Hi All,
My name is Liz and I live in Wisconsin. To make a long story short, we live near a farm and one Saturday morning we found a chicken eating bugs in our strawberry patch. She looked like the same breed as the farmer near us so my husband took her back and placed her in their chicken yard. After doing this three times (with her returning within an hour each time), we agreed to talk. to the farmer the next day. We found out that some neighbor girls had hatched an egg this spring and raised the chick until it got to big. They then returned it to the farmer. He felt it would be killed by the other chickens and planned to butcher it. It kept escaping his solo pen. He offered to butcher it "when we get tired of it". Well it's been over a month now and we quite enjoy little chicken. I found this site via google because I think we need to start caring for her properly. Here are the facts:
I estimate she is about 4 months old and is a Plymouth Barred Rock Hen.
She has been living under our deck which is not ideal for us because we cannot get her or any eggs if laid from underneath the deck.
I have put out a feeder and a waterer. Right now the feeder has a mix of cracked corn and oats. I plan to buy a back of layers feed from the local co-op. I supplement the grains with meal worms and japanese beetles from the yard. Also a bit of watermelon when we have it. She stays in our yard and forages the yard, especially in the bushes, garden, and under our bird feeders. She seems to love Nyjer seed from our finch feeders.
I have put up an old dog house near the deck and covered the bottom with straw. She goes in there occasionally because I see feathers in there, but she does not roost in there. I have not yet found any eggs in the yard or under the deck (I looked with a flashlight).
She loves to follow us around as we do yard work and "talks" to me the whole time. My son calls her CC for crazy chicken.
Is it possible to raise and care for a single chicken in our back yard? What else should I do for her? Any ideas for winter? Can I get her to start living in a coop or the dog house and not under the deck?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Here are some pictures of her.
Liz
My name is Liz and I live in Wisconsin. To make a long story short, we live near a farm and one Saturday morning we found a chicken eating bugs in our strawberry patch. She looked like the same breed as the farmer near us so my husband took her back and placed her in their chicken yard. After doing this three times (with her returning within an hour each time), we agreed to talk. to the farmer the next day. We found out that some neighbor girls had hatched an egg this spring and raised the chick until it got to big. They then returned it to the farmer. He felt it would be killed by the other chickens and planned to butcher it. It kept escaping his solo pen. He offered to butcher it "when we get tired of it". Well it's been over a month now and we quite enjoy little chicken. I found this site via google because I think we need to start caring for her properly. Here are the facts:
I estimate she is about 4 months old and is a Plymouth Barred Rock Hen.
She has been living under our deck which is not ideal for us because we cannot get her or any eggs if laid from underneath the deck.
I have put out a feeder and a waterer. Right now the feeder has a mix of cracked corn and oats. I plan to buy a back of layers feed from the local co-op. I supplement the grains with meal worms and japanese beetles from the yard. Also a bit of watermelon when we have it. She stays in our yard and forages the yard, especially in the bushes, garden, and under our bird feeders. She seems to love Nyjer seed from our finch feeders.
I have put up an old dog house near the deck and covered the bottom with straw. She goes in there occasionally because I see feathers in there, but she does not roost in there. I have not yet found any eggs in the yard or under the deck (I looked with a flashlight).
She loves to follow us around as we do yard work and "talks" to me the whole time. My son calls her CC for crazy chicken.
Is it possible to raise and care for a single chicken in our back yard? What else should I do for her? Any ideas for winter? Can I get her to start living in a coop or the dog house and not under the deck?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Here are some pictures of her.
Liz
