At the end of my rope -- abandoned chick problem

[DivaExMachina]

A week or two ago I posted about a situation. Long story short, one of our young hens was an appalling my mother: of five eggs, only two chicks hatched. Then she attacked both

.

We took the chicks into the house. The injured one didn't make it. Now we have a solitary three week old chick who is doing well but is pushing me towards the brink of madness. She is a charming creature, sweet-natured with a big personality. But if I leave her alone she cries her little lungs out and I can't take the noise. Both my husband and I work full time so neither of us really has time to be a mother hen. So far I've been able to work from home with a nest for her on my desk but next week I need to go back to the office and I worry about her being alone all day. Also, the house is a mess and the garden is weed ridden because I can't do things one handed or with a small chick perched on my shoulder. And we have three hunting cats so letting her run around by herself is a big no.

I desperately need some advice on strategies to integrate her back into the flock and I need to do it quite soon. We tried giving her to two other broody hens at different times. Perhaps because they recognised her, both hens treated her as an intruder. Then I thought that maybe I could bring one of the older chicks (they are five or six weeks old now) and put them together so that they would bond and keep each other company. I took the smallest chick of that batch into the house and put them together late at night. No go: the older one attacked the little chick repeatedly.

The only thing I can think of is that we have one other brood of chicks that are coming up to two weeks old. Mum is still with them but I guess she will start to leave them soon. Perhaps we can put this one in with her chicks when she leaves them? She will be bigger so hopefully they won't peck her down and with time she will bond with them. Then we can integrate the chicks in with the rest of the flock together as a group?

Any advice from anyone who has experience with this sort of situation is greatly appreciated because I am nearly out of ideas and this situation isn't sustainable. Even if I manage to avoid committing poultricide it's likely one of us may end up contracting a virulent disease from the dirty floors in our house.

 

[CollegeChicken]

I was in the same situation two years ago. your chick will not die from being alone.... youre going way overboard by treating this chick like a human infant ( altho our pets are our kids! lol) and obviously youre a very loving and caring owner. Make sure she has everything she needs, do what you have to to drown out the noise and get back to your life! Chickens and chicks are simple animals with simple requirements. Once she and the other chicks ( youre 2 week olds ) are a little older, start integrating them! She wont be alone forever, just for now.

 

[lovemy6hens]

I've read putting a small mirror and a feather duster in the brooder helps with a lonely chick. The feather duster seems hazardous though; I wouldn't want a chick eating pieces of feathers. Perhaps one with only large feathers? I don't know how well those ideas would actually work, but are worth a try.

 

[3riverschick]

Great advice from College Chicken.

Just do it and get on with your life. Remember,
if you give the chicks electrolytes, also provide another waterer with plain water in it.
There is salt in the electrolytes and sometimes the birds need a break from it. They
will decide what they need and when.
You're a great chicken mama,

, now time to take care of your life.
Best,
Karen

 

[AV8RChick]

Along with a mirror, I put a small, plush toy with my loner until I could get her some friends. It worked really well. She snuggled right up to it to sleep.

 

[DivaExMachina]

I thought I would come back and update this for anyone who had the same problem as we did.

I tried mirrors and plush toys with no luck. Couldn't find a genuine feather duster but I doubt that would have worked either. In the end I bought a hamster cage and took her with me whenever I went out to work in the garden. I made a soft nest in a cardboard box with quilt batting and towelling, and at night would put her in a fully darkened room (difficult in Swedish summertime) with my hand in the 'nest' for a few minutes. She would then settle and sleep quietly until morning.

A few weeks after my last post we were able to introduce her to the last hatching of chicks I mentioned before, as the mother had left. We sectioned off a part of the coop just for the little ones. At first they didn't take to her and she cried a lot, but eventually the crying periods got shorter and shorter and the other chicks more or less accepted her as part of their flock. When they were at about eight weeks we opened a small door between the nursery section and the main coop to let them mingle but to also give the littlies a safe retreat.

Nowadays she pretty much has forgotten us I think, although she does tend to hang around more closely when we're in the run, and she doesn't protest when we pick her up like the others do. She also started laying recently and is a favourite of our roosters!

I can honestly say that all the effort and frustration was worth it in the end.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice and feedback on this thread. It helped to be reassured that a little neglect was ok for chicks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks for the update!

 

[aart]

I wonder if putting the chick in the hamster cage in the coop with the others would have worked?