Can I raise a single chick by itself?

[Anne02]

Three weeks ago I put 41 eggs into my incubator, to hatch for friends and family since Tractor Supply can’t sell them in-store where I’m located because of the avian flu. I was busy the entire three weeks and didn’t candle them until lockdown when I realized that somehow there is only one chick that is going to hatch. The others never even started to develop, except for this one, which is currently pipped and I can hear peeping now and then.

So… I guess I have two questions.

One: is it possible for me to raise this chick all by itself, or should I try to find more chicks somewhere? At this point I can’t sell it, since it’s alone, but I also don’t have any other chicks for it to socialize with.

Two: What could have caused this horrible hatch rate? I think I have too many roosters right now, but I can’t get rid of them because of the bird flu. (I have 4 roosters to about 30 hens whereas I have always had only 1 rooster to as many hens and had MUCH better hatch rates) other than the roosters I can’t think of anything that is different than when I hatched chicks last spring and summer. They’re getting fed the same thing, have the same amount of space, nothing traumatic has happened to them. The only other thing I could think of (which honestly doesn’t even make sense) is that a little over a month ago we brought our LGD up to the house because she was having puppies. We haven’t moved her back down since the puppies are still to small to live outside. Could moving the dog have thrown the chickens off somehow?

If anybody has any ideas/insight, I’d be incredibly grateful to hear!

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

You should try to find at least 3 more chicks. Chicks and chickens are flock animals and need companions. I dont know what would happen with just one chick. I've never tried it before.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people raise single chicks but it can be harder. Putting a mirror and maybe a stuffed animal in the brooder may help. They are social animals. The chick will probably imprint on you and may raise a fuss any time you aren't around. Or maybe imprint on your dog.

Horrible hatch rate. Even if I were there I may not have a clue. Obviously something is different. I'd assume how and how long you stored them wasn't that different. Did they get frozen? Cooked before setting them? I once had a horrible hatch rate when I transferred eggs in my car over a rough country road and shook them really badly. I'm not going to blame the male female ratio. Even if it were a problem it won't be that drastic. Only one even developed. That has nothing to do with turning them and nothing to do with humidity. Did you get a heat surge real early when you set them?

I'm struggling to come up with anything that could kill 40 out of 41 embryos.

 

[Anne02]

Some people raise single chicks but it can be harder. Putting a mirror and maybe a stuffed animal in the brooder may help. They are social animals. The chick will probably imprint on you and may raise a fuss any time you aren't around. Or maybe imprint on your dog.

Horrible hatch rate. Even if I were there I may not have a clue. Obviously something is different. I'd assume how and how long you stored them wasn't that different. Did they get frozen? Cooked before setting them? I once had a horrible hatch rate when I transferred eggs in my car over a rough country road and shook them really badly. I'm not going to blame the male female ratio. Even if it were a problem it won't be that drastic. Only one even developed. That has nothing to do with turning them and nothing to do with humidity. Did you get a heat surge real early when you set them?

I'm struggling to come up with anything that could kill 40 out of 41 embryos.

I did everything the same with storing them as I normally did- putting the eggs in a box in a cool (not cold) place, and covering them with a towel. The oldest ones were four days old.

The only thing I can think of is that we had a power outage when they were at around the two week mark, but I was able to get the incubator going again in around half an hour. And if that had killed them, I would’ve seen the embryos, but there was nothing. No sign of development at all except for this one chick that’s hatching.

 

[Iluveggers]

So, every egg was clear? No blood ring or veining in any of the rest?

Have you seen any of the roosters mating in the past few weeks?

 

[Anne02]

So, every egg was clear? No blood ring or veining in any of the rest?

As far as I could tell, yes. I did have a few green eggs that were harder to see through though.