I’m in property management. I just did a move out today. The asshole tenants left a chicken in a small cage in the backyard with no food and very dirty water. The one next to it had already died. The animal shelter is closed today.
Agree with @Beckdawrek that you’ll have to at a minimum wait until the shelter opens.
Keep it warm, make sure it has bedding, food and water until you can contact someone. Just a light bulb will be enough for warmth.
I think your best bet for a quick response would be to advertise it on your local Next Door or Craigslist. Someone will probably be willing to take it.
Well, chickens are often eaten. I doubt any one in the suburbs would be willing to butcher one. It’s very unpleasant. Not as long as Kroger has chicken for sale.
My problem would be dog fighters and cock fighters coming to grab it. (Dog fighters use live chickens to bait dogs)
FWIW, the last time (and only time) something like this happened to me, I called a friend who had backyard chickens to ask for advice, and he adopted the foundling.
Actually one of my best friends found the chicken wandering the road, looking very emaciated. The friend called me for help. I then called the friend with chickens. The finder had tried all the local bird and animal sanctuaries with no success.
I know that in Cleveland, residents are allowed to keep chickens, but I think that there’s some paperwork to get a permit for it. If your locality has similar paperwork, there might be some office who has a list of registered chicken-owners nearby, any of whom would likely to be happy to get a free bird added to their flock.
Then again, that paperwork also specifies a maximum number of chickens allowed (it depends on the size of the lot), and most owners are probably already at their maximum.
Call the farm stores in your area and ask if they know anyone who will take the chicken. In some cases, the store itself sells chickens and might add it to their own inventory.