A chicken in my hedge row?

Question

This may sound a little strange, but...I live in a semi-metro area and this chicken shows up in my yard. She has been hanging out in a shrubry row for the day and seems a bit skiddish. I put out some water for her, but have no idea what I may have in my cupboards to feed her. I threw some bulgar wheat out in the grass...Any suggestions? ---and, no, I don't want to eat it----

Answer 1

Likelyhood is, somebody either dumped her there or she escaped from somewhere. A lot of people get "Easter chicks" for their kids and then dump the birds when they get older (NOT a good idea.) Putting out water is excellent -- chickens drink a lot of water and it can be hard to find outdoors. She will also eat grains, bread, leftover veggies, wild greens such as grass, bugs and worms she might catch. Try whatever you have around -- chickens are omnivores. However, if she was raised indoors and was never out to scatch for food before, it might take her a while to learn what is food in the great outdoors. Feeding her will help her survive this transition. (Be aware that chickens DO dig in the ground, so she could get into your garden and do damage if it is not fenced. On the other hand, she will eat a lot of bugs!)

Regarding skittishness, that would be normal for a chicken in a strange environment. When she realizes you are a source of food, she will come running! Try calling "Here-chick-chick-chick-chick!" over and over when you feed her. This phrase approximates the sound that a mother hen or a rooster makes to call other chickens to food. (Roosters even do this to court thier hens!) She may not ever let you pet her, but she might eventually eat out of your hand. We rescued two chickens that somebody abandoned at a freeway rest stop and they eventually became pretty tame.

A big concern will be winter -- if you are in a cold climate, she might not survive. If you are in a milder climate, she will probably find a place to shelter OK. Otherwise, you might have to catch her and shelter her for the winter in a cage in a shed or garage. The easist way to catch a "wild" chicken is to wait until dusk and find where she is roosting. Usually this will be up in a bush or tree. Once it gets dark, she will settle down on a branch and you can easily catch her. (This is what we did at the rest stop. The caretaker had been trying to catch the two chickens with a live trap for two weeks with no success. My wife and I located their roosting area by finding droppings on the ground, then came back at night for the chickens.)

Answer 2

A New Pet.....Most Chickens dont care much for being handled so she will avoid you until you feed her every day...Just get a bag of scratch feed , through out scraps, corn , Whatever, She will eat stuff around the yard all day....She will drop an egg every day of two so thats nice, No Rooster so you wont be killing babies , They are fine to eat....(We eat them from the store)she may wander off on her own but I hope she hangs around..What a surprise!

Answer 3

We raise chickens for the eggs so if you really want to feed the chicken, pretty much what ever you throw out to her she will eat if hungry. I feed my chickens hen scratch and chopped corn cause I have too many to feed scraps to but I also feed the dog at the same time and there are a few of my chickens who prefer to eat the dog food.

Answer 4

Chickens will eat most things but try a little bread although too much is not a good diet. Perhaps a call to the RSPCA or whatever animal welfare that you have as I am sure they will find it a good home where it will be with other chickens and fed correctly.

Answer 5

Sounds harmless. Now, if there is a bustle in your hedge row, you can blame Led Zeppelin...

Answer 6

get some chicken feed or contact the nearest ASPCA or contact petfinders they will take it in if u ddon't want it.

Answer 7

You need another chicken then you will have two in the bush...