At this rate your destiny is shaping up more towards a St. Patty of Miami type scenario.

Evet February 22nd, 2009 08:29:29 AM

Time to get MORE CHIKINS.

Seriously, my chooks are half the work and ten times the entertainment that I expected.

And I'm getting a dozen or more eggs a day from 15 pullets.  Want some eggs?

I wish I'd known ... I'd have had them YEARS ago when I was in 'burbs.

They will clean up after your goats and reduce the parasite load on their pasture, plus make a big dent in ticks and garden pests.  And clean up spilled feed that attracts rodents.

So cool.

H.Houlahan February 22nd, 2009 08:40:42 AM

Or . . you can become the "Schweitzer" of the Veterinary world. 

Evet February 22nd, 2009 08:45:30 AM

Houlie is dead on. If I'd known how much fun my chickens are, I'd have had them for decades. And the EGGS! Ask your sister how good they are. :)

I'm ordering chicks today, for a collection of friends who have been bitten by my contagious chicken virus.

Gina Spadafori February 22nd, 2009 08:50:12 AM

Very cool!! So, where are you? Two g-pigs, 2 goatrs, 1 chicken and two dogs? Rock on. I can't wait until I have a place big enough for some goats and chickens.

Julie February 22nd, 2009 09:00:17 AM

Dr. K. if you have woods, especially piney-type woods, it's the Cooper's Hawks you need to be aware of. They are accipiters (bird hawks), and are wonderful to have around a pigeon problem. Hens, while bigger than pigeons, are going to generally be even easier to pick off as dinner. The red-tail will prefer mammals (squirrels, mice/rats, etc.) over birds. That nick-name of 'chicken hawk' is the result of farmer Brown hearing squawking, running towards the chicken yard, maybe seeing some blood and feathers, and after not seeing any other sign on the ground, looking up to see a red-tail circling on the air currents above. It must have stolen the chicken, right? So he gets the shotgun and...

Of course, if the red-tail had taken the chicken, why isn't it in his talons, which are empty. Why isn't the red-tail at least in a neighboring tree, plucking the chicken? Red-tails prefer to perch and nest nearer the edges of woods, deciduous woods, generally. Cooper's hawks, though, they nest in clumps/stands of evergreens, a little further from prying eyes. They can swoop in, grab their bird, and fly off very quickly. Both are awesome birds, it's just harder to catch the Cooper's hawk out in plain sight. There's a lovely one (and I hope soon a pair) in my suburban area, that I am glad takes a pigeon or two a week from my yard. And the infrequent red-tail visitor has gotten a squirrel and rabbit once or twice a summer, and as long as pieces/parts aren't left behind in the back yard for the dogs, it's all good. Hey, the hawks need to eat, too!

KateH February 22nd, 2009 09:41:51 AM

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get some lovin' oviously!

Jim, Rene & Spirit Jerry February 22nd, 2009 09:59:54 AM

Very cool! She's a beauty with those streaked feathers. My very *first* pet was a chicken, product of a failed 5th grade school experiment to hatch eggs, and the teacher purchased chicks to give to the students that came in with the parental note of adoption.

I raised that chick named "Fuzzy" to a feathered bird and carried her around like a kitten. Soon, my Mom insisted we place her at a good friend's farm to join other chickens, and of course, as kids we were sad & cried. But Fuzzy looked happy that day and milled around the coop and pen.

She was a wonderful pet!Eggs are the neat bonus!Have fun,

Barbara A. Albright/NH

Pocket's Story from NH February 22nd, 2009 10:00:12 AM

KateH: Luckily, most of the land the chickens would live on is covered by canopy. Though I know those wily Cooper's can navigate through branches, I also have a dense undergrowth with lots of hidey-spots. And I've never seen a Cooper's--I pay very close attention to my raptors. Screech owls, Red tails and Kestrels--with the rare Swallow-tail--are my only raptor neighbors. 

Still, I was wondering whether to pen the chickens in a covered area or let them roam. Worried more about my neighbors than the hawks, really (though at least one has a rooster a couple blocks away--it's Miami, you know). 

Dr. Patty Khuly February 22nd, 2009 10:02:55 AM

I would figure that the red-tail would be able to get by pretty well with rodents, so unless it was really hungry, your chicken should be okay during the day in a place where she doesn't wander into the path of a car. At night, though...raccoons can be a problem, as well as big tomcats and red fox. It's so cool to have wildlife in what many would consider 'the city' - nature is as cool as our pets, even if we can't interact as closely with it.

KateH February 22nd, 2009 10:11:27 AM

I'm glad you found a little chicken to love and call your own :-).

I'm confused though- Tylan as a dewormer? As far as I'm aware, it's an antibiotic?

Why give Baytril, Tylan, or any antibiotic to a chicken unless it has been diagnosed with a bacterial infection? There are very few antibiotics that are liscenced for use on poultry if you intend to eat the eggs they produce.

As far as the sneezing goes, I would be careful if you decide to get more chickens later and introduce her to your new flock - sneezing can be caused by Mycoplasma, which in turn causes Chronic Respiratory Disease, and it is nearly impossible to get rid of (even with antibiotic treatment), or it could be a viral illness such as Larygotracheatis (sp?) or Infectious Bronchitis, that she could also be a carrier of that could be transmitted to other chickens. Some state ag labs will do disease testing for you to rule out any of these things.  Also, since you're a vet, I think you can send samples directly to the Cornell diagnostic lab. If it were my bird, or potential new flock, I'd want to know what was causing the sneezes before I decided how to treat it (if it's treatable).

Here's a couple of links to info about chicken diseases:

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/disviral.htm

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/disbact.htm

I have chickens, I'm a bit chicken obscessed, really... I wouldn't deworm unless I have a fecal done and worms are found. I've done a total of 3 fecals and haven't found worms, and I've never dewormed in 6 years of keeping chickens. Although you live in amuch warmer climate than me, so things might be different down there. The loose stool could be from her diet (or lack of food).

I would also worry about the safety of your bird loose in the yard - maybe when you're home it's fine, but I would be especially weary of early mornings and evenings, I would defentiely lock her up somewhere at night... nearly every predatory animal, wild or domestic, wants to chomp a chicken.

FarmFashion February 22nd, 2009 10:31:48 AM

Tylan is a coccidiostat too, just as Metronidazole which is also an antibiotic is used for protozoan parasite control. 

This is one chicken, not a flock yet and was found "feral" so to speak. When the cat practice I work at is treating a feral cat, we yes, could run the battery of fecal tests for everything from Giardia to Cryptosporidium, but most often we will treat and test if problems persist.

If Dr K decides to add to her flock, I feel certain she will do the appropriate testing, just as I do when I bring in a new cat to my cattery.

Teri and the cats of Furrydance February 22nd, 2009 10:55:36 AM

Congrats on the new addition to the family!  Somehow I am not surprised that a chicken lost in Miami would find you!

Cindy February 22nd, 2009 10:56:59 AM

Perhaps you'll post someday on basic veterinary care for chooks?  Mine get the sniffles occasionally, and they aren't worth a trip to the vet, even if I could find one who practices on chickens.

Mostly, however, they are fun.  Compost the poop (your plants will love it!), make sure Chookie has a hiding spot from the hawks -- if she's survived this long, she knows how to avoid them -- and don't worry about her flying unless she's a bantam.  Cheers!

Julie in OH February 22nd, 2009 11:03:10 AM

Awww! She's beautiful :)

Can I please get more information on where I can get some locally-laid barnyard eggs? I would also like to know where I can dairy/meat products where the farmers practice humane methods.

Thanks!

Nina February 22nd, 2009 11:42:14 AM

Welcome to the wonderful world of bird ownership!  I'm curious whether you will be treating her yourself, or if you'll be bringing her to an avian or farm specialist for her checkups. 

zandperl February 22nd, 2009 12:47:43 PM

I think you ought to name her Bella which you probably know means beautiful. You two are going to have a beautiful friendship, so I think it would be a great name for her.

Elaine February 22nd, 2009 12:58:01 PM

you're funny. and so's the chicken. :)

sarah February 22nd, 2009 01:11:55 PM

Nina: You can contact your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) co-op. Try Googling CSA and your county. email someone there. These folks are usually avid locovores and will point you in the right direction. Alternatively, you can go to your local farmer's market and start asking question. This usually works, too.

Dr. Patty Khuly February 22nd, 2009 03:03:21 PM

Chickens are wonderful. Every vet should have one, if only to raise consciousness about chicken sentience and welfare. I'm very glad your chicken found you. However - are you sure it's a hen? You might wake up some morning to find out the contrary... I have five hens and a young rooster, I enjoy them as much or more than my other animals. Maybe more, because of the wonderful eggs. (It's not take take take all the time with hens.)

brebis noire February 22nd, 2009 03:03:56 PM

Yeah, I looked up coccidia meds for chickens when I found plenty in her stool. We always keep Tylan so I gave it a go. I gave Baytril a one-dose approach on the recc of a chicken dude on VIN. (Green snot is a sure sign of bacterial infxn.) Sure, she might've cleared it with some great nutrition but recall, I wasn't quite sure she'd be hanging around. And if I won't be expecting any eggs anytime soon--and I'm really not--I shouldn't stress the antibiotics. 

Treating the patient still--not the producer.

As to professional help: I thought of taking her to my local avian and exotics peeps but she's looking so good after only a few days that I seriously doubt I'll need to. We have no chicken vets here, just fancy exotics experts, but I always have my trusty VIN (Veterinary Information Network) to access basic info.

Dr. Patty Khuly February 22nd, 2009 03:10:45 PM

brebis noire: Yeah, I was wondering about that pesky karyotyping thing. Sure, she looks like an underfed hen but for all I know she's a youngling who might burst out into song one fine morning. But how would I know? She's got no spurry things on her feet and her comb is quite small but breed is everything, right? I'll have to wait and see to be sure. Right now I'm comfortable assuming it's a cachectic hen and we'll see where this takes us. Stay tuned.

Dr. Patty Khuly February 22nd, 2009 03:14:27 PM

Er, I also hope she/he's not a meat breed. I can't tell from the picture, and of course Leghorns are white; but so are many meat breeds.

brebis noire February 22nd, 2009 03:20:21 PM

Congrats on your new chicken! For Nina or anybody else looking for local organic farms, try this website: http://www.localharvest.org (Hope I'm allowed to post that!)

Mary February 22nd, 2009 05:00:23 PM

Meat birds have these huge fat legs and feet, and move like slugs if they move at all.  This girl is quite light on her (normal-sized) feet.

She looks like a pullet to me.  No particular breed.  She's cute.

H. Houlahan February 22nd, 2009 06:42:04 PM

I have a black cochin bantam roo as a house pet, chickens have so much more personality than you would expect.  Chet makes me laugh just about every day.

teri February 22nd, 2009 06:58:10 PM

Meat breeds do tend to be heavy, but it also depends on how they're fed - and how old they are. Also - you might want to check for mites and lice.

brebis noire February 23rd, 2009 05:09:54 AM

Yeah, no lice or visible mites. S/he's looking clean on that score. If I did, though, what do you use? I was curious about lym/sulfur (we were giggling about adding the rotten egg stench to her ratty feathers--poor thing).

Dr. Patty Khuly February 23rd, 2009 06:15:23 AM

Congrats on the new chicken. Hens are lovely.

emily February 23rd, 2009 07:47:35 AM

Ivomec for lice or mites - easier done on a single animal than a flock, that's for sure. There are some poultry-specific formats available in some places/countries, though I've never actually had to obtain any myself. A friend of mine used DeLice, which is a permethrin, but it's nasty to use.

brebis noire February 23rd, 2009 08:09:30 AM

Chiming in late but I've been reading up on urban chicken farming and, if you can get away with it, a rooster is an excellent investment (some cities and neighborhoods zone against male chickens).  A rooster will keep watch over his flock and help keep them from getting stolen by predetors.

Meri Gray February 23rd, 2009 10:16:17 AM

I'm so jealous of all you chicken-eurs! I live in a small town that prohibits poultry within its borders, but if I could I'd have a little flock out in my ample backyard producing eggs for me and my friends! Dr. Khuly, I think it was fate that brought this bird to you...

Judy February 23rd, 2009 03:02:21 PM

She's sitting right next to me as I write this. I've spent several hours on the net researching backyard chickens since this little thing found me and I'm convinced I was meant to raise them. As my grandmother informed me last night, I come from a long line of Spanish goat and chicken raisers...who knew it might be genetic?

Dr. Patty Khuly February 23rd, 2009 04:15:32 PM

That's awesome. I've always wanted to get to know a chicken personally. My taste for chicken has scutted stints of vegetarianism twice in my life. I figure someday I need a chicken friend to cure me once and for all and catapult me permanently into veggieland. Hey, at least you can still eat the eggs, and with a clean conscience too. Eggwhites are the most perfect protein, I hear.

Where i live there are counties with lots of latin american immigrants, and local uproar over them illegally keeping chickens which are not allowed in suburbia here. Frankly, if I could vote on it, I'd surely support the immigrants. Whether they are keeping them as pets, egg providers, or dinner (or some combination thereof) surely they are better treated than the poor creatures who end up on the typical grocery shelf.

Stefani February 23rd, 2009 05:04:29 PM

I have wanted chickens since I was nine, my parents always laugh at me. I don't own a home yet, so my dream of chickens and goats will have to wait a while. But until then, I'm living vicariously through you Doc!!

BlkIce February 24th, 2009 04:18:19 PM

I love the chicken and am insanely jealous that you can adopt one. Way to go, PK! My neighbors have a chicken that also just showed up one day in our townhome complex. I I had gotton to her first I'd be her mother. But they took her in. She's the nicest, prettiest red hen who lets my 3-year-old pet her.

Somyr February 25th, 2009 07:43:50 PM

Hi, 

I live in Toronto and we can't have chickens anywhere unless it's a farm. I heard Florida and actually most the states allow people to have them in their backyard?

Is it true? Do you have to have a certain amount of land?

I'm in Miami half the year and will stay if I know that I can have  chickens there!

Brat

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