[writerchick]

My 12-year-old son went to a Cinco de Mayo celebration at our local park with a friend. When I picked him up at the friend's house later that evening, he said, "Mom, guess what? They were giving out chickens, so I got one!" I thought he meant like a frozen chicken or a roasted chicken or something, and then he runs around to the backyard and he's got a real, live, young chicken! I couldn't take it back because everyone was long gone, but now what in the heck do I do with a chicken? It's in roomy cat carrier outside now and we're feeding it bread and oatmeal and water...any ideas? Anyone know how to take care of a chicken, or what to do with it?

[mcmama]

I have no idea how to take care of a chicken. Are you in an area where you are allowed to have one? (at least outside)

My son worked two summers ago in the Palisade Interstate Park on the NY NJ border. It is a huge wild area with 30 miles of hiking trails and cliffs. There are wild turkeys there that are native to the region. Due to some animal sacrifice rituals that some people try to conduct in the woods at night there are now wild chickens that escaped.

Driving an ATV on the trail and avoiding the neurotic wild chickens is a lot of fun. The turkeys know to get out of the way, the chickens just run. Everywhere. And they keep running. They have absolutely no car sense, they just know that running works for them. Gives new meaning to the question about the chicken crossing the road.

The turkeys get their revenge in the parking lot later. I have found them just standing there and pecking the tires, calm as can be. When you start your car, they move at their own pace, as if they are saying "yeah, well, we OWN this park".

Totally useless info, I know. What type of chicken is it, and is it a hen or a rooster?

[writerchick]

I guess it's a rooster and I don't know if it's legal to be in our yard or not. I'll have to break out the tiny chicken handcuffs. There are a chickens that run loose just up the street in the older part of our town, so hopefully it is legal. I was asking around why they were selling and handing out chickens at the Cinco de Mayo celebration and someone told me, "Cock fights." Oh, how awful.

[dierksbentley223]

Rasing chickens as pets can be fun!! your chicken might get sick off of what your feeding it, beacause all birds need grit. wwhich you can probably find at your local pet store. but manley feed your chicken cracked corn, oat groats ,alfala , with some grit for digestion. my rooster in my back yard he ,right now is alowed to roam free, but at night or when where gone he goes in a dog crate ( metal 24''x36'') with a peice of wood through the bars to be a pearch .and has tarp to block the wind at night. but that is just teperary cause chickens live an average of 4-8 years. i am going to get him a dog kennels 10'x10' with 3 females, and a coop from ( www.mypetchicken.com) or ( www.omlet.us). You can learn more from those websites. Also check with your city ordince so you can see if there are legal. I live in a busy city and we can have chickens here :-}

~ shelby hyatt(13 years old) if you want to talk umm , this is my first time on this so umm e-mail me back (edited by admin - do not make your email public, people can pm you here) or on myspace www.myspace.com/monkeyville13.

p.s. ---best wishes and good chicken raising hope all this helps!!

[allybama]

Oh if you get a duck, you can be like on Friends!!!!!!!!!

I have no advice on raising a chicken...the most exotic animal I ever had was a rabbit.

[mcmama]

Shelby, welcome to the board!

I edited out your email - we STRONGLY discourage members displaying their email in posts. Anyone who wants to talk to you about your pets can send you a private message on the site. That way you protect yourself from spam and wackos.

The mods and I knock garbage and weird stuff off this site every day, and we don't want it ending up in your email box! So please be careful.

Does your rooster crowing bother your neighbors? That's one thing I have noticed in rural areas - roosters crowing whenever they please, not just at dawn, and I wonder how you would control that.

If he has some hens, you will make him one happy rooster!