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Adopted by chicken - how to check she's okay?

3 replies

jaype · 22/08/2011 19:22

As the title says, we have been adopted by a chicken, which just wandered into our hall a couple of nights ago (live in a small village, had left the door open, asked the immediate neighbours but she's not theirs).

We've put her in the chicken coop that the previous owners of the house installed and she's eating pellets okay (but has spurned tomato, lettuce, kale and raspberry leaf), but her poo is a bit runny. What do I need to look for to make sure she's healthy?

I also think she may be a bit lonely as she keeps coming in the house and looking for us if I let her out of the run. Might need to get her a friend if she becomes a permanent fixture - mt Google skills tell me she's a Pekin bantam so they are supposed to be very sociable, aren't they? All help greatly appreciated!

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ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 22/08/2011 19:29

I keep pekins. They are fab. Definitely get her a friend or two, chickens don't like being on their own. Pick her up and see how weighty she is. Pekins are all feathers, so light naturally, but her breast should be well covered. You should still feel her breastbone, though. The runny poo might well be a sign or worms or stress, so get some flubenvet (a powder you mix in with their feed) and give her a 7 day course. Have a good look at her face. A healthy chicken will have bright eyes, a red face and no signs of eye bubbling or, er, snot. Also, how is her general attitude? Is she mooching about, eating, generally quite active? These are all good signs. I would get some mite powder though and give her a good dusting, just to make sure she doesn't have any parasites. Is she laying? Ooh, and what colour is she? Grin

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jaype · 23/08/2011 17:02

She was black... but this morning she was gone :( The children are really upset, so I think we will shortly be getting a couple of replacements! Tere must be a hole in the fence of the chicken area and she was cunning enough to find it. No sign of feathers so it wasn't a fox, thankfully. Hope she's okay - don't like to think of her out there and taking her chances. Thanks for the advice, Chickens.

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ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 23/08/2011 18:36

Aw, shame :( But she sounds like a survivor. Perhaps she just likes the open road Grin

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