Meet Delores!

We are pleased to introduce everyone to Delores the chicken, assumed to be an Ameraucana. She's a special chicken who was found as a stray, was unclaimed and found herself welcomed to a dog rescue where we could learn more about her and her needs. She's special in many ways:

She is social - She can't wait to say hello to you whether it's the first visit in the morning or five minutes later. She loves people! She will hop up to see if she can peek outside her enclosure to see who is coming to visit.

She loves food - She happily eats her special food that we mix up for her every day. 

She loves to fly - If you leave her enclosure open she'll fly right to you!

She loves to perch - She also loves to perch upon humans or any other high location. If you hold out your arm like the raptor handlers have been seen doing she'll land on your arm. Otherwise she will settle for landing on your head or shoulder. It was a bit surprising the first time she landed on my shoulder. It was equally surprising when she landed on (and stayed on) my head.

She has a crossed beak - This is the feature that makes her the most special of all. A crossed beak, also known as a scissor beak, is a congenital (present at birth) deformity that prevents the upper and lower parts of the beak from aligning properly.  Because of this Delores can't eat or drink like a regular chicken.

In most ways Delores acts like a regular chicken. Her only special need for feeding is her mash. Each morning, I mix a bowl of chicken food with warm water. I top it off with a few scoops of Avian Health Shake by Springwater Avian Health to give her food an extra boost. She happily eats her oatmeal consistency mash. I stir it a few times throughout the day for her so it's easier for her to pick up. As she pecks at it throughout the day it gets smashed down inside her bowl. I use a silicone bowl so that it's softer on her beak when she nears the bottom of the bowl. One of her favorite ways to eat is while perched on my arm. 

She has not layed any eggs (yet), so I suspect that she was just a teenager when she was found on the streets fending for herself. If she's a true Ameraucana her eggs will be a beautiful blue color. If she's mixed breed she'll have lovely brown eggs to deliver. As long as Delores can eat well enough to maintain her weight her forever family can continue providing her with the mash. If she begins to decline there are tube feeding options that are available. The Avian Health Shake that we currently use as a food-topper for her is actually designed for tube feeding cross beak chickens. Since welcoming her into our care we have done research and found many helpful sources specifically for cross beak chickens. I would happily share this information with her forever family in order to set this sweet girl up for success. 

It is important to note that you should not hatch eggs from a crossed beak chicken as there is a possibility that this condition may be hereditary and passed along to her chick(s).

Please consider opening your heart to her, and providing her a happy, no-kill, forever home she deserves!

Adoption Fee: $10.00

Please e-mail johanna@cocosheartdogrescue.org if you are interest in adopting. Please include:

-your contact information

-experience with chickens

-housing situation/environment

-why you are interested in Delores