Chicken is all alone...

[calichiggin]

Sadly, today we lost our silkie chicken, very well loved. We are not sure how she died, we found her laying on the ground on her side. She was stiff. I saw her running around in the coop, she looked fine until later. Thats when we found her. We only have 2 chickens so the chicken we have now is all alone. And we are not sure if the chicken that died had a disease. Do i get another chicken? Do i wait? Will she die now? PLEASE HELP ME!

 

[Ebony Rose]

If it were me, I'd buy about four chicks, (making sure you're not getting meat birds like cornish-cross), and then brood them IN SIGHT of, but separated to where they cannot touch your hen. A large dog crate works well for me. By the time these chicks exit quarantine (30 days), they should be rather well acquainted with their Auntie-Hen, and ready for hour long TOTALLY SUPERVISED visits with her daily (I find this task easiest to do about one hour prior to sundown in case of stubborn chicks that don't want to go back into their brooder. Over the next couple of weeks, assuming they've finished feathering out, you should be able to successfully integrate them full time (one flock). Deciding how you wish to deal with potential roosters beforehand will make the choice easier later on; helps you not get too attached to them if your plan is to re-home (or otherwise dispatch of) the boys. Have you raised from chicks in the past?

 

[cheekychick3]

Hi, So sorry to hear your sad news. It is hard when they were not even ill. For
some reason, this happens a lot to our girls. Which breaks our hearts.
How old was she ???? bless her. Was she eating and drinking okay.???? Sometimes
we lose them through being egg bound, heart failure ect. But please don"t blame
yourself, as it is just one of those things, with our girls. How was you to know.
If i were you, i would change and clean the coop, as soon as possible. Then keep an eye
on your other one, for a few days. If she has no signs of being ill, then fine. But if
you see her lose her appetite it could be, that she is missing her buddy, bless her.
If that is the case and it was me, i would defo go and buy her a mate. Before she even has the chance of being lonely. Not sure how old your girl is now, but maybe you will
find someone needing a good home for theirs, near the same age. If not buy a POL
as she will probably adopt it. lol Plus, a POL will look up to her as well. Hope this helps.

 

[calichiggin]

Ok thank you so much! We have raised baby chickens before but not have had good luck. We bought 9 chickens and only 2 lived. They were buddies. Should we get baby chicks, some pullets or full grown? Thanks for the help. Also should i just wait it out to see if she has a the disease or should i just start raising baby chicks now?
Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[Kiki]

I'm sorry for your loss.
Are you in the US?
If so you should send her body for a necropsy so you know what you are dealing with.

Losing 7 chicks... something is going on.

 

[calichiggin]

I'm sorry for your loss.
Are you in the US?
If so you should send her body for a necropsy so you know what you are dealing with.

Losing 7 chicks... something is going on.

We lost the baby chicks a few years ago.

 

[Kiki]

We lost the baby chicks a few years ago.

What age were they?
I'm wondering if you lost them to a respiratory type illness or possibly coccidiosis.

I'm wondering if you lost the silkie to coccidiosis too.

It's all just a guess...a necropsy on the silkie will tell you what happened and it won't be a guess.

 

[calichiggin]

What age were they?
I'm wondering if you lost them to a respiratory type illness or possibly coccidiosis.

I'm wondering if you lost the silkie to coccidiosis too.

It's all just a guess...a necropsy on the silkie will tell you what happened and it won't be a guess.[/QUOTE
She was about 3 years old, I just don't want my other chicken to get sick now or die of lonelyness