Friday, July 29, 2011

Chicken Halp-What Is She?

Sooooooo......a chicken has decided to adopt us. She has been hanging around our backyard and deck for 3 days now, eating fallen birdseed, drinking our dog's water, and generally being charming and adorable. She's not ours, but she doesn't seem to be going anywhere and no one is looking for her. We are trying to decide what makes her most comfortable, a cardboard "roost" on the bar of our deck, or an old "Dogloo" doghouse on the deck (she really, really likes hanging around the action-she's very cautious about us and our cat and dog menagerie, but she wants to be "near"us anyway). Suffice it to say I'm not going to chase her off or call animal control. I'm learning all I can about "backyard chickens", and we've named her Marigold.



Note the pile of dirty horse blankets in the background. It's a nice touch, I think-we're so close to approaching city trash status!



Another angle...this one is not so comfortable in front of a camera yet, unfortunately.

Here's my question-what IS she? I'm hoping one of you out there knows-I know they're not the best pictures, but she's a dark red with black in her feathers. I've done the requisite google search and as close as I can tell she's a Rhode Island Red, but they have yellow feet and hers are grey/black. Could she be a hybrid? Any other guesses, hints or tips...bring them on!! I've had just about every other type of animal in my life, but chickens are a first. As we speak Kyle is running errands and stopping at a local pet/feed store to inquire about proper feeding and housing and all of that.

In the meantime, she stands on our deck, pecking at seed and bugs and entertaining the hell out of me. Good times:)

8 comments:

  1. No clue BUT when I was in 4th grade I took home our classroom incubated chick and raised him into he was a year old rooster. He used to sit in my lap and lay down and follow me, PeeWee, and was the BEST little chicken/rooster ever!!! I hope Marigold turns out to be a sweetheart and oh, fresh eggs is awesome! :)

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  2. Oh, and I lived in the Chicago suburbs, lol. We had to get rid of him when he started crowing in the morning, aka we got found out. Neighbors were NOT pleased but our little Peewee LOVED cracked wheat and oatmeal, lol, maybe yours will too!

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  3. Awwww he sounds adorable!! When we fed her the "poultry mix" Kyle got from the feed store, she went NUTTY on that and ate a whole bunch, and is now sleeping in her box:) She likes wondering around on ground level, but she doesn't seem to want to sleep anywhere but up high, so we've got this ramp system to get her up to where she's comfortable, and she's got her box with straw up there. I'm hoping for some eggs once she gets comfortable and more relaxed with us. I don't know if she'll ever be super affectionate, but she did let me pet her for a minute when I fed her some bread earlier today. I know they are social creatures, so I really want to get a couple chicks next spring maybe and try to hand raise them as much as possible so we can have 2 or 3 of them:) And maybe it's just me being ridiculous but I swear she's already cut down on our bug population around here:)

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  4. We've got seven chickens, but I'm not fantastic with breeds. None the less, I'll give you what I've got. She could be a red sex-link or a rhodie hybrid. She appears to be an all purpose bird; they were created to produce eggs but be hsrdier and have enough meat to be eaten if desired. Generally they're just egg layers now adays. They'remore common in cooler climates as they can weather the winter better. We've got black stars and rhodies. Oh, and chickens (like horsES) are social animals.

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  5. THANK YOU Kate-she sounds about perfect for our Michigan climate:)

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  6. Aww...I'm so jealous! I want chickens, but my husband says no way. I wish one would just wander into our yard too ;).

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  7. I think she's an Americauna by the looks of her. What color eggs does she lay? Americauna's typically lay light green/blue eggs.

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  8. TBA, I think you nailed it!!! After doing a google image search there are a ton of hens that look just like her, with the blue/dark legs. Unfortunately, she has yet to lay an egg. She may be very old...I don't know. We're feeding her Manna Pro crumbles for game/showbirds, a calcium/something else grit, and she gets plenty of water and is not stressed in the least:) I think this may be why no one is looking for her. Still, we sure do like her. Thanks so much for giving us the name, though! I'm off to do more research:)

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