My Chicken Story: Dealing With Negligent Keepers

I have been the recipient of three rescue birds – all different cases. My first was a dumped bantam rooster that a Good Samaritan was able to catch and I ended up taking him in. The next was a hen I found at the side of the road on the way to a chiropractic appointment (me, not her). I rustled her into my hatchback where she sat patiently until we got home. The final was a hen my neighbours found in the forest while out for a walk. After a long ‘goose’ chase and a wasp sting they were able to nab her and bring her to me, the only person they knew with chickens. I have no idea of their origin stories, but am glad I was able to offer all of them a good home. Some birds, unfortunately, are not always so lucky.

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Dee Ramsey

I was at Tractor Supply and saw a little chicken under a truck. I could see something was wrong so I went to see if it needed help. When I talked to it the chicken sprang up and RAN into my hand. There is a dump across the street where people regularly drop off chickens; mostly roosters. I was hoping for some answers about his sweet behaviour. Cookie purrs to me, which is so adorable. He rubs his head all over my neck, under my face like a cat would. He constantly talks and I can already tell what some of his chattering means. Like WHERE are you?!  I think he is very young because he’s still getting feathers. What do these behaviors mean? Of course my heart wants to think it is affection, but my practical side says he wants food. I can’t believe someone would dump such a small affectionate chicken. He is obviously used to having a lot of attention by humans. Here are a few pictures: my granddaughter and him watching cartoons, him riding on my other granddaughter’s shoulder. Oh yes, my dog and his new ‘pet’. He lives in the house with me because my hens would kill him.

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Amy Hutchison  

To the POS that thought it was humane to dump a rooster at our house tonight. Do you have any idea what you put this animal through? Thank goodness we noticed it by the roadside at dusk. Thank heavens we have hearts and spent the greater part of two hours scratching our faces on branches, being eaten alive by bugs in the dark to try to catch this boy and keep him safe.

You are lucky he found us; no he is lucky to have found us. If you can’t bear the responsibility of dealing with a rooster, don’t get chickens!! This is the second time we have had this happen.

As it is we don’t have space with already having another rescue rooster. Thanks so much for pushing your responsibility onto us. That boy is super lucky we caught him and wasn’t ripped apart by wildlife when you threw him out of your vehicle.

Do you have any idea how terrified he was? Screeching, screaming in ways I haven’t heard before and don’t want to again. What a horrible thing to do unprepared domesticated animal.

HUMANS suck!

On another note, we already have three different homes set up for our special needs chickens and truly don’t have the means to keep this one. He is currently safe in our home for the night, but I would love to find him the home he deserves. He is a sweet boy and seems rather young still.

Thanks all for listening to my rant, and if the person who had this boy reads this, I hope you feel like crap.

Sincerely, One Pissed Off Animal Lover

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Cheryl Young

We have neighbours that moved in on a lot behind/kitty-corner to us. They came in June. I noticed they have chickens.

A few weeks ago their chickens started making agitated/upset sounds, which went on and on. By the second day I asked the neighbour directly behind the new people if I could go behind their hedge to check things out. With their permission I did so and found 12 beautiful chickens left without food and water and a small rabbit hutch for shelter. No one was home so I called the business number on their gate and left a message. Then, with the same neighbour’s permission and the use of his ladder, I climbed over their 7′ chain link fence with 3 strands of barbed wire on top.

We used the same neighbour’s vehicle carpet slung over the barbed wire to make the final climb over. I fed and watered them and let them out of their filthy little pen so they could shelter under the RV sitting in the backyard. The whole yard is well fenced so I wasn’t worried about them getting out. I did all that with my heart in my throat while trying to finish up and get out as fast as possible; I felt very keenly that I didn’t actually have their permission to enter their property, but I wasn’t going to leave those chickens hungry and without shelter. 

Over the ensuing weeks we kept trying to connect with the chicken owners, without any luck. She would arrive home and immediately lock the gate so there was no way to knock on her door. Besides that, once the woman living there found out what had been done with her chickens she strung a tarp up on the fence so no one could see in.

Not to be thwarted: with the help of the neighbours right beside her, I managed to climb up to keep an eye on the chickens. By this time all the surrounding neighbours were concerned about those chickens because they kept making wailing sounds. I was getting pretty agitated over the whole situation, more so than my sister who isn’t into trespassing and harassment of neighbours. Despite that sentiment she did help me, bless her heart.

More time passed until finally the fellow that lives there came home! I typed up a friendly note and twist-tied it to the lock on their gate. He got the note and called. Turns out they had sold their farm and brought the last 12 retired chickens to town with them. The chickens are her babies, but apparently she was going to give most to a friend who had agreed to take them in. He said she would keep four or five and that she would bring them inside in winter. He let us know they would be away for a couple of weeks and once they were back they would drop in. Meanwhile who is looking after those chickens?? He said they would have people looking in on them. There are marauding raccoons circulating around the neighborhood every night now, which we warned them about. There’s no place to put them in at night. Ugh! 

At least now we have his contact number and we know she loves her chickens. And I will continue to keep an eye on them, which he is fine with, thankfully.

I wish people would look after their animals or not have them in the first place.

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This one is neither about chickens or keepers but, I think, reflects the attitude some folks have about animals, either wild or domestic, essentially that they are expendable. I live in a small community with flocks of feral turkey and peacocks (the guineas have all disappeared) that occasionally get hit by cars; sometimes, I suspect by annoyed drivers.

Lisa Wood

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Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and photos.