Oh My Gosh!! Little Strangers are trying to join my flock!

When I came home today and released my flock of four buff and three RIR Hens and their Roo Jimmy also a Buff, so they could do their afternoon free ranging, I heard a commotion out back behind the shed! It was Jimmy running and flapping and squawking! I went at a run thinking that I had a predator....... but got a surprise! There were two of the smallest little white Hens I have ever seen , NOT Bantams either! Oh my , NOT healthy either to my dismay. I scooted Jimmy away immediately.
When I went over to the girls I found they had lost almost all their back and wing feathers, I figured moulting. I looked closer and found blood on ther necks and backs. The saddest thing was that these two precious Hens came right to me and allowed me to pick them up and put them into a temporary compound.
The photo is of Jimmy standing next to them before I could scoot him away. He is standing right next to them .... just look at the size difference!!! ( Yes.. I almost always have my camera with me)

I have no idea where they came from. I have neighbors on three side of me who have chickens , but I dont know which these girls belong to! All I know is that they are very underweight and starving, covered with wounds ( some very old) and blood, missing feathers and one has no skin on two inches of its back and the area is dried and leathery looking as if it had healed badly.

What should I do?? Should I keep them and see if I can get them back into shape or should I find who they belong to and give them back?
I hate to see any animal ..... or any living thing suffer and these two have apparently had their share! They are eating like they havent seen food in ages!

If you want to stay friends with your neighbors, you had probably better find out who they belong to. You could then, perhaps, offer to rehab the girls. It looks like rooster damage to me. They may not really be abused or neglected, just the favorites of an over zealous boyfriend.

I hope you are right Porkpal, but could that also be the reason for their being all bones and feathers ?

I guess if you spend all your time running from Casanova, it may be hard to get enough to eat. But they definitely need help.

This message was edited Oct 21, 2009 2:39 PM

Yes you are right ! I do need to find the owners. They are so sweet ,and tame. I would guess that they were hand raised, but not loved!

Looks like rooster damage to me to,my older golden comets are skin and bones two and they have no rooster anymore and plenty to eat and no stress in the life just the breed I guess.

Thanks Guys! I guess if I had an ole roo that treated me like that .... I would have run away too!!

Okay, I'm the bad guy. I would not go looking for their owner. If someone asks for them, I'd try to buy them, but would give them back, but I wouldn't volunteer. Someone who could allow the hens to become this unhealthy, should not get them back....

I wouldn't either. If they don't come looking for them, then they must not care much about them. I looked all night for a missing hen once. If they come looking, then deal with it, but thoes girls came to you for a reason and you have probably saved their lives.

I ended up paying 50 bucks for 16 abused chickens and one turkey. They were all kept in two fifty gallon totes. I desperately needed more hens after a vicious dog attack, but wanted healthy ones. All it too was to see thoes poor filthy, underfed birds with no water and we handed the man the money. We had to wash each chicken and found out that what we though were Buffs were actually white cornish crosses. Poeple should not have animals unless they are willing to care for them properly. We are stewards of the earth and all it's creatures, it's time we lived up to that command.

Take care of the girls and give them love, good food and saftey , if the owner comes for them I'll pitch in to purchase them with you and I'll bet others will too.

Once again , thanks guys! Im definitely feeding them and trying to let them know that I want hurt or distress them. One is very affectionate, the other more scared but aggressive when approached. So I dont try to handle it just yet.
I just want to get so I can bathe and clean them up . I need to see just how bad their condition is, and check for parasites. The last photo is a close up and looks as if the little girl is covered with bugs, but it is all dirt , debris and tiny little holes caused by either mites or other chickens. In either case they are quarantined until healthy or neighbor response. thanks for the offer of helping to pay neighbor if nessessary, soooo DG! I think that I will be able to handle the situation if it occurs.
I m not sure what the girls are but they definitely are all white and little, with (looks like) debeaking on top Im guessing they were from an egg farm. The nearest would be about 5 miles from me. In any case, I'll be good and TRY to find the owner.ASAP...........

.....( Lalallalllaaaaa,the sun shines bright on my "ole Kentucky HoooOOoooome,...) As miz Prissy sang as she lazily walked to find the owners. Hee heeheheee!

Oh Eufaula, those poor girls. Too bad they can't talk. They would probably have quite a tale to tell about their escape and finding your good home. I just don't understand how people can have animals and then neglect them. Maybe they fell off one of those chicken trucks...

No, their owner fell off the turnip truck!

Good Morning fellow Chicken People! Well I came home yesterday to a little Miss running around looking for more food. Obviously her tattered wing condition didnt keep her from flying over the wire compound I had put both girls in. I slowly walked up to her and she came right to me and allowed me to pick her up. It was so Precious! Thus ... her name... Precious. She even ate right out of my hand....... Hmmmm does this not tell you something? She loves people... so where is her Mommy or Daddy? So far no luck on finding the People parents!
Oh well Precious and I will become very close , I can tell. Now the other one... not doing well at all. If it werent for Precious and her personality, I would think maybe You are right Beclu! Maybe they did fall off a Chicken Truck. Most of those poor chickies are far from people lovers. The other (not so sure its a Hen any longer) is very peckish. self protective and tries to hide. It only eats when it thinks Im not looking or near. It stays with Precious like glue though. I think I will name it....for the orphan in the Charles Dickens novel.......Oliver or Olivia !

So please do tell how the 2 little white hens are doing now Precious and Olivia-er.

Hi Kell, , My news isnt too good. Both little ones were coming along fine until Sunday. Apparently a neighbor has seen fit to let 3 of his dogs run loose all of a sudden, one mixed breed and 2 Pits. My sweet "Precious" was their first kill then they grabbed my newly laying Buff "Prissy", and ran with her down the road. Ive reported them to the animal control agent, hopefully this will see to the problem.
My Oliver-ia is well and growing feathers finally!

I will have photos of Oliver/Olivia tomorrow.
Oh yes ... Report on pit pack of roving dogs..........Found them sunning next to the road in front of what I think is their Home. I road by and to my horror.... a dead cat was laying between them! This is horrible. Once again the animal control has been alerted.... No sign of my "Prissy".......too much to hope for ...now that I know they are in fact killers not just young pups out having fun. If I catch them on my property again...Well lets just say they are going to take home to their owners some awful sore behinds that will need Vet work. ( pointy little pellets are really mean little Boogers!) ARRRRRRRRGH!!!!!

Oh too sad. And Precious was such a lover too. How cruel. 3 dogs running in a pack can go after a human too and kill them. Animal controol better get out there and get them. Take a picture of them running free. If they see a child running by they almost for sure will go after that child. Just a terrible thought.

so many people having trouble with dogs....you have my sympathies I hope I never have that problem.

I hope you have better luck than I did with dogs. My problem dogs are now contained, but it's still a nightmare dealing with repercussions from their owner.

Hi All, Just a quick update on "Oliv-er/Oliv-ia" My little friend is adjusting very well. It now has made companions with my 3 bachelor White Silkies. They share the same ground pen and get along nicely. We have had a lot of rain here lately and Im finding out that keeping any of them clean is almost impossible. As you can see "Oliv-?" is growing in the feathers along her backbone now. It was completely bare a month ago. Now that I have been feeding it reularly and it has been free ranging it looks and acts like a completely different chicken. Now I can tell it is of the White Leghorn variety. It looks at this time, like it has already gained a pound , getting fluffier and fatter every day!! Yay!!

she/he's looking good. happy it found you Eufaula!

I don't think you're "bad" for not wanting to give them back to the owners! Anyone who treats an animal like that does not deserve to get them back! However, I had some sex-link chickens once that ate all the feathers out of each other's backends down to bloody meat! I raised them up on wire till they were big enough to fend for themselves, and when I put them on the ground in a bigger pen, they started pecking! I had to get fatty chunks of meat at the meat dept. and they ate it up quickly! They even ate styrofoam!
Sorry to hear about Precious!