Rehab CHicken

Normally, I rehabilitate wildlife, but tonight I got a call from some people who said they found a white bird under their deck. They thought it might be a chicken, but no one around them had chickens. I told them to bring it out and they arived with a cake box. In it was....a chicken. Anybody got ideas of what it is?

I was thinking it is some sort of young bantam hen. It's comb is single, but very small and tipped to one side. It's pure white, but quite dirty.It's tail stands upright like an A (from the back)

The only thing I can think of is that a hawk picked it up somewhere and dropped it in the sub division. It had a tiny wound on it's side and a scrape on it's head. It also panics whenever a shadow crosses over it. Otherwise it's fine. I figure that I'll wait till the silkies are asleep tonight and tuck it in with them. Hey, it worked with baby killdeers. I slipped them under my hen with her chicks and they stayed with her for several days.

Awww, poor little thing! Bless you for rescuing it.

i think that is a white leghorn, maybe four weeks old. hope it is a pullet, you will love those eggs!

good for you jyl...

Poor little thing, if it could only talk and tell you what its been through. Glad you rescued it.

I painted her toenails bright pink this morning so I can easily identify her with all the other chickens. I have some two week old cornish crosses and white turkeys that I'll put her in with. They are in a pen with a tin roof so she won't be so afraid of anything flying over. I tried her with the banties, but she still seem pretty panicky out in the open.

Last night I dreemed it was raining chickens from the sky. Hmmmm, there out to be a childrens book in here somewhere. If nothing else, it's annother chapter for my rehab book.

If it was me, I would probably put a "found" ad in the paper. Our newspaper does that for free for dogs and cats. Somebody is no doubt missing him. Does he act like someone's pet?

I like the way you are holding his/her feet. I am new to chickens and am not always sure how to hold them. As babies it wasn't that difficult, but now they are two months old they will dart and dodge when I try to pick them up and then they start kicking to get free. Guess I should hold them more often than I do, but with twenty two of them, it's not that easy. Each night they huddle next to their pen and I have to pick up each one and put them inside. No struggles then.

Must be instinct that they huddle quietly together at night, they keep warm and don't draw attention to themselves. Keeps them as safe as possible from nocturnal predators I would think.

I like my chickens. :)

Karen

That is so cool jyl......painting your new chicks nails.....I had the idea of doing the same thing with the chicks we hatched and were mixing in with a 'bargain mix' of chicks from the hatchery.....so we could keep better tabs on them. My DH looked at me like I was a nut job....next time I will wait until he is at work, pull out the hot pink polish and merrily paint away! I don't see him hunting down the polish remover to take it off! : ) tee hee

I agree with smedgekles......the stories this chick could tell! I think this would make a wonderful children's book! Are you taking a lot of pictures?

Light for jesus, I doubt that this is a pet chicken and most of the people I know wouldn't notice if a poult dissapeared or not and certainly wouldn't look for it in the paper. Ads are not free here and I may sound cold and selfish, but not worth my time and money to try to return her that way.

may not make pets of each of my chickens, but I do give them a good life while they are here.

Glad he's getting a good home.

Karen I hold most of mine tucked under my arm so that they have support from below. They can't flap their wings and since they feel my forearm below their feet they don't think they're just dangling.

All except my Sweetie who likes to be cuddled. She runs to me so i'll pick her up. If I have my rain gear on she likes to slip into my hood and ride on my shoulder. She's spoiled!

MollyD