long and then at night my girls go up to the coop and this stray chicken goes "home"? I'm not sure.

Anyway, tonight when I went down to to lock my birds up, this stray chicken is totally hanging out in my hen house. I'm not sure if it's a hen or roo as I have never had roos before. But he/she is not used to being handled as it flipped out when I petted it.

Has anyone ever heard of a stray chicken? Has it adopted us? I don't mind keeping it, it integrated itself into my flock (Gosh I hope it is not ill as their was no quarantine). This just totally weirded me out!

Any insights or similar stories would be helpful!

 

[lazy gardener]

If one of your birds got lost from your flock, would you want your neighbor to return her?

 

[Junochick]

If one of your birds got lost from your flock, would you want your neighbor to return her?

One morning I woke up and found a chicken in my back yard. One of the first things I did was post an ad on our local Facebook stating I found her. No one replied, she was thin but beautiful. White leghorn I named her chicky and about a month later she started gifting me eggs.

 

[fifenashia]

I believe you that its a hen, I meant I don't know what breed she is. I have two neighbors that have birds, my immediate neighbor has game birds mostly guinea and the guy behind me has chickens. I am pretty sure she came from one of them. I don't think I'll be asking around too much as she is so cute, I don't want them to take her back. She picked us and who are we to argue?

 

[GoldenSparrow]

Some people will dump their chickens, at someone else coop. ( most of the time its roosters)
I know someone who had a alot of chickens show up at his house.

Post a picture, and I can see if its a roo.

I hope you keep him or her.

 

[fifenashia]

Here are some pics although they aren't the best, it's still pretty skittish of people.

Regardless of hen or roo, the kids named it "Lightning" and it has found a new flock with us. It did let me pick it up tonight and it's young, very light, thin spindly legs and no waddle or comb yet. The body looks like a golden comet but the head is red like my RIR and the tail is huge and dark colored.

Ah well, we are upgrading the coop in the spring and turning the current coop into a goat house. I was planning on getting some more hens so what's one more mouth for now? I think it's a pretty little thing, whatever it is.

 

[TheJadeChicken]

Can't really tell from those pictures on gender. Got any side photos?

 

[fifenashia]

not yet, but I'll see if hubs can try to get some tomorrow, thanks for taking a look anywho!

 

[real_redhead]

Cute, I hope it works out and it looks like it found a good home!!

 

[fifenashia]

I went down to check on them and she is below with the ducks tonight. I was able to get a GREAT side shot of the little bugger.