Can I Raise One Chick?

[barred2rock]

But I am too attached to my hens, they are basically family members. I wouldn't be able to sell either of them.

You would be selling the new birds, not your current girls.

 

[Pyxis]

But I am too attached to my hens, they are basically family members. I wouldn't be able to sell either of them.

Not your existing hens, new chicks Buy several new chicks, you don't want to raise one lone chick; the poor thing will be terribly lonely and will never stop crying for company AND it's really hard on a bird to introduce it alone to an established flock.

So, order several chicks, raise them, introduce them to your flock, pick your favorite one out of them to keep, and sell the others.

 

[Maddyluvschickens]

Oh, I am sorry for the misconception. I think it is a great idea to order several chicks, as long as I can find somebody who wants chickens. It will be something to discuss.

 

[ScottKelly1974]

I'm currently going through this. In my case I have two buff hens I raised since last year. I got a single chick and they accepted the chick but I had to bring it inside to keep it warm. I kept taking the chick and cage out to be with the others as weather permitting. So when the chick was about 2-3 months I allowed it to stay with the adults. There has been some bouts but they have been calming down. Currently the chick is about 5 months old. I also free range my chickens. Another thing is my buffs are territorial with the cats and other birds, but are sociable with me.

 

[ScottKelly1974]

Another thing I noticed is raising a single chick will result in the chick being more attached to you.

 

[Steve J]

One of my barred rocks is the worst bully. She pecked my poor buff Orpington's head so bad everytime the rooster mated with her. I got new red sex links and put her on the other side of the wire. I keep putting the barred rock back with them and she keeps after the new chickens anyway. I don't think there's any chance she's ever going to leave them alone. I won't buy anymore barred rocks, they're just too mean.

 

[Diannastarr]

I did observe that my Barred Rock is kinda a bully, she is above the Barnevelder in their pecking order. But I did hear that Buff Orps were heavy chickens, probably heavier than my hens, but I might be wrong. Should I think about getting a different breed? If so, what other breeds are as friendly and affectionate as Buff Orpingtons? What would you suggest?

i have all kinds of chickens , including BR but my New Hampshire reds are the top birds over the BR's i dont know why.? but the BR totally respect the NHR from tiny chicks on, they are not mean or any thing , just an all around god size average tempered big red hen, my BR wont go up against the NHR ..? but the BR are 2nd in command after the NHR & yes the BR are pretty tough birds and can be mean , but the most out going breed that likes people are the road island whites , they are not a big bird ,but they are friendly & like to be petted, and are always right next to me , similar in temperament to the SLW i would say , the SLW like people to but got bullied badly by the BR of the same age, then there are the Delawares, the Delawares are friendly birds as chicks & can hold their own in any flock, some want to be petted more then others, , one thing the NHR are not lap dog chickens and are just happy being your basic big red hen , minding their own business & doing chicken stuff all day long , so from what i have experienced the RIW are pretty much one of the breeds that are on the list of lap dog chickens , i also have asutralorps, they are very nice birds and can become very friendly lap dog types as well , i have 16 of them and i cant say they are all of the same temperament. so there you have it , i picked most of my flock by temperament & egg laying ability for my egg business , o but one thing you could look into Easter eggers they seem like a nice middle of the road in temperament breed , but would the BR bully them..? just read up on temperament for the breeds you are interested in , then i guess its all up to what color you want. but if you still want a buff orp, i would say you need to get at least 2 to 4 so they can hang together and be happy. and look for a local breeder of what ever breed you are interested in & get the scoop on that breed from them & that way you could buy 2 or 3 chicks with out shipping them , but also you could look for people who are going in together to purchase chicks , if you cant find a local breeder that may be a good idea, or wait till spring when the feed stores are shipping in chicks they can special order for you , well so i wish you the best of luck.

 

[azygous]

Before this thread gets too far down the road, I need to jump in here with some stern advice. Don't get just one baby chick. Don't. Just don't. Get it out of your head. Don't.

Besides being very hard on the tiny chick, raising a single chick will involve so much extra work until it's fully grown and accepted into your small flock, you will hate yourself for thinking this was a good idea.

Examine why you want to do this. Is it because baby chicks are inexpensive? Cute? What? Why?

A far better plan, if you just wish to increase your flock by one chicken, is to look on Craig's List or run through the hatchery sales lists and find a point-of-lay pullet. The cost may be $20 as opposed to $3 for an average baby chick. You will be eliminating all the stress of getting the chick grown and integrated and putting up with all the constant complaining from the chick and worrying about its safety, etc.

 

[Blooie]

 

[Maddyluvschickens]

Well I wanted another chicken because recently I lost my Buff Laced Polish to either a disease or weak leg syndrome. (it dosen't seem like it was a disease because the other chickens aren't showing any signs of disease.) Her name was Hazel and she was the most silly, and joyful thing in the world! I loved her so much, and without her out by the other chickens, it feels super lonely out there because her spunky attitude isn't there to cheer me up. I cried a lot the day I found out she had died. It will be 2 weeks since she died on Monday. But anyways I wanted another chicken to fill the void in my heart. I want to cry just writing this.