Are you a chicken expert OR have you ever had to leave animal friends?

May 29, 2024 4:04 PM

I made friends with the chickens in my shared backyard, but now I have to move. Can you make me feel better and/or help improve the chickens' situation?

There's five hens, and they're mostly distrustful of people. They live in an enclosure that's about 350 ftsq. It's mostly dirt floor, so quite good for scratching. They "bathe" in the dust regularly and have a small sandbox. Part of the enclosure is roofed. They have some branches to sit on, plus a bush to hide under. There's a shed with a perch for nighttime (though one chicken is no longer accepted on the perch, she sleeps on the wood shavings floor in the nesting boxes).

There's a huge property around them, and previous chickens have roamed free. Ever since a hawk grabbed one of them, they have been confined to the enclosure.

The chickens belong to my landlord and landlady. With their unenthusiastic permission, I've let the hens out when I was working in the backyard or playing with the dogs. They loooove to hunt for insects and explore. Their part of the yard has been pecked at two much, it's no longer a good hunting ground. They walk around, sometimes they sit in the sun. I'm close by, so they're protected from hawks. They stay together as a group, and I herd them back into the enclosure after a couple hours. They've started clucking excitedly when they see me, and they start rushing to the door as soon as it's clear that I'm approaching. They clearly like these little adventures.

The homeowners want their son to move into our apartment, and we have to get out pretty soon. I'm sad about this, but I'm sadder about leaving "my" chickens. Most of them are still pretty skittish, but one just started allowing me to pick her up.

I almost wish I'd never let them out. When I first started, they were very timid about stepping out. Now, they dash to the door and communicate clearly that they want to get through. I feel like I've given them a taste of freedom, and that makes being trapped worse.

I don't know if they'll be let out once I'm gone. I'm pessimistic about it. The landlady has told me she likes seeing them roam and that it was a good idea. But she said this a year ago, and she hasn't said it since. Nobody but me has ever let them out. There's one elderly neighbour upstairs who gives them scraps, and I think there's a slim chance she'll do it, if I ask her. But that's not a given. It feels a bit strange to say this, but I'm worried the chickens will miss me, or the freedom I provide. Visiting them won't be possible because we are no longer on good terms with the owners.

Asking this question, I think I'm mostly looking for reassurance that maybe they'll be just fine. When I start to care for animals, I'm always worried they're bored to death. I feel like if we're going to trap them, it's our responsibility to provide enrichment. So I'm also very interested in ideas for what I could do now to maybe make their enclosure more fun or make it easier to let them out. I've thought about planting a thornless raspberry bush by the enclosure, for example. They would like the fruit and the bugs it would attract. I don't think the owners would notice or care if I did that. But I'd love more ideas.

Thanks for reading.

posted by toucan to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

We raised baby chicks for family members who own a farm. Those chicks were my little babies - we kept them for months and they got free range time and treats and were so loved every day. I sobbed thinking about them going to the farm. Once at the farm, they were also free range during the day, and seemed to still recognize me. Now with bird flu, they stay in their pen and are never free range. I’m just a person to them these days. They seem no more or less happy than before.

The chickens will be fine. (I say this with a teensy bit of bitterness, to be honest.) But they’ll adapt, and if the neighbor gives them scraps, their lives will still be pretty great. Chickens are great! Wonderful little dinosaur creatures. I’m glad you got the chance to love some.
posted by umwhat at 5:18 PM on May 29

You are right to be concerned. Chickens have a lot more inner life and personality than most people think. However, though their life will go back to being rather small once you're gone, it is actually quite a lot better life than 95% of chickens will get. So that's something. They also have each other, which is nice. I think you'll be sad no matter what we say (I would) but they'll be ok and you'll be ok.
posted by Glinn at 5:39 PM on May 29

Chickens can form surprising emotional bonds with people - I know a couple where the husband is regarded by the chickens as Best Beloved Trusted Friend, and they will clamour for his attention and ride on his shoulder,

while his perfectly lovely wife is "That Other Human Who Feeds Us".
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 5:47 PM on May 29

Write up a page of "care instructions" for the landlord's son when you're leaving, telling them what you said here about them loving to roam around and peck away for insects. You never know, he might be just as happy as you to discover he's got low maintenance animal companions in his new home as you were.
posted by mark k at 9:03 PM on May 29

It’s touching you feel this way, and I would too. I don’t understand how some people can have animals and not feel responsible for giving them the best possible life. Anyway, that being said, the chickens will be fine. They don’t have the capacity to yearn or be bored or to remember you and miss you. Once you’re not there and their routine changes, they will soon re-adapt and won’t clamour to come out.

I feel fairly confident that if a chicken has adequate food, water, the company of fellow chickens, and at least some place to move around in, then that chicken is just fine. Things could be better, sure, but they could be a lot worse.
posted by Balthamos at 3:24 AM on May 30

I wish I had advice. you’re basically in the same situation I am but our landlord has three species of animals and just cares like…. the least. we’ve lost half a dozen chickens to predators and the guy can’t seem to keep them fed, watered, and enriched so we’ve lost three animals to preventable/fixable sickness (including a goat in his prime because landlord didn’t want to pay for the vet until it was too late). it's almost june and there are four sheep walking around with giant wooly coats that have been left unsheared for over a year. it’s a fucking mess.


i’ve cried over these animals and I will cry when we leave them. they don’t deserve such a sad life. this shit is hard. I literally look out my window and see fewer animals than I did four months ago. I try to give myself hope knowing that one day, I will have my own animals and I will be able to do everything in my power to provide what they need. I give my dogs extra love and try to look toward a time when I can think of this experience as something that taught me the kind of person I will never be. I will never have animals without giving them the care they need and the enrichment they deserve.

i’m sorry you’re going through this. it’s so fucking unfair.
posted by one-half-ole at 10:30 AM on May 30

Could you possibly build them a covered chicken run? I don't know enough about chickens to know how well this could work. A quick google shows Etsy has this plan build plan available to purchase (depending on how DIY you are). There are also prebuilt options available for purchase. Obviously this would require neighbors permission, but this might be something where the chickens could be moved to it during the day without requiring supervision so maybe they'd be open to it? Or elderly neighbor/the son might be willing to move them back and forth?
posted by litera scripta manet at 4:15 AM on May 31

Leave a note for the son that the chickens love being let out when you're outside and it helps keep the bugs down. If you're in an area with ticks, it's a big plus.
posted by stray thoughts at 4:11 PM on May 31

Thanks for sharing ideas. I'm thinking about different options. I like the idea of making it easier for the chickens to be outside. Unfortunately, the son doesn't seem to care much either. I don't like these people anymore. They love the eggs, but just don't treat the chickens well.

I got really sad today because I let the chickens out, and one was gone. Satsuma, the one that let me pick her up. I'm sure she died. I feel awful because I could tell something was wrong. She was less curious and seemed sad. I thought that was because there was some conflict with the other hens. But what actually happened, I think, is that she was rejected because she got ill. It makes me so mad to think I could have told the owners, and maybe they'd have taken her to a vet. I feel so guilty. I just let her die. I'm wondering if she allowed me to pick her up just because she needed help, and I didn't understand. I don't know anything about chickens.

Rest In Peace, Satsuma.
posted by toucan at 7:24 PM on May 31