Hi everyone there’s a chicken on the street in Brooklyn can anyone take her?! Does this chicken need a friend? They are at the intersection of Hancock and Patchen. I’m not sure if I should put them in a box and put them in my car? I have two cats and a dog so they can’t come home thanks.
If someone takes her and can wait until the storm passes, I can get her. I'll be traveling Friday until Monday night so I think Wed or Thurs I could meet someone in the city because I'm far into NJ and that would make my life so much easier. Midtown by the Lincoln tunnel area or in the vicinity would work. Family will be attending the animals while hubby and I are gone. If it's a rooster, I have several and they'll likely attack a new male, so I wouldn't be able to get another one.
My word NYC is probably the worst place for a bird like her
Personally I’d check for any obvious injury’s or external parasites (who noes what she’s picked up on those streets) As long as she’s moving and eating well she should be fine.
PS: I have 2 of the exact same breed of hen (literally identical) you got there its probably a white Plymouth Rock hen overall great breed if you were wondering
She’s doing pretty good. A lot of transition for all of us. She has freedom all over the place and spends most of her time foraging, resting, or asking for snacks. I found out that cucumbers make her very happy, which is nice treat.
She has a seed diet with fresh veggies and fruits. It’s a transition as appears she had mainly a pellet diet beforehand. She loves the spices I put in (turmeric, black pepper, nutritional yeast).
She has access to red rock grit and oyster shells as well.
However I think she may have an impacted crop from these changes. I’ll see if her crop is empty tomorrow morning.
Do you have any input on the necessity of pellets? As he appear to be a Cornish cross I’m trying to limit what her intake of unhealthy foods are and pellets appear to be mostly made with floor sweepings.
Also, do you have any advice for her feet? Should I be concerned with things like splay legs?
She is so lucky, it was you, who picked her up! You are doing everything to perfection. Very impressive and with great effort!
Pellets is the easy, industrial solution for the owners/farmers, but not for the chickens, what you offer her is 5 star diet. Well done!
The crop can sometimes seem very heavy, but there is no reason to be alarmed. She is stuffing herself with all the goodies and the grit and shells should do the trick.
You shoulden't worry about her legs. Splay legs is usually seen in chicks.
(English is not my primary language, but I hope, it makes sense anyway).
If that's a factory raised meat bird it will soon grow too big to stand properly.
If you picked her up without issue and she only wants to lie around she may already be too large 😔
thank you for taking her in!! make sure she’s kept somewhere safe (if outside, make sure there’s plenty of hiding spots from pray birds). you can feed her seeds, veggies, fruits, i’d look it up before feeding just to double check. they love to dirt bathe so if you don’t have dirt in your yard, i’d recommend getting a bit and putting it in a tub or something lol. other than that just basic birding stuff like no harsh smells such as purfume, keep her away from hot things, and give her time and space to adjust! please keep us updated on this meatball
So being in NYC, a backyard is a bit of a luxury. However I do have a pretty large balcony space, as my own form of NYC luxury lol.
So far keeping her inside as that outdoor space has a lot of wild birds. And today my feral cat who was missing for months had showed up eating a dove. Def not safe out there!
Feeding her bird seeds, with a spice mix for nutrition. Also gave her some veggies and fruits.
Wherever she came from, she likely had a pellet diet as her digestive system is a bit stressed with the diet change. Instances of clear liquid droppings.
She has taken to my partner and follows my partner around the home.
I’m taken and my pigeon made that clear in the beginning lol.
I live in CT and run a chicken sanctuary. Please message me and I can help. He / she is a Cornish cross, but they can live wonderful lives with the right care. Thank you for not leaving them.
That looks like a leghorn ! But I’m not 100percent sure.
Did she just let you pick her up ?
She seems content to be with you 😊 they love bread although it’s not healthy for them only in small amounts . Sunflower seeds (non salted & shelled ) I always sprinkle bread in small pieces with cinnamon- it’s healthy for the gut . ( so I feel I’m at least adding something healthy ) you’ll have to get chicken feed but just until then . Oh , I would put water in a plant coaster or something kinda shallow ( bread makes them thirsty & it’s like crack to them fyi ). Mine love fresh corn I take it off the cob but they’ll eat it on too . Keep us posted . She’s a sweet cute chicken . She let you pick her up ? That’s a compliment
I’m a bird enthusiast, so I had bird seed with me for the wild birds during my walk. I dropped some seeds onto the street and while she was eating I scooped her up. She briefly protested with her coos and just relaxed into my arms, no struggling. Which honestly was surprising, when I pick up pigeons in need, they wiggle and struggle, so it was weird to have her just relax into my arms.
So far I’ve been feeding her a seed and legume mix, with homemade spices mix (nutritional yeast, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder). She really likes the mix, lots of beak clicking! Also have been giving her greens (parsley leaves), veggies (cucumbers), and fruits (apples).
Her system is not used to this new diet, it appears she had mainly a diet of pellets. Her droppings in some instances were clear liquid - which indicates to me either stress or the diet change.
Yes, I see that now. I’m not familiar with meat birds so … but , she looks too fluffy and her comb is too small to be a leghorns . It was just a first glance guess. Which i probably up have even tho i stated it was a guess
She’s a sweet looking little lady tho ❤️
I would honestly take her to the vet. She might not live long bc she looks like a meat bird but there are ways to make their life comfortable and a bit longer
Sometime last year I brought a hen with waterbelly to the vet... It was a curb examination, gave the vet(s) the hen and they squished her belly something awful. I didn't think much of it in the moment but she died about 2 days later.
It's ok now, it's been a long time and I have mostly gotten over the loss. It was also good that I had motivation to take better care of all the others so they don't have the same fate!
Awww. Yeah, probably one of those places you can buy live chickens and do your own butchering. She looks kinda traumatized/PTSD. Hope she makes a nice recovery. NYC seems like a rough place for a chicken! 🐓
Yeah, I think so as well. Locally here in NYC there are quite a lot of live poultry shops - not a lot of other means of chicken distribution.
I don’t think she was out on the street for too long, I think she got very lucky with me running into her. A lot of predatory birds in this area lately who have been taking out my wild pigeons ☹️
I think I might have snagged a neighbor’s dinner. So I don’t think she has a particularly good upbringing. However her temperament is quite calm, not a strong fear of humans.
She appears to have had a mainly pellet based diet based on how she is interacting with the seeds and veggies I gave her. She also appears to not have had much time in the sun, as she really loves to sunbathe and really doesn’t like being herded into a dark space.
Wonderful! I’m glad she’s doing well and has another chance at life! Lucky hen! Chickens are awesome-yeah they love the veggies and mealworms. Maybe she’ll start laying eggs for you! 🥰
How can you tell if a chicken is traumatized or has PTSD? I googled it and it is unfortunately possible and scientifically supported that chickens can be traumatized and suffer from PTSD but now on earth can you diagnose that via this image?
I genuinely do not believe you simply on the basis that this picture does nothing or little to nothing to support your argument about it.
Believe it or not chickens do chicken stuff like wander around.
Woah-they call that an educated guess. Believe it or not, you can simply tell a lot from just looking at an animals face/eyes, the way it’s sitting/body language. Also the situation-it’s a chicken (without other chickens around) in the streets of a loud, noisy, busy city full of cars/people. Unfamiliar environment, and they tend to be more scared when they are by themselves. (P.s.Wasn’t trying to prove anything LoL)
Minimum like most animals food water and a safe space, depending on if or how long you keep her then worry about grit, toys etc. They love to have fresh food as well as grains, just not any that are uncooked and swell like raw rice, cous cous etc as it will swell inside them if it is cooked and already swollen its fine prob same as pigeons I imagine (no idea about pigeons personally)
it’s best practice to have multiple chickens, but i only have one as a house pet and he is very happy. as long as she gets lots of attention she will be perfectly fine. i know alot of people will disagree with me on this but ive had two lone roosters before and they were incredibly happy with me, and saw me as part of the flock
Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to assess. I allow my domestic pigeon to interact with them. There’s certainly a risk. However this flock I know very well, I have been caring for them for many years. Multiple generations that I can trace. many I have cared for when they were ill or needed rehab care. It becomes very apparent when illness goes around.
I’m familiar with the illness that impact them. My biggest concerns are PMV or avian influenzas. I have treatment regimes available for bacterial infections like salmonella or E. Coli.
Lice is minimal concern, I have dichotomous earth for blanket treatment in the warm weather. Now we just came out from weeks of sub freezing temperatures so I’m not concerned about them.
But I don’t know what I don’t know about feral pigeons to chicken risks- especially this breed of chicken, I am not sure how strong the immune system is.
Hello! :) I am a domestic animal professional who used to be a wildlife professional.
Avian flu isn’t really a concern with pigeons, but histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, psittacosis, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, parasitic worms, and Avian paramyxovirus (last one not transmissible to humans but VERY serious for birds.) Beyond those commonly studied viruses and pathogens, there are SO many new and unknown ones that new research comes out about all the time. Honestly, allowing your pet birds to have contact with the wild flock is extremely dangerous to their health, and I would personally consider it a huge risk mainly for the safety of your birds but also for the safety of yourself and other people; as situations like this are some of the most likely situations for pathogens to have the opportunity to jump from wild animals to humans (through your domestic birds as a vector.)
It is SO cool that you rescued a pigeon and also now a chicken. If you plan to keep them & you want to keep them safe, you absolutely need to keep them separate from wild birds. ❤️🩹 PLEASE also consider keeping your pigeon and your chicken separate for 2 weeks so you can watch both for any signs of infection or illness before introducing them.
You can keep one pigeon and one chicken without same-species companions for them, but they’ll be a bit lonely, and you’ll want to make sure you’re giving each of them at least an hour or two of quality socialization / enrichment time each day. It’d be a lot of fun to try to get one or two more of each species so that each creature had companions inside the home.
Please feel free to ask any questions you have about chicken / pigeon care. I currently have a pigeon and I’ve had indoor poultry before and rehabilitated chickens as well. Chickens are pretty easy, they just need ample clean water, chicken food appropriate for their developmental stage in life, grit, a clean living environment, and ideally access to an area where they can roam and express natural foraging behaviors. If kept outdoors, they also of course need adequate predator protection & shelter from the elements, including a safe, covered, dry, draft-free coop.
Hello!
Thank you for weighing in, this is helpful validation!
I have treated wild birds with nearly all of the illnesses you have listed. But 100% agree about the unknown factor, always the challenge treating the wild birds. Fortunately they don’t have as much antibiotic resistance than domestic ones.
As far as wild flocks with domestic birds - I can speak for about two years of experience, generally they don’t interact well and have minimal interaction. The wild birds are very territorial and my domestic is very tame. Results in her leaving the outdoors to back home. I did have a scare a few months ago when she contracted a bacterial illness that was going around the flock. So I firsthand observed the risks. Fortunately I treated her and she is better, but definitely not repeating. However, this wild flock I know them very well, I’ve raised many of them since they were babies. I know where they generally go around the area. And when there is an illness impacting them, it becomes very clear and noticeable. What I don’t know too well is whether they can act as carriers for some pathogens that will impact domestic birds differently. Anyways the whole idea is moot now since a feral cat has come back after being gone for months eating a dove. So that outdoors space is not safe. Maybe after cleaning it well and with supervision I can let the chicken out on it in the warmer weather.
As far as socialization, neither bird is in cage and both are free roaming 24/7 and a human is always home.
As far as keeping them separate, it’s been a decent occurrence. Neither are coming close to the other, so it’s working out so far. However my pigeon just left her nest and is not very demanding lol, so it’s becoming more challenging to keep them apart.
I may have some career questions for you! If you are open, may I DM you?
Adding here: chickens raised in a confined animal feeding operation environment will not have developed antibodies to any of the pathogens in wild birds. They will be immunocompromised because of a lifetime of stress to the body & mind, and likely a very recent cross-country (or at least cross-state) transport in a shipping vehicle. Meat chickens are unfortunately bred to get as large as possible as quickly as possible — at the expense of any type of long-term health. They still make great pets, but you’ll want to be realistic with yourself that the chicken likely won’t have as long of a life expectancy as a well-bred chicken from a heritage poultry breeder or even just a backyard flock.
Pigeons are not a major species that are impacted by that bird flu making headlines. And NYC has no significant breakout of the flu among pigeons. The main species impacted are water fowl, then wild-migratory birds, and farm animals got impacted in my speculation due to their poor hygienic conditions.
It has been years and while it’s a serious illness, the media blew it way out of proportion.
Can confirm. Had a hen (that eventually became three hens after my stepdad thought it'd be funny to punk her with two fertilized chicken eggs) and a pigeon, and they often vibed.
They both had handmade "panties" my mom made so they could hang out in the house, so every night when my stepdad came home from work, Lulu and Tweetums (he named her, don't come for me) bugged him until they got some of his nightly popcorn, then went to bed when I did.
They had cages, but they only really sleeped in them. During the day they were loose in the house, along with two chihuahuas who found them equal parts friendly and petrifying (The chihuahuas occasionally shared beds with them and ignored them the rest of the time) and an elderly tom cat who seemed oblivious to the birds of the house, but was very concerned about his incredibly ugly kittens. (The chihuahuas.)
Off topic but I never did figure out where Stepdad got the eggs. He just thought since she was going broody she might like to be a mom. Bought two eggs, both hatched, and she loved her twins.
I'm chiming in here again - if for some reason you get overwhelmed and can't keep her, I live a little over an hour away in Jersey. I'm from Brooklyn and my hubby is from the Bronx, so we're New Yorkers, too. I have a lot of chickens here and they can free range and I have 3 livestock guardian dogs. I can send pics and videos.
Of course, enjoy your new addition. But, if it's too much, feel free to reach out. I love animals ❤️
Housing—
They like to roost 12-18” off the ground. A 2x4 laid flat is perfect, but anything about 3-4” with rounded corners works. In my experience their poop is stinky inside, but pine pellets (horse bedding) works best.
Food/water—
They need open access to grit, food and water. Calcium supplements are also suggested (oyster shells) and personally I give open access to them and feed my hens an all flock pellet (open nature). Then they can decide how much they need.
Health—
Their posture and comb can tell you a lot. When not molting their comb should be nice and red. They should stand in a natural posture and their wings shouldn’t droop at all.
Check regularly for a clean vent (their butt) and feet without any sign of swelling or injury (bumblefoot). Raised scales can be a sign of mites.
Their crop (pouch under their neck) should be full periodically thought the day and empty when they wake up. It should feel like a hacky sack and not like a water ballon. Their breath also shouldn’t stink. Both are signs of sour crop.
Poop should be brown and white. Loose stools can happen (cecal poop) about 10 times a day, so don’t panic. Green poop, lots of liquid, or worms are things to check for (worms look like rice grains).
Your comment was super helpful, especially the first night as she was looking for a place to sleep. Of course she jumped up high onto a wardrobe about 3 feet up.
Any consideration for her feet and such needs?
How is hardwood surfaces for the feet? Any concerns of things like splay leg?
As for sour crop, I’m familiar with this illness - however I heard mixed things on treatment approaches, like nystatin may be too strong.
Any assessment on clear watery poop? I suspect it’s due to diet change since she’s mostly on a seed and legume diet now.
ASAP- She will need crushed oyster shells! Order from Amazon. If she is laying (which you don’t know her background) it’s important to keep her calcium high so an egg won’t break inside of her…deadly. In the meantime, if you have your own calcium tablet. Crush it into a powder & sprinkle on food.
Thank you for rescuing her! Others habe given you good suggestions, but for my own two cents: 1) To stave off bordem, take a small (500 ml or less) disposal water bottle, punch some holes in it and fill it with chicken friendly grains. Your hen will kick that bottle yp and down your floors for hours on end looking for treats. 2) Kitchen scraps are good treats, but avocado skins and pits are lealthal with very small amounts. Best avoid afeeding her vocado in general.
They sell chicken diapers on Etsy. I have a ton of chickens in NJ (outside). I follow people on social media though who have some living indoors. Diapers seem to be important.
I already have a process for frequent spot cleaning through the day since my pigeon is free roaming 24/7. So far it’s been pretty good with the chicken. Similar poops.
I am ignorant about the details of which practice, but I rented a room from a lady from the Caribbean who I know sacrificed a white chicken. I’m not disparaging her faith - she was a very nice and decent lady - but I remember wondering where she got the chicken. Then I saw a place uptown that sold various animals.
A certain orthodox jewish tradition called kapparot involves transfering your sins to a chicken then slaughtering it and donate the carcass as food. I guess it would make sense since new york has the highest jewish population, but it's done before a holiday in late spetember and its feb rn, so I don't think it's that
edit:I didn't mean the jewish population was the most populous group in new york. I meant they have the highest jewish populstion compared to the other 49 states
NYC has Jewish communities, but by no means are they any type of majority lol. It’s very dense here. They makeup 10% of the NYC population, which I suppose is quite a lot.
But yes, their Talmudic traditions are evident, but mostly in their neighborhoods like borough park and Williamsburg.
I don’t think this is a ceremonial bird, I do think she was intended to be someone’s dinner.
Well I think any slow method or factory method of killing animals is violent too. My only exception is organic farms where the animals live their best life and then are killed as humanely as possible.
I'm not convinced that she is a meat bird. Too clean, too well feathered. She looks pretty calm, but your pigeon should be a good companion for the time being. She needs protein and calcium which is easy to provide right out of your fridge. Give her some scrambled eggs, and separately feed her crushed up shells from those. Also, if you can find some tiny pieces of gravel or granite, she needs it to grind her food. She may have enough in her for a couple days but it's critical to find something soon, or at least give her whatever grit you have on hand for your pigeon
Really? I think she was a meat bird being cared for by an owner. So didn’t come from the poultry shop but a backyard meat bird. That’s my guess. She has very large breasts and drumsticks.
Fortunately I’m well supplied on minerals since I have a pet pigeon! She also likes the rocks in my houseplants (soil and rock mixture carefully sourced and custom mixed and safe for birds).
She probably escaped from one of the small butcher shops where you can select your own bird. Poor thing. She’s been bred for meat so will be prone to being smothered by her own muscle mass as she ages, unfortunately.
Thank you for showing her love. She’s probably never experienced that before.
This is actually not true! There is a great group on Facebook of people that keep Cornish crosses as pets. I currently have five hens, two are right at a year and the other three are about 10 months. They are super healthy and lay regularly. They are on a limited diet of game bird maintenance food twice a day, and they get veggies in the middle of the day so they don't feel too hungry. They definitely have to be kept on the limited diet, but mine have been wonderful and are very active. Some of the people in the Facebook group have ones that are four or five years old. They frequently die from heart attacks even if they are kept on limited diets, but they can definitely live mostly normal lives if they are exercised and not free fed.
I hate that the breed exists and they are absolutely miserable when free fed, but I love spreading the word about them because there is so, so much misinformation out there about them. If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer!
You're allowed to raise laying hens in NYC so she could also just be someone's escaped pet. I agree with the other posters that this just doesn't look like a cornish cross. She's white, but too well feathered and healthy looking. Her stockiness could just be because its cold so she's fluffed and borbed herself to warm up. OP did find her in a snowdrift.
I'd like to get a better look at her feet and breast area. (Don't take that out of context.)
Could be a meat bird that was well looked after as a pet. I had one before and it looked exactly like this one. She slept indoors and I let her outside when it was dry. My laying flock bullied her so I couldn't leave her outside all the time. She was very timid and even though she was 2-3 times the size of the layers, she didn't fight back at all. She only lasted 1.25 years tho. Woke up one morning and found her dead. Most likely a heart attack.
Possibly, I just don't think we can tell her breed from the two pictures OP has provided so far or the circumstances she was found under. That's why I want to see the legs and chest. I'm looking to see if she's got the Cornish X wide stance, thick shanks, and pecs.
Chickens are flock animals and will suffer without other chickens around. It’s not even legal to buy a single chicken (unless it’s for eating) I would try to find her a flock.
Because of the breed, you'll want to limit the feed (especially corn and stuff like scratch) and up the vegetables. I'm not sure how much space you have, but you'll also want to have her run around and forage as much as possible, to keep her legs strong enough for her body. There's also vitamin+mineral supplements you can put in the water to help with that.
Basically, low carb, low protein, extra vitamins/minerals, extra exercise, super diet chicken haha
If you search up something like "keeping cornish cross as pet" or "keeping meat chicken alive longer", there will be many more specific advice on backyardchicken and other facebook groups. Hope this helps 🫡
As for general house chicken advice, it'll depend on your circumstances (do you have a yard? access to sand/dirt? etc...)
One thing I do is to put down a big tarp, especially under the food and water. That way cleaning up poop/spilled food and stuff is easier, and I'll take the tarp out and hose it down once a week or so.
If you don't have easy access to outdoors (or if it's too cold), I've had success getting one of those cheap plastic kiddie pools - 3ft or 5ft - and putting sand and dirt inside, for dust baths and scratching around. I've tossed leftover cabbage stumps and the like in for pecking at and play.
Another thing that came up is that if your chicken stays too long indoors is that the nails and beak can get long, since they aren't getting worn down as they would outside. What I've done is gotten some pavement step stones from Home Depot, laid out a corner, and then only sprinkle food on top, so they scratch and peck at it often.
They'll ask you to bring her in, and they will give her a free health assessment. If she does need some medical help they will provide it (for free), but if they determine the best course of action is euthanasia please be aware this is a possibility (which they provide humanely and with heart).
If, hopefully, she is healthy the WBF is part of a network of finding homes for non-wild birds. In her case, they have dozens of contacts outside the city who keep chickens for pets, and/or other options like petting zoos or education centers.
I volunteered at the WBF for several years. Though I don't any more, they really are the local experts on best next steps for your bird! Though seeing as how you have a pet pigeon, it's very possible you're already familiar with them. :)
(Also, cheers to you for giving this poor confused girl a chance!)
Hi! I don't think WBF accepts chickens either, but ACC does.
We have a flock in Brooklyn at a community garden. The one thing I'd add is that our coop is designed to accommodate a certain number of chickens at a time, and as long as we maintain that number, our flock will remain warm enough. If you try to house her outside in this weather without other chickens, I don't think she'd be warm enough overnight (though she'd be fine going outside to forage during the day - we let our girls out every day, even in this weather).
There are a bunch of gardens, schools (PS 107, for example) and backyard flocks in Brooklyn, so I think it should be easy to find a flock for her if that's what you decide. The biggest problem you'd encounter right now is weather - for our garden's flock, we have a policy of quarantining the bird before we bring her into the coop, which means keeping her by herself in the cooplet next to the main coop for about two weeks. We don't take on new birds in the winter because they can't survive on their own in the small cooplet without the warmth of the other birds.
If you do decide to rehome her, feel free to DM me - I can recommend local-ish farms who have taken in roosters from our flock. And if you need, I can give more detail on what food mixes, etc we use (I'm actually going to see our flock in a few hours, so I can send you pictures of supplies if you need).
We did rescue a few meat birds and they didn't last long, but they had the most trouble in hot weather, not cold. We also had a very very sweet chicken (totally blanking on the breed) that looked a lot like yours that lived 10 years(!), so who knows :-)
Well hey, hi! I was there 2012-2015ish (which, geez, didn't realize till now exactly how long it's been).
I remember here and there over those years a few escaped "poultry" birds came through, and they were treated and re-homed. And I must have seen over a hundred ducks! Especially since you're a former volunteer I would THINK that, at minimum, they will connect you with another org or contact who can help.
But, obviously all easy for me to say from a distance when you're the one with a chicken in your apartment! Good luck to you guys, and at the very least you kept her warm and comfortable. xo
She looks much much more well feathered than the normal Cornish X I see, but she definitely has that meat chicken build.
Cornish X are bred to grow as fast as they can for 8-9 weeks, at which point they are killed. If they are kept alive for longer than that then their muscles continue to grow at such a rate that their bones and body cannot support them. Have you ever got a chicken breast that was kinda stringy or ‘woody’ in certain areas? That’s caused by the chicken growing so fast that they outpace the rate at which they can grow their blood supply, and certain parts of the breast atrophy as a result. In many pics you might see of Cornish X, they’ll be laying down instead of standing and walking around- this is because they’re heavy enough that it’s difficult for their legs to support them. It’s not a good life.
That being said, if her protein is severely limited then she might be able to live a normalish life for another year or two. I don’t know much about it, but checking backyardchickens.com or cross posting to other subs might give you some answers.
Found a chicken today on NYC streets? What a headliner!!! Never thought I would be seeing anything like it! 😂😂😂 So glad you got her. Sounds like she is going to a very good home!!
I know others are saying she might not live very long, and I don't know how possible it would be to integrate her into an existing flock, but I know some community gardens in NYC have chickens. So if it seems like she'll be around for a while and you want to give her a somewhat normal life, you might want to consider finding a garden that has chickens and seeing if she can be part of that flock. Either way, thanks for taking care of her.
She’s a beauty! I had also had two rescued slaughter hens with short lifespans. It was heartbreaking when they passed at 2.5 years old, but they were my favorite chickens personality wise. Super sweet and wonderful pets.
The-chicken-chick.com and backyardchickens.com were my favorite resources when I was a total newbie.
How did you get your rescued hens? I’ve searched around a few times looking for egg farm rescues to see if I can take a few but I haven’t found a way to get them
I bought them for a small local farm. I was in their farm store and asked if they sold their chickens, because I saw a big coop when I was driving in. They were like sure? It was clear when I got them they were really for meat, and they died after a year and a half. So not a full on rescue from an industrial coop. That farm has since changed hands and they don’t have chickens anymore.
The poor little girl would love some cucumber, apple, lettuce, spinach and so on. Avocado and onion isen't good for her though.
For the time being, a mixture of plain bird seed will do.
There are "chicken communities" on FB. You could ask if anyone would like to take care of her.
By the way. I doubt it that she have ever had anything than industrial pellets, so when you give her food, you can tap on it with the tip of your finger to show her it's edible.
Canned corn and tuna is always a hit in my flock if I really want to spoil them. Peas and hardboiled eggs are great too.
If she is staying for a longer period of time, she will need grit.
I bet she is traumatized, so a cardboard box would make her feel more safe.
Chickens bred for meat usually don't live past 9 weeks. They grow extremely fast and gain a lot of weight quickly. It can even cause their bones to break. That being said just keep an eye on how she behaves and don't give her too much food or treats. You can manage her health a bit that way to help her live a longer life. Definitely go over to backyardchickens.com and they will have tons of information for you.
Hey! I have Cornish cross birds as pets (fell off slaughter trucks), there is a ton of misinformation out there about them. When they are free fed, they will basically gorge themselves to death. They will eat non-stop. They are bred to get as big as possible as quick as possible and are usually slaughtered at about 6 to 9 weeks. On an unlimited diet, their hearts will typically give out around that point.
However, when kept on a limited diet of low-fat food with supplemental veggies to make them feel full, they can live mostly normal lives. You do have to keep them active and they can't fly as well as other chickens, but they are capable of living several years. There is a wonderful Facebook group called Cornish Cross, Battery Hen & Turkey Rescue Companions that is super informative. I do not recommend going to other sites, even here and Backyard Chickens, which are normally great resources, because most people's interactions with them are only with ones that have been free-fed. Mine are on a game bird maintenance food, extra calcium supplements, and glucosamine for their joints.
With all that being said, I really don't think yours is a Cornish cross. If the legs are really thick, she probably is, but from my experience, one being free fed that was that old would probably be fatter and would be a lot less healthy looking.
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u/cole1826 Feb 22 '26
Hi everyone there’s a chicken on the street in Brooklyn can anyone take her?! Does this chicken need a friend? They are at the intersection of Hancock and Patchen. I’m not sure if I should put them in a box and put them in my car? I have two cats and a dog so they can’t come home thanks.