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Birds--General/Chickens and a baby bird

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Expert: Abi - 6/5/2010


Question
We have 5 full grown hens. a baby bird found its way into the coop and is apparently lost. It is fully feathered and 4 inches long. It drank water from a dropper and I tried to give it chicken scratch mixed with water. Can I leave it with the hens to care for? If no, what to do?

Answer
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LET YOUR CHICKENS GO NEAR THE BIRD. They will kill and eat it! Take it to a local animal sanctuary- chickens will automatically attack and eat something that small and vulnerable. Mine eat mice if they can get hold of them.

Sorry!! Thanks for your question.

Birds--General

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Abi

Expertise

I CAN'T ANSWER QUESTIONS ON ANIMALS OTHER THAN CHICKENS/DUCKS/GEESE- I WILL TRY BUT THEY ARE NOT MY SPECIALIST SUBJECT- PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT BUDGIES, FINCHES, PARROTS, COCKATIELS OR OTHER 'EXOTIC' BIRDS. I can answer questions on pretty much all CHICKEN breeds, including fancy and bantam birds. I can give advice on how to get the best egg production, brightest yolk colours and darkest egg shell colours, breeding (using broody hens, not incubators), bird problems/illnesses. I can give advice on all aspects of basic chicken care but I breed chickens for my own pleasure only, I do not often show or sell my birds.

Experience

I own and breed a wide range of chickens, but I speciallise in cochins and crevecour bantams; crevecours have a large crest (an afro!) so I can answer questions on problems concerning them; cochins have feathered legs, which leads to no end of problems which I have experienced! I also own a large flock of domestic, rescued 'battery' hens, and a single maran hen, Hilda, who is the matriarch of her flock, so I can give advice on how to get the best colour of maran eggs!

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