Wierd chicken behavior...

[dinamcb]

So we rescued 15 chicks this week... Someone had dumped them on the side of a very rural, quite remote - no homes anywhere nearby - road in our county. An acquaintance mentioned she was worried about them - she'd seen them for a couple of days before she realized they'd been dumped. We were able to round them up and bring them home over the course of a couple of days.

By the time the last bunch came home, they were so hungry and thirsty they could hardly stand. There was one I was fairly sure wouldn't make it - but it's made a complete turnaround.

I quarentined them for three days. After three days of unlimited feed and water they're doing GREAT!

The only thing is... they're white leghorns, I'm pretty sure, anyway... BUT, they spend so much time just laying down. None of the rest of my flock spend this much time resting.

Is it maybe because of the trauma they've been through?

They appear healthy. They're alert. They eat heartily. They drink eagerly. They love treats.

They don't have mites or fleas - somehow! I did dust them with DE when they arrived.

They don't have any injuries, etc.

I gotta say, they're super docile, super mellow, and super grimey - covered with berry stains, dirt, etc. LOL!

A thought occured to me - could they be cornish cross? I hear they are much less mobile...

I should clarify that I already have 5 white leghorns and these ones look JUST like the 5 I have - thus, the assumption. And I've got a pretty diverse flock - 10 breeds, about 50 birds, and have been chickenkeeping for several years - so have seen lots of different stuff thus far...

Should I be concerned?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Mahonri]

I'm thinking cornish cross... but I'm hoping they are all pullet leghorns... unless you are into meat birds.

 

[dinamcb]

All are girls but one - amazingly!

What's the big distinguishing factor between leghorn and cornish cross, do you know? I've never actually seen the cornish cross IRL - just in pictures.

 

[Mahonri]

CC will get fat and very lazy given enough feed.

 

[dinamcb]

ahhh... I see!

Never really thought about getting any of this breed - have read too much negative about them.... it will be interesting to see how things develop.

I've been trying to guess at their age. I've got some chicks that hatched out the last week of May - and the rescued ones are decidedly larger - I was thinking maybe they were about 14 weeks old given their size. If they are CC, that guestimation could be TOTALLY off, huh?!

 

[Stonerowfarm]

It doesn't make sense that someone would dump off meat birds. Actually, it doesn't make sense that someone would dump off ANY birds, particularly if they are young. Not to whack the hornets nest, but did you consider maybe that they were stolen and then dumped on the side of the road as a mean-spirited prank or that they were stolen to sell, but for some reason couldn't.

Have you looked on Craigslist for lost/stolen birds. Or even an ad trying to sell these birds posted days before you found them?

Regardless of all that, for the birds sake, glad you happened by to rescue them. No animal deserves to be dumped no matter what the reason is. Good luck on bringing them back to good health.

 

[joletabey]

Bless you for taking them in- I would also call the local animal shelter and see if anyone called in about them. A mean neighbor could have taken them and dumped them - hate to sound so negative, but anything can happen in this world.

 

[dinamcb]

I know - crazy and awful, right?!

Just breaks my heart that someone would do this to them! Sadly, there was evidence that some of their number had already gone by way of the coyote or some other predator before we could round them up.

Yep - did the cursory inquiries. No reports known.

I'm just thankful that they are recovering and seeming to figure out the ropes here!

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[Jasmine1998]

That was very nice of you to help them out. Please keep us posted with thier progress.

 

[noodleroo]

Same thing happend to us. Driving down our country road and saw something cross the road about 1/4 mile ahead. I said 'was that a chicken?" Yep, it sure was. 19 of 'em that someone 'dumped'. We're used to seeing dogs and cats, but chickens???? That was almost 4 months ago. We were able to rescue 10 of 'em, DH built a coop for them the next day and they have great lives out at our property in the country now. We've added Buff Orps and some SLW peanuts that will soon be going to freezer camp. DH talked to a guy last week that said he saw 2 vehicles dump them off. What kind of a person dumps their chickens? Other than missing feathers around their hineys, they were fine. No paracites, actually pretty healthy. They tamed down realy fast, too. Here's a pic: