wondering about my chicken

kerrilynangel

Hatching
6 Years
Sep 24, 2013
5
0
7
hi, my name is kerri angel and i just joined byc. i have one pet chicken. her name is Chicken too. she is an english game hen and i don't know how old she is. infact, i don't know too much about chickens at all.i have had her about 1 year. she stays the night in the garage in a large dog carrier with blankets that are steamed and changed every other day so that she's nice and clean and safe.she is free range in the daytime and comes to the door each evening. during this past june, she disappeared and i couldn't find her for 3 weeks.i thought that a hawk or eagle had gotten her as we live rurally on a mountainside. we used to have a bunch of ducks and it happened fairly often. i know all this info doesn't apply to disease but i'm getting to that. i did manage to find her and she had hidden herself in some tigerlilies by the side of the road. she had laid about 16 eggs and was on a sweetly built nest. ofcourse, they were'nt going to hatch because there are no roosters here! however, she was so mean and would not let me near her. i am a disabled person and became very ill fo a couple of months. so she got left to brood on her non viable eggs for the better part of the summer. she got off everyday but only awhile to come eat and go down to the stream and drink. i finally got over my bad spell and took the nest away while she was off and she came right to the door that evening like nothing ever changed. but it had. she had lost weight and now a month after, she is losing feathers at an alarming rate. she only has one tail feather left. and her comb and waddle are shrunken and off color. i'm worried about her. it's starting to get cold now and although she comes in at night it can be brutal during the day in the winter. what can i do to put weight on her and promote some fast feather growth?is she just getting old? is it a sickness? i give her snacks and chicken food and cracked corn. she's very friendly and i love her so if anyone has any advice i would appreciate it a great deal. thanks and thanks for this forum too. i look forward to being a part of it.
 
They tend to lose weight when they are broody since they spent so much time on the eggs. Good food and time should resolve that. As for the feathers she sounds like she is molting which is very normal.
 
thank you so much. is there any snack you know of that puts the weight on fast? also, is it normal to molt so close to cold weather?
 
thank you so much. is there any snack you know of that puts the weight on fast? also, is it normal to molt so close to cold weather?

Just feed her as much as she will eat of high-protein foods: wet cat food, scrambled and/or hard boiled eggs, moistened layer feed, mealworms, bread, etc. Not only will those help her gain weight, but they will also help her grow in her feathers faster. And yes, it is normal for chickens to molt close to cold weather--or at least mine do. She should be fine even with fewer feathers as long as she has a draft-free place to sleep. Molts usually last 1-3 months, depending on the bird.
 
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Mine loves cooked oatmeal with meal worms mixed in yes sounds gross smells weird but they love it

Eta scrambled eggs and boiled eggs are super food for them as well. All chickens in the hospital room get them daily
 
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thank you so much! as you can see, i don't know a whole lot about chickens.i am very attatched to this one though. she is such a character! very funny to watch her play with the cats. she is indifferent toward the dogs. glad to know i'm sensibly on the right track with feeding. i've been giving her all the high protien snacks on the chicken snack list. i have plenty of catfood but Chicken does't like it. she loves eggs, chicken and berries of all kinds. she really loves corn muffins! i haven't tried mealworms yet because she eats so many worms and insects during the day. (haha, she'll even take them from you when you are gardening!) but now that its becoming wintery i will get some and try Coffeychick's oatmeal/mealworm recipe! she does share my oatmeal when i have it.thanks again.
 
Glad to help. Try her on some yogurt just plain or what ever you have. It is very good for them and mine can't get enough of it. Just beware when mine have it yogert goes flying. Literally it is funny
 
yes it is funny! Chicken eats outside on the patio so its not a problem but it is fun to watch her eat it and its very cute when she cleans her beak! i got her some meal worms yesterday and she loves them.she had chicken feed, scratch, cornbread, meal worms and chicken with noodles for breakfast today. she eats a better breakfast than i do! yesterday she had a few grapes but i have to limit the fruit because she is such a fruit hog and then she gets the diarrhea, so she can only have a little. i just love her! she is so sweet.
 
Hi sorry I havent been around awhile. Ive been very not well and mostly incapacitated. Im worried about Chicken as I am having difficulty taking care of her. The others in the house help but not properly. So im thinking I may nerd to find her another home. The problem is that she is a pet and an only chicken. I live in northeastern pa. near scranton. Shes healthy and friemdly, gets handled daily and usually comes when called. Loves to snuggle before getting caged at evrning time. Is anyone nearby that may be willing to give her a homr shr is used to and a lot of love?
 

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