Single baby chick, HELP!

[extranewbie]

Basically I've got a 4 day old baby chick with me and its awfully clingy (I don't mind but I do have to leave her sometimes and when I do she absolutely cries for bloody murder). I live in the city and my grandmother got Fuffy (baby chick) at a game stall (yunno the ones you play then get a prize) and decided to give her to me. I personally wasn't thinking and accepted with open arms. Now Fluffy is spray painted purple, yes spray painted. In where I live animals mean little to people (don't get me wrong, I love animals more than humans) so animal cruelty will never be stopped. Considering she's spray painted I know she wont last long.

Anyways, I've done a huge amount of research and saw that a single baby chick can have deppression because it was meant for a flock, etc. I am not allowed to get another chick (nor do I know where to get one because they don't sell these things in pet stores within the city) and I don't know what to do. I don't mind it being dependent because I doubt I'll find a flock for her. I cannot afford proper materials for her and everything is a big mess :/ She makes these really pitiful noises when I leave her alone for the night and like stated above she keeps of crying when I'm not around.

Please help

 

[AussieChics]

Ive read some people put a mirror or fluffy toy in with them. Could try that

 

[extranewbie]

Already have, the mirrors do help a little I guess. I'll give the stuffed toy a go Thank you for the reply!

 

[JanetMarie]

I had to raise a single chick last year. I'll explain what I did: to keep her quiet she needed to be with me (since I was her mom). I had a fanny pack that I wore around my waist and put her in it with tissues as bedding, unzipped a little so she could get air. Her food and water I kept in the kitchen, but she didn't want to be across the room from me, so it took a little while before she was comfortable with that. At night from the first night of her life, I had a rubber tub, put pine shavings in the bottom, put her in that and covered the top most of the way with it open on top about 1/4 way for air. That kept her tucked in and feeling safe at night. That became routine and she was quiet every night. As an adult she prefers to sleep by herself, and not on the roost with the others. I thought of it as training a puppy. At night chicks become fussy and I would keep her in the fanny pack for a lot of the evening, and I had to get things done! When I had to be gone from her during the day, I put her in a pet carrier with her food and water. As she got older and I had to leave, I put her in the breezeway with her food and water. She went outside with me when I weeded the garden, and she learned to forage for insects.

Even though I'm in the country and set up for chickens it was very time consuming, because I couldn't put her with the others until she was almost full grown. Chicks need to be with their moms. I hope this helps.

 

[JanetMarie]

Also, when she was very small I took her places in the fanny pack with me, and she was very quiet so nobody knew I had a chick in there.

 

[happybooker1]

I've heard you should get a feather duster & hang it upside down above the floor of their box. That way they can snuggle in the feathers just like a momma hen.

 

[Kali_pacheco19]

My neighbor just gave me two baby chicks but one died and now the other one won’t be quiet and I have no idea what to do and I tried like being with it but it just pooped on me

 

[B_Chickle01]

Ive read some people put a mirror or fluffy toy in with them. Could try that

This worked wonders for my baby that was separated from others because of 1-2 week age difference. Now I’m having problems trying to get them all in the same brooder togetherthis year has been one problem after another.

 

[Mellowmalt]

Kali_pacheco19​

Kali, stick to making new threads instead of digging up 7 year old threads unless you have something new to add.
If you have a single chick, I find initially the most important is providing extra lighting to keep it from freaking out. Works better than a mirror or a stuffed toy.
But stick to asking a new question in a new thread. People on here generally don't like old threads getting brought up for no reason.