# So... I found this Chicken?



## PunksTank

So I was out tonight and my fiance calls me to say there is a chicken in our front door way! We have no chickens and our nearest neighbors have none either, and they're pretty far off anyway. I have no idea where this poor little girl came from. She's either very nervous or used to being handled as she allowed me to pick her up and carry her into my barn.
First I put her in a little pony sized stall that had chicken wire, what the previous tenants used for their bunnies. She quickly popped up and perched on the side of that  So I cleaned out a horse stall that the previous tenants obviously used for chickens (as it was still full of poop when we moved in). Once clean, I put her in and put a bowl of water and a little bowl of crushed corn and crimped oats (left over from my horses). 
She promptly fluttered up to the top of that too. I think I'll just have to deal with her loose in my barn! Luckily the horse stalls have top doors that I shut so she can't get in with one of the horses and get hurt.


SO that being said... How do I raise a chicken?! I'll be heading to the local grain store tomorrow to hang up flyers. But I'm curious to know everything about her! 
What type of chicken is she?
What type of food should she have?
What else do I need to know?
Do chickens have vets and should I call one? She seems fine but hasn't eaten or drunken anything, but I'm sure she's understandably nervous.


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## ApolloRider

Aww. It's is super cute. You should just keep it and check Craigslist for a missing chicken. What if someone just wants to eat it!!!??? I think it is a Rhode Island Red? 
Just get it some chicken scratch. 

Also: it may be a young rooster. Look at its legs and see if its starting to grow spurs.


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## toto

Looks like a RIR (Rhode island red) the dh says production red.. 

Put her out some fresh water-- your local feed store will have chicken waters- just ask for them or find them in the chicken section. For now a bowl of water will work-- she might stand on the rim and knock it over and make a mess though. Be prepared, lol.

As for the feed- if you want eggs dont feed medicated chicken scratch feed layer feed. We even feed that to our roosters too. 

Chickens dont chew their food with their teeth they look for the perfect piece of stone to keep in their croup to help mash up their feed. Oyster shell gives protein and is good for layer hens. Youll nee to keep their area clean and nice to avoid them gettin coccidiosis.. wait i think they only get that from other chickens fecal mater. 

*random chicken facts*


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## PunksTank

Thank you both! I'm pretty sure she's not a rooster but we'll see in the morning I guess!
So tomorrow I'll head to the grain store, I'll wait a couple days before investing in chicken furniture, but I'll pick up some layer feed - just in case it sounds safer.

How should I provide stones for her? The house has an old dog kennel, fenced in all around and on top outside, I could put her out there to let her be outside sometimes. 

For the coccidiosis, the stall I put her in was where there was lots of chicken waste. I cleaned it as best I could but pretty quickly. What should I watch out for to make sure she stays healthy? 

Thanks everyone!! I hope she enjoys it here


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## Phly

That chickens old enough to be self sufficient. It'll eat dropped grain and bugs, like chickens do. I wouldn't worry much about it. I wandered in, may wander off. Shut it in the barn at night, let it roam during the day. Won't take long for it to figure out its safe and hang around.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chevaux

Don't you just hate drive by chicken drop offs? Seriously, I bet she ended up at your place because she was carried away by a predator from her old place, managed to get away and ended up at your place shaken but not stirred. 

I do think she is a hen and she's well into egg laying age based on her comb and wattle development. The logical next step is to get her own rooster, a couple of other hens and then you can join the chicken discussion thread.


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## PunksTank

Phly you think I could just let her out? How long should I keep her in before letting her out? If she wandered away from her other place would she wander from me? I live on a pretty busy road I wouldn't want her to get hit.
She'd stay around even if I'm not feeding her and there are no other chickens?

Will she be ok without other chickens?

Chevaux - Lol no roosters please! If she works out and sticks around I may invest in another chicken or two though  I was thinking the same thing about the predator, there are a bunch of small foxes I've seen around the past few days.


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## Chevaux

Chickens can live by themselves but like horses I think they're happier in a group. How far are your buildings away from the road? I live on a busy road but my yard is far enough back that my chickens never go out to the road - they seem quite happy wandering around in the yard.


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## Honeysuga

Chickens are ridiculously easy to keep. Feed, water, and a warm place to roost. If you want her to stay get her a friend or two and keep them in for a couple days. Feed them in the barn. Then just leave the door open one day.Feed them at roughly the same time and set up a call to let them know its chow time (my mawmaw yells"come on bebies" lol) and theyll come running. Once they are comfy and feel safe, they wont stray too far.


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## Phly

PunksTank said:


> Phly you think I could just let her out? How long should I keep her in before letting her out? If she wandered away from her other place would she wander from me? I live on a pretty busy road I wouldn't want her to get hit.
> She'd stay around even if I'm not feeding her and there are no other chickens?
> 
> Will she be ok without other chickens?


If there's food, she'll stay. Typically. So happens that horses lend themselves to feeding chickens. Grain, oats, and the such. Bugs readily available. Horses tend to keep predators at a distance. It just works really. If she wants out, you'll play he'll keepin her in! Lol. 
Chicken friends would be nice but not necessarily a must. My mommas got a peacock and a guinea hen that are free range. Not even a shack for em. The guinea hen she raised and is over 5 and the peacock just showed up an decided to stay. They sleep in the tree above the hog pen.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PunksTank

Chevaux - We're pretty close, I guess I'll try it, but should I wait a few days for her to learn where "home" is? 
If everything works out I may get another for her to bea friend, we have small chickens (Amacanas?) at a horse rescue I work at, I wouldn't mind having a couple of those, but would the size difference cause fights or anything? Is it all just trial and error?
Is her breed typically used for eggs or meat? or both?


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## Phly

Reds are good meat and eggs. Looks about fryer size now  yummy. 

We've kept all sorts of breeds together. Phoenix, polish, bantams ( my personal favorite). They don't care colors, but some chickens are A-holes!!!! I got horror stories of rouge chickens, hens and roosters both, being rank.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Honeysuga

They wont fight unless you have too many roosters. My mawmaw has all different sizes and breeds. Just try to keep your rooster to hen ratio low or nonexhistent.


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## Chevaux

QUOTE=PunksTank;2481473]Chevaux - We're pretty close, I guess I'll try it, but should I wait a few days for her to learn where "home" is? *It won't do any harm to wait.
*If everything works out I may get another for her to bea friend, we have small chickens (Amacanas?) at a horse rescue I work at, I wouldn't mind having a couple of those, but would the size difference cause fights or anything? Is it all just trial and error?* Chickens do have their pecking order but if they have enough space everybody finds their place and they get along regardless of size (it seems at night when everybody is roosting that all differences are put aside). 
*Is her breed typically used for eggs or meat? or both*? If she is a Rhode Island Red, it's a breed that's been around along time. Most of the older breeds are/were dual purpose.[/*QUOTE]


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## PunksTank

I really don't enjoy roosters xD so if I get any others they'll probably be some very small breed of chicken, I like the Amacanas? because they have colored eggs that are really delicious! But I'll have to see how she behaves with them.

Do chickens need nesting boxes or need to set on eggs? At the rescue the owner (who is equally not a chicken person) always gets it in her mind that the chickens need to set for a while and gets them some fertilized eggs to hatch. But I'd prefer not to do that if they don't need to. I wouldn't be able to let the chicks go xD 
Also at the store they only have chicks, not adult, I could probably find some adults for sale, but would it be easier to introduce chicks or adults to be her friends?


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## Honeysuga

It is easier to just buy adult chickens. They are simple animals, no introductions needed. If you want easy to find eggs provide them with nest boxes. Milk crates with straw work great. Set up your chicken stall with their waterer and nest boxes, throw in a warm light and you have chicken palace. Oh and they like to roost off the ground because they feel safer. Some large branches or something similar across a corner or two work great.


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## toto

PunksTank said:


> Thank you both! I'm pretty sure she's not a rooster but we'll see in the morning I guess!
> So tomorrow I'll head to the grain store, I'll wait a couple days before investing in chicken furniture, but I'll pick up some layer feed - just in case it sounds safer.
> 
> How should I provide stones for her? The house has an old dog kennel, fenced in all around and on top outside, I could put her out there to let her be outside sometimes.
> 
> For the coccidiosis, the stall I put her in was where there was lots of chicken waste. I cleaned it as best I could but pretty quickly. What should I watch out for to make sure she stays healthy?
> 
> Thanks everyone!! I hope she enjoys it here



We let them peck at the stones in our driveway, lol. I guess you can ask the feed store if they have anything special you can give them to pick through-- theyre real picky about the stones they choose-- theyve gotta be perfect! 

The old dog kennel sounds like a perfect chicken tractor! You can move it to somewhere that has grass- all around the yard and she can have fresh grass and could scratch for bugs and stuff every day.. shed love that! oh you might could put a stick or somethin through it (if its chainlink) for a roost too!! 


For her to stay healthy just make sure she has plenty of fresh water- a clean place to eat and sleepv and make sure to put her up-- or leave her in the dog kennel if nothin can get her. The stall-- just make sure she dont eat any of the old chicken poops-- keep her food away from that for sure- theres nothin you can give as a preventive -i dont think..


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## PunksTank

Perfect Honey!
The stall in the barn already has basically a wood pallet that's held up on 4x4s that she likes to sit up on, that's where I put her food and water. There's a little ladder thing that goes up to a barn window.
I'll set up a box for her in there  

Thank you all! I'm learning so much!


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## ApolloRider

She could very well be a hen. It's been a few years since I had chickens. I just noticed she had a large comb. I don't remember my hens having large combs, but it's been about 7 years since I raised mine.


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## PunksTank

Oh my driveway is gravel, if I let her out on that for a while she may find a good stone to use  
I think the dog kennel is great too it's pretty huge I don't know if I can move it, but it's out in the grass already next to a paddock.
I can make her two roosts, one inside and one out with the dog kennel  that way she can have a safe place to run to when she's outside and a place to get out of the weather inside.


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## toto

That dog crate needs a set of gate wheels!! ; -) not sure about just 1 hen but my barred rock trio would mow the grass in their lil 'grazing cage' theyd poop it up pretty good too in that area.. 

Oh and dont feed your chicken onions!! It makes the eggs taste like yuck and their poop smells rancid! It will seriously gag you!

We would feed ours some of the garden scraps-- never rotten stuff-- Dont feed them anything you wouldnt eat! but they like bell peppers, watermelon, pumpkin, hot peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomato, corn, and a few other stuff i cant remember-- if you do a garden theyll eat your stuff so watch it, lol.


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## PunksTank

That's fantastic! I'll try to offer her some fresh veggies then  No onions though!

I want to clicker train her, what silly tricks can I teach a chicken? XD


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## Delfina

Okay... yes, it's a Rhode Island Red. 

You cannot depend on dropped horse feed or random bugs to feed her. The feed store will carry "layer feed" or "laying mash" or something similar. Chicken Scratch is a treat not a complete feed.

Chickens don't eat *stones*, they use itty bitty gravel. If you free-range the chicken, she'll find her own. Keep her locked inside for a few days with plenty of food/water and then start letting her go outside. Make sure she is locked back up before dusk which is when all the predators come around.

Chickens WILL fight, irregardless of the rooster ratio. Chickens do not like "strangers" and will go after them. As she is an adult, you can either raise baby chickens separately and then introduce them when they are large juveniles or you can mix in adults now. The best way is to have them in a space that's divided so they can see each other but not able to get to each other and then after a few days mix them together at night after they are roosting. 

Chickens don't have Vets. You might be able to get a Vet to look at one but it's highly unlikely and going to cost a fortune. 

They don't need to sit on eggs. Some chickens will go broody and sit in a nest but they'll sit there with eggs, no eggs or even golf balls. I keep golf balls in my nests, it encourages the hens to lay in the nest and not elsewhere. 

You can't clicker train a chicken. You can't train a chicken! The only *training* you can do is for them to come when you call and you do that by giving them something yummy whenever you call them.


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## PunksTank

Thank you Delfina!
I will definitely pick her up a bag of feed!
I'll definitely have her locked up at night thanks. 
That makes sense about introducing new chickens too.
I've heard the golf ball thing I'll do that! My fiance has plenty of those laying around.
I don't think she needs a vet, she seems pretty healthy - but should something happen what do I do? 

Also - I beg to differ about clicker training a chicken 










 I've got to teach her silly things!



Thank you all so much for your help  Here's hoping she settles in well


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## Phly

You probly already know this, but scratch eggs taste way better then anything at the store. Scratch eggs= free roaming chickens. Get ya some, you'll love em.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

PunksTank said:


> I don't think she needs a vet, she seems pretty healthy - but should something happen what do I do?
> 
> Here's hoping she settles in well


If you determine she's a hen (for sure) then I'd get some day old chicks and put them in a box and slide the box under her at night. She'll wake up in the morning with her own babies and will probably take over raising them. 

I buy Layena Egg Layer Ration for my girls (got rid of my last roo and MAN is it ever quieter without him) and as a special treat and to get them to come, I toss out a handful or 2 of Scratch (Chicken Candy). I holler, "Who wants Chicken Candy?" and they come running. Well, now, they hear the front door open and come running. It's HYSTERICAL to watch chickens run, especially Cochins. I try to do the candy every day at 4 p.m. so it becomes habit and they'll all group up in the same place every day. 

I'd keep her in the barn for about a week, then I'd leave the door open and let her figure out how to go outside on her own, if you want to free range her. If you want to keep her in the dog run, get her used to "limo rides" and pick her up and carry her there and then go in and pick her up and carry her back to the barn at night. I had an Ameracauna that would go up on a shelf in the feed barn every night and go to sleep until I'd come by and say, "Ok little sister, it's time for your limo ride." and stick out my hand. She'd step into my hand and then up onto my shoulder for the ride to the coop. They're amazingly easier to "train" (really creatures of habit) and much smarter than you think they ought to be. 

Vet for injured/sick chickens. Not real practical because most vets won't know nearly as much as you do about chickens (or at least after you've owned them for a little while) and they tend to either recover on their own, die on their own or if they get bad enough you take pity on them and put them down. 

Chickens are addictive and you'll soon become a victim of "Chicken Math". That's kind of an algorithm that goes something like this. 25 chickens plus 12 more from a neighbor plus 6 from the local auction plus 4 from the local feed store plus 2 that you traded with someone for.....and pretty soon you're building a bigger coop. I can't imagine life without my 'girls'! :lol:


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

First there were some Ameracaunas and some Wyandottes and some Buff Orpingtons. 










Then came 10 Cochins. Lousy egg layers, but they sure are pretty. 










And then there were Guineas.....I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Guineas. Brainless, so ugly they're beautiful and the best alarm system you can buy. In additon, they're excellent bug control and snake eradicators. 










And then some more Cochins. See how the "Chicken Math" works?


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## PunksTank

Hahaha! I hope not, I used to be terrified of chickens! Even our little Ameracaunas (thanks for helping me with that ) made me nervous to touch. But this chicken is really sweet, maybe she's just nervous and doesn't squawk away or she's people friendly, but she lets me pet her and I carried her from my front doorstep to the barn and from the first stall to the second stall. She didn't mind either time.
The first time I put my sweatshirt over her and held her body, the second I just picked her up with my hands over her whole top covering her wings and picking her up from the bottom. I guessed that was the easiest way. I plan on teaching her to step on my arm, but she's pretty big xD 

If I do get another chicken or two to be her friend/babies what type should I get? I'm in New England so the winters are tough, but otherwise I hope to be a good chicken mommy


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## Delfina

You can get whatever you want as long as you heat their coop with a heat lamp. I keep mine inside if it's 0 or below and I don't turn off the heat lamp during the day as cold chickens will go back inside to warm up if needed.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

PunksTank said:


> Hahaha! I hope not, I used to be terrified of chickens! Even our little Ameracaunas (thanks for helping me with that ) made me nervous to touch. But this chicken is really sweet, maybe she's just nervous and doesn't squawk away or she's people friendly, but she lets me pet her and I carried her from my front doorstep to the barn and from the first stall to the second stall. She didn't mind either time.
> The first time I put my sweatshirt over her and held her body, the second I just picked her up with my hands over her whole top covering her wings and picking her up from the bottom. I guessed that was the easiest way. I plan on teaching her to step on my arm, but she's pretty big xD
> 
> If I do get another chicken or two to be her friend/babies what type should I get? I'm in New England so the winters are tough, but otherwise I hope to be a good chicken mommy


Depends on if you want a lot of eggs. Ameracaunas are very cold hardy, lay eggs like a machine gun fires, Cochins are very cold hardy and don't lay many eggs, Orpingtons are very cold hardy and are good layers, Wyandottes are very cold hardy and are good layers. All but the Wyandottes are known for being fairly friendly and docile. Wyandottes can be but tend to be a little more aloof. I have had several for several years, and I love them, but they took a long time to come around and still don't reallllly like to be handled too much.


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## FlyGap

Awwww! Poor girl!

For sure a RIR rhode island red hen. Tough birds, not the friendliest or the best mothers JMHO.
Will do ok in cold climates but if I were looking for friends for her I'd look for a more cold hardy breed with a smaller comb, they can get frost bit.

I would place an ad in CL looking to adopt older hens first. Many people would be willing to give up an older non laying hen for a pet. If you want egg layers get a few more RIRs or another cold hardy breed and raise some chicks. Raise them separate then perch them together at night. 

Remember that laying pellets are poisonous to horses, don't let the horses get into her dish. I bet your lovely "lost girl" is a no longer laying hen turned loose or just got lost/run off. Kitchen scraps are good but like said onions are yucky and bananas and their peels are poisonous.

Birds are pretty low maintenance when left to their own devices, it's when people coop them up too much in dirty pens that they get parasites and diseases. So no worries on the vet if you let her roam! 

Thanks for taking her in!! What a sweet girl!!

ETA: does "she" have many black tail feathers? "Her" comb looks a tad large... You'll know soon enough when it gets older/comfortable and starts crowing! Could be a very young rooster that got ran off by an older one... In that case I might be trying to find it a home.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Delfina

If you keep a heat lamp in the coop, most of the breeds will lay right through Winter. 

For laying, my Black Australorp was amazing until the neighbor's dog got her. Rhode Island Reds are good, so are the Ameracauna's. I have a couple Buff Brahmas that lay spotted eggs very regularly. 

I have a motley crew of chickens.. we buy them because they're interesting and hope for eggs!


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## toto

Lol, you can get other adult chickens.. my hens would go run off with the neighbors chickens and they didnt fight--The game hens will but RIR aint game its a meat bird. ;-) oh if its a RIR and not a production red shes gonna be huge! Big enough to beat up a small dog-- i seen one of our roosters beat up a cat once.. bad mistake on the cats part! :lol:


If your chickens aint game and are fighting- you have too many confined in too small a space.. or one too many roosters, lol. 



Lol, im sorry if i made you think chickens eat big ol rocks! :rofl: 





If people can clicker train a house bird i think you can train a chicken. YouTube some chicken tricks- or even house bird tricks.. mine would hop on my shoulder if i let them- and when i would cluck at them (yes like a horse, lol.) Theyd run to me because they knew i found em somethin good like a big jucy worm, or some kinda treats.


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## egrogan

Punk, you got a lot of good advice here. I have to say that the Forum was amazing for me back in January, when my neighbor dropped off four chickens at my house in the middle of a snowstorm :shock: You can read all the great advice I got here (and a lot of the same people who were so generous with their time on my thread have already posted advice for you here).

I've learned so much since the girls first arrived, but I am sad to say the original 4 are now just 2- one was killed by a hawk during a particularly tough patch of winter, and one was hit by a car- I know you asked about letting your new girl out near the road, and I guess I am the unfortunate person who lives in a really rural place yet still lost a chicken to a hit-and-run. It can happen. They don't seem to have much of a self-preservation instinct, unfortunately.

I have a RIR as well, and they are hardy through the winter (I live in New Hampshire). There were originally 2 RIRs, and I did notice a little frostbite before I figured out how to really keep the drafts out of the coop (I never did heat lamps though). I also have a Barred Plymouth Rock, and am getting some Golden Laced Wyandottes and Golden Comet chicks next week- all are supposed to do pretty well in the cold weather, if you're looking for the names of other potential breeds. I am a little nervous about integrating the new little sisters into the remainder of the flock, because the two girls that are left are super bonded since they've spent so much time as a pair at this point. It will be a few weeks before the chicks are big enough for the introduction, but I do plan to try it over night when everyone is roosting, as has been suggested here.

I think Chevaux is the one who said chicken math will get you- she's definitely right about that! I never thought that I'd take to the chickens as I have- in fact, I convinced my poor husband to take a day off from work on Friday so we could have a three day weekend to build a new run for the chickens.

Here are my two girls out on the hunt for juicy after-rain worms:


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## Skyseternalangel

This has to be the best thread I've ever read


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## Endiku

I LOVE those chicken videos! No advice from me but I love this thread. We have 5 frizzle ladies, 2 saramas, a RIR, and a gigantic yellow hen (not sure about her breed) named Mrs. Hennikens. They're the sweetest things and Hennikens will even ride your shoulder like a parrot while you're doing chores around the barn xD best thing ever, but you get tired pretty quick. She's got to be a good 7-8 pounds o.o


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## PunksTank

Thank you all so much for your help and guidance!! I am falling head over heels for this chicken. There are still no eggs so I'm beginning to get concerned that "she" may be a "he" but she just clucks and coos, no crowing yet. Maybe she stopped laying and ran away before getting turned into dinner.
I wish I could do chicken math!! But my fiance is paranoid because were renting and animals are limited, 3 horses and 4 ferrets were all that was agreed on. So I dont think I'll be able to get more.  
She doesnt seem to mind I made her a little nest box filled with hay that she nuzzles in at night. During the day she scratches around the poopy horse bedding I put in with her and in the evening I pet her out inside the barn. She likes to explore and has learned not to jump into the naughty pony's stall. I think I'll try putting her out in the dog kennel tomorrow. She likes to perch on the door of her coop, where she could easily let herself out around the barn, but she just watches the horses and relaxes. 

I only have one question left I think... should I only feed her at a specific time of day or should she have food available 24/7? Water is always available obviously. 
Oh and what would make a good "treat" high value food she'll always be hungry for? 
I got her layer pellets is that enough? She needs oyster shells too? How much and how often is that? Ok so it was more than one question


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## Chevaux

I've got food available 24/7 for my flock - they eat their fill and then leave it (they also free range); they don't eat at night, by the way, unless the heat lamp is on to give them some light. My chickens seem to like bread and buns as a 'treat' - they get the stale stuff. I carry it out in a plastic bread bag and as soon as they hear the rustling sound of the bag they come up.

I use oyster shells when they are laying as it's supposed to help with shell strength. I just sprinkle some in with their regular feed (wheat and layer hen ration) once in awhile.

If your hen has had a traumatic experience she may be off the lay for a little while longer or, on the other hand, she may have found a secret spot and has laid eggs already (they excel at that).


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

PunksTank said:


> I only have one question left I think... should I only feed her at a specific time of day or should she have food available 24/7? Water is always available obviously.
> Oh and what would make a good "treat" high value food she'll always be hungry for?
> I got her layer pellets is that enough? She needs oyster shells too? How much and how often is that? Ok so it was more than one question


I put out feed 24/7 and they eat what they need. I leave a small rubber bowl of oyster shell out in the run, if they need it they eat it. Every afternoon around 4 pm I go out and feed "Chicken Candy" aka Scratch. I open the front door and all you can see is chickens running toward me, it's hysterical. I get the scratch in the scoop and aks, "Who wants Chicken Candy?" and they all come around my feet. I start tossing handfuls and they cluck and scold one another and start eating. When I've cleaned the coop and put fresh bedding in, I like to go in and sit down on the floor at dusk and wait for them to come in. They'll crawl up in my lap and sit on my legs and shoulders and "purr" while I pet and cuddle them. During the day, of course, they're much too dignified for such a display of affection but once it's mostly dark.....:wink:


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## PunksTank

So everything is going well with Ms. Starlight Von Clucky (yup, everyone got in on naming the chicken ). She's settled into her little roost pretty well and is eating and drinking. I still haven't found any eggs but now I'm beginning to think she's hiding them...
She can easily hop onto and out of her coop area and she does, every night, I'm not sure if she knows how to get back in without having the door opened though. Because every morning I find tons of giant piles of poop allllll over my barn. During the day I open up the back door, while I'm working, and she has still not ventured out. I'm nervous about letting her out anyway, but I'd rather she be outside during the day (the little poop machine!). Will she really come back? I have to leave for work at all different hours, how can I get her to come in sooner than she's ready? Or should I just leave the door open so she can when she's ready. I tried two mornings in a row to bring her out to the kennel, but she just doesn't let me touch her in the morning, only when she's perched at night. So I can't carry her out there (yes I felt like a lunatic chasing a chicken around her coop xD).

She also prefers to drink out of puddles on the floor rather than her two water bowls (one is the red upside down one designed for chickens from the grain store the other is just a black ground feeder for horses filled with water). She'll drink out of the black one sometimes but normally she prefers when I spill water, she runs over to it like she's desperate.


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## toto

Feed her at night when you wanna put her up- my chickens run to where the feed is when they hear the scoop. They get ta cackling too, lol.  feed her out of the barn in the morning-- shell get it. People think chickens are 'dumb' theyre actually very intelligent. Id also get her a trough feeder so she has a spot to eat (at nights) and shell know where to go.

We would pile up hay in the corner of their stalls and theyd make a nest and lay in them. You can use fake eggs- or the olden type white doorknobs for a fake egg (to trick her into laying) in her little nest and she should lay there. --chickens wont lay in the same spot if you remove all the eggs (they think a preditor is stealin em) so thats why youd use a fake egg.. 

Id take away the black watering thing-- show her where the water is by poking it with my finger (like a rooster would to show her) then shell get what to do. 

very cute name! :lol:


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## xlntperuvian

FlyGap said:


> Remember that laying pellets are poisonous to horses, don't let the horses get into her dish. ... Kitchen scraps are good but like said onions are yucky and bananas and their peels are poisonous.


Layer pellets are poisonous? That can't be so. My old stallion found the chicken feeder pan a few times and helped himself. There was never any ill effects. My chickens love, love, love bananas, without the peels of course. No problems with those either. 

Another thing chickens love is yogurt. And it's good for them too! They also love hummus! My chickens practically licked the container clean. They like cooked rice, the "crumbs" from the bottom of cereal bags, and cat food. I had to move the cat food bowl because they kept stealing all the cat food. 

If you really want to learn about chickens the best site to visit is Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds. A great site and the forum is wonderful! You can spend hours reading there.


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## Mama26kids

Well,horses can colic from hen feed, I had it happen to my horse. Especially if they aren't used to grain.


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## QtrBel

If you want eggs you need to keep her up until after laying time. Usually best to do this anyway depending on the predator situation. Provide a place and a a dummy egg. If she's young and still laying she'll lay there or pick out another spot and you can do what you need to keep it clean. Mine preferred to lay in the dog carrier. So we took it apart, turned both so they were like little houses and filled with straw. Keeps the eggs clean and makes gathering easy. New chickens don't get turned out until they learn where the food is and who brings it. Then they all get turned loose late in the afternoon and locked up when they come it to roost. Leaving ours out during the day is an invitation to the local hawks, foxes and other chicken lovers to have a free meal.


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## GreySorrel

Mama26kids said:


> Well,horses can colic from hen feed, I had it happen to my horse. Especially if they aren't used to grain.


They are only bad if they eat a lot of it....ask me how I know this! My draft mare broke into my harness shed and ate 25lbs of chicken mash...5 and a half days at a specialized vet clinic, I.V.'s and lots of meds. Thank god no founder either out of all of this....but it was touch and go. So, saying it is poisonous is a lot different than saying it can cause colic if a lot is eaten.

Your hen is a Rhode Island Red, they are good layers, and careful on the corn as it can make them fat or cause a lot of fatty build up around their liver, both will stop a hen from laying and/or cause harm to their health. We give our flock of 19 hens and one roo a wild bird seed mix as it has all the good stuff in it, flax seed, black oil sunflower seeds and a little of the small seed but not much. Putting her water in a black bowl shouldn't be a problem, as I have our two chicken water bowls are the heavy rubbermaid ones so they can't tip them over. And also, that is a hen, no roo there to worry about. She doesn't have the neck feathers nor the tail feathers or "saddle" feathers that are long and slender. No spurs can be seen, though hens can have small spurs as well. 

If you want to worm her, put a capfull or two of apple cider vinegar in her water, but it has to be in a plastic bowl, not metal. Give that to her for a week then stop, it also will help with the Ph of her stomach to better utilize food and digestion. Be careful giving her anything that is moldy, molds can cause bacterial infections or bronchitis in chickens from the mold spores, no raw taters either, there is something in them that can kill a hen, if you want to know I can go downstairs and find my chicken book. 

As for a treat...ours LOVE freeze dried meal worms. I can shake the bag and call "Chick Chick come on" and they come running.


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## ThirteenAcres

Hehehe. This thread is sooo cute.


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## demonwolfmoon

ThirteenAcres said:


> Hehehe. This thread is sooo cute.


agreed. and its a good reminder to go check out chicken threads.


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## JulieG

My BO has about 6 Guineas. Those things have quite a temper! They try to chase me down all the time. They'll even go after my horse sometimes!
Good thing she isn't as scared of them as I am haha


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