Chickens to collect for free - Abbey Wood

[mels]

Hi, we live in Abbey wood and we have two chickens (one cock and one hen) that are just too noisy for the neighborhood where we live. We are looking to give them a new home. Anyone interested or know where we can rehouse them? Please let me know. Thank you

[Marigold]

Hi mels, and welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry you need to rehome your birds. Is Abbey Wood in Level 4 ATM? If so, that may make things even more difficult for you. Apart from the restrictions, very few people will be willing to rehome a cockerel, and it’s quite difficult to integrate a single hen into an established group, so that’ll be a consideration for her.
Quite honestly, if they were mine I would cull the cockerel, or take him to the vet to be pts if you don’t know how to do this yourself or don’t feel able to. The hen isn’t likely to make enough noise to bother the neighbours, and you could perhaps then get a couple more pullets (young hens) to make a group of three who would live happily together. She wouldn’t be at all happy on her own and you would need to get company for her, as hens are flocking birds. Even if you kept the cockerel, it would be best to get more pullets because if he only has one hen, she will get a sore back and lose feathers from too much constant mating. How much room do you have and what size coop? Of course, getting more might also be tricky for you at present.
How did you come to have a cock and a hen? They look quite young to me, from the size up of their combs. Did you perhaps try hatching some eggs and these are what you got?

[mels]

Hi Marigold,

My husband got 3 of them (2 hens and the cockerel) from a colleague who couldn't take care of them anymore because of relocating.
He did not do enough research before taking them and it was all very much hastily done. We got them just last month, November 6th.

Yes, I know because of the level 4 restrictions it will be difficult but I don't know what else to do. The black one, is quite noisy. Yes, we want to get more quieter hens to add to the remaining hen that will be left (not pictured here) now that we had time to do better research. Our coop is large enough for 3 birds.
Sigh. If no one else here knows anyone in the local area that we can bring them to, I guess the pet shop it will be.
The reason we don't want to kill them (ourselves) is because they are the pets of our 2 kids. In fact they were brought a birthday gift last month. They will be traumatized to see us kill them. If we can give them away , even if they will be used as food later, at least the kids won't know.

[Marigold]

If you have two hens and a cockerel, why not take the cockerel to the vet to be pts? The remaining two hens would most probably settle down and be perfectly happy together and are unlikely to make an objectionable amount of noise once the cockerel has gone. I can understand the problem about the children being upset, but if you can’t keep them all for whatever reason, and can’t find a suitable home or rescue for at least the cockerel, it would really be best to take him, or them, to the vet to be pts. And then tell the children whatever you feel is a suitable story.

PLEASE don’t send them to a pet shop! Conditions won’t be at all suitable, chickens need outdoor space and daylight, and they could be bought by people who were totally ignorant of their needs, or even worse, for a cock fighting ring. In any case, since at present it is mandatory to keep all poultry under cover because there is the risk of infection from wild birds transmitting bird flu, any reputable pet shop would refuse to take in chickens from an unknown background because of the need for biosecurity. This applies to back garden chickens as well - you yourselves should be keeping your birds in a covered run without access to any wild birds. See this thread; viewtopic.php?t=11245

And current DEFRA legislation https://www.gov.uk/government/news/avia ... e-declared

[mels]

Thanks for all the advice! It all makes sense.

[Marigold]

I hope I didn’t come across as hard-hearted or unsympathetic, mels - you’ve got some difficult choices to make and I feel for you! Please let us know what you decide, and how you get on.

[Icemaiden]

Mels. The British Hen Welfare Trust now offer a cockerel rehoming ("Lonely Hearts") service. They're at bhwt.org.uk .