Update: 200 Small hens available for adoption at animal control

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

 

I posted this a while back. I went out to the location to help round

up these hens. It turns out that they are not standard breeds, but

closer to bantam size (around 2 pounds). In addition, they are game

hens (the female component to a cockfighting rooster). Now, you may

think that these would be nasty girls, but the reality is that

gamebirds are friendly to people. The roosters do show a great

tendency to fight with other roosters, while other rooster breeds

don't, but if he is the only rooster, he will defend his girls from

predators and be just fine (and they are extremely beautiful -- some

even have a purple sheen to their feathers). In the past, I had

inadvertently rescued some gamebirds from animal control because

they were about to be put down (both hens and a rooster), and I had

no idea that they were gamebirds! (And, frankly, the rooster is not

a good fighter at all, which is fortunate for me as I have a number

of roosters.) I just thought they were small chickens, because I

really do not know breeds well.

 

I know several people who keep bantam size chickens in the house,

some just at night, because they are quite small. They actually love

this arrangement, as chickens in general really do love people. If

you want to see some pictures, look here:

 

http://chicken.meetup.com/3/photos/30277/

 

This couple lives in Seattle and keeps Mz Little in the kitchen. You

might say, yuck! But trust me, their house was immaculate and Mz

Little knows that she is not to step onto the carpet. She just

showed up in their yard one day and moved into the kitchen and

doesn't want to go outside. She'll only go out with them while they

are gardening, and the rest of the time refuses to leave the

kitchen. I know another man who has a gamebird hen in a large

birdcage at night, and she goes outside in the yard during the day.

 

Gamebirds fly extremely well, so if you want them to stay in your

yard, you can clip their flight feathers or create an aviary for

them (which is preferable). Clipping their feathers does not hurt

them. I have had to do that initially with my gamebirds until they

figured out that their chicken run was the best place to be. Now

they are happy to stay in the large chicken run where it's safe and

go in their house at night. Here's a picture of a nice aviary and

house suitable for a backyard situation:

 

http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/Dscf0175.jpg

 

It would be best to have the aviary on some dirt, because chickens

like to play in the soil and take dust baths.

 

These poor hens have been through a lot, being forced to live in a

mostly feral situation in the trees and surrounding brush. The

people raising the roosters would keep the fighting roosters in

cages and throw the unwanted offspring out of the cages to fend for

themselves. They've been drinking out of stagnant water, which is

very bad for them. It was a depressing situation at that location,

but the two girls that I brought home with me are doing very well

and quickly warming up to me.

 

By the way, they do lay eggs, but smaller.

 

If you would like some hens, let me know. Or call Santa Cruz County

animal control at 831-454-7303. You must press extension 2 (leave a

message, if needed) because not all departments know about these

chickens. Sorry if you called earlier and they didn't know what you

were talking about...

 

Thanks,

Cheryl