baby chicken lonely

[chickennl0ver]

so we got 6 chicks in the spring, but very sadly 5 of them passed away recently due to a fox attack, but one survived. we have spent the last week or so tending to her wounds. as of now shes doing a lot better than she was at first, shes even starting to walk on her own (she has an injury on her leg and couldnt move it that well for awhile). we have kept her inside and given her a lot of love and care, but the second we put her back in her cage, she wants out. she absolutely loves being held, and when shes not you can tell shes extremely lonely and sadwhat should we do? given her leg injury and other factors i dont think she can ever go back to being a fulltime outdoor chicken with a large/medium flock, but i hate seeing her so lonely. would it be a good idea to try and get another chicken of similar age/breed to be her friend? (she is a splash cochin) or would it be an unbalanced match because the new one would be at full health and yearn to be outside full time? please help

 

[featheredplanets]

Definitely needs a friend. Try for a bantam Cochin or even a Silkie, something smaller than her with a good temperament.

 

[Mk_lanch]

wait till she is fully healed and then get her a friend. or if she goes broody let her hatch some chicks

 

[sourland]

You might provide a mirror so that she has a 'friend' to talk with.

 

[WallyG74]

Not to make it sound accusatory, but how did the fox get to them? There could be something to learn for many that read these posts. I have foxes around my place and I worry about one getting brave enough to try and dig under. During the day my hens are all out in the run but a determined fox could get in if it tried hard enough. They are on lockdown at night though.

 

[chickennl0ver]

Not to make it sound accusatory, but how did the fox get to them? There could be something to learn for many that read these posts. I have foxes around my place and I worry about one getting brave enough to try and dig under. During the day my hens are all out in the run but a determined fox could get in if it tried hard enough. They are on lockdown at night though.

thats basically what happened to us, we had them in a bigger less enclosed area during the day and at night we locked them up. but the fox ended up coming in the late evening while the sun was still out, i had literally walked outside to put them in for the night at the exact moment the fox was there breaking in, and was able to scare it off (it had already gotten to them, but i believe this action is what saved the last chicken from life-threatening injuries). so i think the fox just did become brave like you said, and more or less desperate. i live in an area where there isnt much natural food source for wild animals, so they are unfortunately forced to attack backyard animals. many of my neighbors have lost even their cats the same way. and we were in the process of thinking about investing in a smaller but more secure area for daytime play but it just happened to be too late. ive ran into issues with almost every predator in the area, foxes, fisher-cats, racoons, skunks, and even a dog. it really just becomes circumstantial at the end of the day.

 

[chickennl0ver]

Definitely needs a friend. Try for a bantam Cochin or even a Silkie, something smaller than her with a good temperament.

thank you!! we have decided and we are definitely going to be looking into getting her a friend in the coming weeks after shes a little more healed

 

[WallyG74]

That really sucks. I think living in the country has saved me from attacks because the predators have more to choose from. I do however take opportunities to let them know I’m here and will protect my chickies.