can a chick die from being alone? please help

[dixieschicks]

hello, a week ago today i hatched out 5 standard silver laced cochins. they are perfect today at one week old. In my other incubator this morning i had 2 white silkie eggs hatch but only one baby made it.

After it dried in the bator and got to walking after about 16 hours it just started to peep and peep. It acted "lonely". I tried to make a "seperate" little screened pen in the brooder with the week old cochins, but they are either stand "offish" or they look like they want to peck it. The lil silkie keeps walking over to sit by them and stops peeping as if it has found buddies! The cochins are not sure what to think. Of course this is all supervised.

There is quite a size difference and of course the silkie is "the new guy" (or hopefully girl)~

Does anyone have any suggestions as to raising one lone banty silkie with 5 one week old cochins? I have 4 broody cochins out in the coop that are sitting on "phantom" eggs and I even thought of seeing if one of them would adopt it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[SterlingAcres]

Stick it in with your week olds or hopefully one of your broodys will adopt it.
Personally, since it's so small, I'd try the hen first... but you run the risk of her killing it too....

Good luck.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Dixie ~
Because chickens are such social animals, yes I think that being alone can be detrimental to them. I would definitely try to fool your broody into adopting this chick. Attempt it after nightfall, when she is sleepy. Slip the chick into the nest and she should cuddle in right away. The hen may wake up in the morning and accept it readily... or not! Just keep an eye open.

Sometimes the one hen will be okay with the new chick, but the others may be aggressive toward it. If the hen accepts her chick, you may need to give them a place to themselves.
If this doesn't work, then it may be possible to single out one of the more docile week-old chicks and keep it with the younger one. I'd also give it lots of attention if you can.

Good luck!

Carla

 

[klf73]

I had week old silkies(2 of them) and then a lone silkie hatch a week later. They kept running away from him/her and eventually just let it lay with them after a day. Never had a broody hen so I have no info there

Krista

 

[PoultryPedia]

Another possibility would be to put your least dominant Cochin chick in the "pen" with it, where the Cochin can still see it's siblings but hopefully develop a friendship with its new Silkie companion. You might want to put an obstacle in with them that it can run on the other side of or duck under if the other chick is bothersome at times. After the 2 are getting along & it's been 2-3 days, you can try putting them with the rest of the Cochins. Again, I'd put in an obstacle or two that the Silkie can hide under or run around. You don't want to put an obstacle that would allow the chick to be cornered by, though. You can end up with an injured or dead chick

 

[dixieschicks]

i had my daughter ready with her hand to seperate while i grabbed this snap shot.

poor lil silkie! i am trying to see if the cochins will be nice and adopt it before i run out and try slipping her under a broody tonite.

thanks for the help!

 

[CarriBrown]

I had a lone hatch and eventually got two others it's same age, but before I was able to, I put a mirror and little stuffed animal in with it. That held the poor little chick over until I got it some brooder buddies.
Consider doing that if your broody doesn't take it. Once it gets a little bigger (I'd say a week) try putting it in with the bigger ones.

 

[TommyVT05]

When they are "alone", they tend to be a little noisier too. I am glad you love them so much like that. Thats a ++++ : )

Yeah, keeping him or her busy would help. They will MISS you eventually. Good luck!

- Tommy

 

[dixieschicks]

just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and kindness!

I go in every two hours or so and put the lil silkie in with the "big boys and girls".

with a little work and time its only been two days and the cochins are starting to accept the lil silkie! of course the silkie is not afraid at all! he/she just marches right up and wants to be one of the gang!



its so much fun to watch and learn their behaviors! if humans could only get along so well!

i have really enjoyed reading everyones comments and advice on this backyard chicken forum. if i ever have a question in the middle of a hatch or something, i just search the site and there seems to be endless information. thanks everyone!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Hope all is well...I think they'll accept her just fine. There may be a tiny bit of pecking but since they all have feathered feet, that will help. My non-feathered foot chicks always peck at the foot feathers of the cochins.