Lonely baby chick

[chick helps pls]

Hi, recently one of the eggs hatched of our hen and she wasn’t taking Proper care of it so I had to take it inside, however we do have a Broody hen sitting on some eggs right now, should I put the baby with her? My concern is that it’s pretty cold in the nighttime now and the chick won’t survive if the hen chooses to abandon him in the middle of the night? What should I do? We also don’t have any chick feed and so we’re feeding the chick boiled egg, oatmeal and tomato but it’s having trouble drinking and eating on its own, advice would be great

 

[rosemarythyme]

How close is the broody to hatching (are these fertilized eggs?) She may abandon the nest if you give her a live chick.

if the chick is lonely, a mirror can help provide some companionship in the meantime.

You need to get chick feed or in lieu of that, feed it whatever you're feeding the hens (crushed if needed) until you're able to do so. You absolutely need to provide chick grit if you're feeding anything other than chick feed.

 

[chick helps pls]

we’re not exactly sure how long she’s been sitting on eggs, we estimate a week at most but our chickens our outside and winter is coming so we don’t think it would be the greatest for her to have the chicks now anyways unless we’re wrong- we’re new to having chickens so would babies even survive outside at this time of the year?
Also I forgot to mention that the baby chick also has trouble walking so I don’t know if it will be able to keep up with the hen?
And this is probably really dumb but we don’t have any chicken grit and we probably won’t be able to get some until Tuesday, same with the chick food because tomorrow is a holiday and our only supply store is closed - is there anything we can use to substitute the grit with?

 

[rosemarythyme]

we’re not exactly sure how long she’s been sitting on eggs, we estimate a week at most but our chickens our outside and winter is coming so we don’t think it would be the greatest for her to have the chicks now anyways unless we’re wrong- we’re new to having chickens so would babies even survive outside at this time of the year?

With a good mama hen, chicks should be fine even down to freezing temps.

Since that hen has only been sitting for a week, it's less likely she would accept the chick anyhow. You could try it, but if she does accept it and abandons the nest, any fertilized eggs under her will die, so that's the trade off.

Also I forgot to mention that the baby chick also has trouble walking so I don’t know if it will be able to keep up with the hen?

Possibly... do you see any physical defect with the legs or feet?

And this is probably really dumb but we don’t have any chicken grit and we probably won’t be able to get some until Tuesday, same with the chick food because tomorrow is a holiday and our only supply store is closed - is there anything we can use to substitute the grit with?

You have any adult grit on hand? You could try sifting it and putting only the tiniest pieces out for the chick. Otherwise I'd just switch to the hen's feed for the next few days and then you don't need to worry about grit at all, especially if you feed pellets or crumble (if it's pellets, you should either crush it or wet it into an oatmeal like consistency so the chick can easily eat it).

 

[chick helps pls]

With a good mama hen, chicks should be fine even down to freezing temps.

Since that hen has only been sitting for a week, it's less likely she would accept the chick anyhow. You could try it, but if she does accept it and abandons the nest, any fertilized eggs under her will die, so that's the trade off.

Possibly... do you see any physical defect with the legs or feet?

You have any adult grit on hand? You could try sifting it and putting only the tiniest pieces out for the chick. Otherwise I'd just switch to the hen's feed for the next few days and then you don't need to worry about grit at all, especially if you feed pellets or crumble (if it's pellets, you should either crush it or wet it into an oatmeal like consistency so the chick can easily eat it).

Ok I will talk to my dad about what he wants to do, but if she does end up having chicks would we still be able to introduce this one to her or would it be to old?

And no I don’t see any def she just waddles around and falls over often

And I grounded up some hen feed to give to her and hopefully she eats that

Thank you so much for your help btw

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ok I will talk to my dad about what he wants to do, but if she does end up having chicks would we still be able to introduce this one to her or would it be to old?

Probably too old for her to accept (and possibly a danger to the newly hatched chicks), but sometimes hens will take to chicks and vice versa.

And no I don’t see any def she just waddles around and falls over often

Hmm, I'm not knowledgeable about foot/leg issues so not sure what to recommend. I'd keep an eye on legs and feet and update (or start a thread in emergency section with details) if you do notice anything.

It could be neurological as well, which hopefully the switch to chicken feed will start helping with.

And I grounded up some hen feed to give to her and hopefully she eats that

Excellent. It's not ideal chick feed however at least it's formulated properly for chickens, so at least it's getting some of the vitamins and minerals it needs.

 

[chick helps pls]

Probably too old for her to accept (and possibly a danger to the newly hatched chicks), but sometimes hens will take to chicks and vice versa.

Hmm, I'm not knowledgeable about foot/leg issues so not sure what to recommend. I'd keep an eye on legs and feet and update (or start a thread in emergency section with details) if you do notice anything.

It could be neurological as well, which hopefully the switch to chicken feed will start helping with.

Excellent. It's not ideal chick feed however at least it's formulated properly for chickens, so at least it's getting some of the vitamins and minerals it needs.

Ok thanks for all the info I’ll see if she improves with the new feed and I’ll look into getting chick feed, and I’ll see how my dad wants to go about things
Thanks again

 

[Kntryman]

Hi, recently one of the eggs hatched of our hen and she wasn’t taking Proper care of it so I had to take it inside, however we do have a Broody hen sitting on some eggs right now, should I put the baby with her? My concern is that it’s pretty cold in the nighttime now and the chick won’t survive if the hen chooses to abandon him in the middle of the night? What should I do? We also don’t have any chick feed and so we’re feeding the chick boiled egg, oatmeal and tomato but it’s having trouble drinking and eating on its own, advice would be great

When ive ended up with 1 lonely chick and have another sitting on eggs I just bring the momma and eggs inside in a tube and sit her back on the eggs. I watch closely and when a egg starts hatching i sneak the lonely chick under her back side. Seems to always work with momma taking too the baby