Lost Hen Looking For Her Flock Shows Up At Herndon Woman's Home

HERNDON, VA — Tas Robin is trying to find the owners of a lost hen who showed up at her home on Bayshire Lane in Herndon on Tuesday.

Around 6:30 p.m., Robin's nephew told her there was a chicken sitting on the hood of the family's truck parked in the driveway. Robin's brother-in-law went out, grabbed the hen and then brought it inside.

"It's not fearful of people," Robin said. "You can tell that it's very accustomed to people and it just wants to follow. It wants to be where the people are. It doesn't want to be isolated or separated."

Robin contacted the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, which told her she could hang onto the hen until the owners were found or they could send out an animal control officer to pick it up. The owner of the hen would then have 30 days to claim it from the shelter.

"I'm hanging onto the chicken, because I know there's avian flu going around," Robin said. "Some shelters are not taking turkeys, ducks and chickens. If they do, they're humanely euthanized and I don't want the poor thing to be euthanized."

Having grown up with chickens, Robin is comfortable with taking care of the hen, which she's nicknamed "Henrietta."

"She's very healthy, very energetic, very alert," Robin said. "She is eating and drinking OK, and is actually laying eggs every day. She's a sweet chicken."

The shelter recommended that Robin post a photo and some information about the chicken in the lost and found pets section on the Pawboost website. Anyone with information about "Henrietta the Hen" or knows who her owner is can contact Robin via her Pawboost Alert post.