Lone chick concerns

[PolarPoultry]

We have managed to end up with a single surviving chick. We're concerned that she probably needs a companion to socialize correctly so we can introduce her to the coop of hens (5) when she's old enough. She's 4 days old right now.

As soon as she discovered she was alone, set began to chirp loudly to locate her flock. We read through this forum to get ideas on how to comfort her. We ended up placing a little stuffed toy, a mirror, and a motion toy in the brooder with her. Th motion toy is solar powered, so the heat lamp works well to keep it moving and making a tick tock sort of noise. The baby chick really seems to enjoy its company. She stopped chirping incessantly and slept all night snuggled up next to her twin in the mirror.

If we aren't able to find a suitable companion, would she still do okay to join the flock of mom & aunt hens?

 

[Cheep N Peep]

I'm pretty sure she will need a friend or two, to help her socialize and later integrate into the older flock. By the time She/he is old enough to leave the brooder permanently, her mother won't see her as a daughter, or even remember being broody (if that's how you hatched her/him), so mom will join in just as energetically in pecking and picking on the newby. If you introduce more than one chick at a time, it doesn't concentrate all the aggressive feelings towards one girl. Having friends now will also relieve some stress for her/him while they are in the brooder, once she gets to know them.