Disaster! What to do with lone chick!

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Disaster struck. Varmint got two of our three chicks! They were out in the pen and something just bent the chicken wire up and got 'em. I'm heartbroken and all the other things you could expect. Now I have one chick that I think is a roo!

What do I do with one chick? How can I or should I get more chicks? Order hens?

What now?

Help!!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sounds like a raccoon!
You could get more chicks around the same age...
You could have a house chicken, even if he's a roo.
Sorry for your losses.

 

[mmajw]

Before you get any more or put that one back out there you need to secure the coop and run. Make sure that nothing can dig under the wire or bend it or crawl over it.

You can get more hens either from someone local or look at the forums on here for chicks or chickens for sale, maybe there will be some in your area.

Call your local feed store they may have extras to sell.
Check Craigslist in your area.

Good luck and you may want to set a trap to get whatever did this because now they know there is food there and they most likely will be back for more. Even a have-a-heart trap so if you have a pet and it gets in there it wont get hurt. But then you can kill the animal that did this to your chickens when it gets in there.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

First you need to build a better run. Chicken wire is not prediator proof. Make sure you cover the top and bury wire underneath too. Then get some chicks about the same age.

In the meantime to keep your only chick company, give it a stuffed animal, new feather duster, or a mirror. They like company and will do better this way.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

A HOUSE chicken?!?!

What exactly is a house chicken?

How close in age do the chicks need to be to combine this poor chick with a flock?

Can this chick survive without a flock?


Should we give him away and start over?

SIGH - I'm so discouraged I don't know if I want to try again. But, we've still got the one poor guy......

Sharon

 

[mmajw]

Oh no need to give away. How old his he/she? Post a listing on here under chicks/chickens for buy, sale or trade and look and see if anyone has some in your area. They dont need to be the exact same age. A close range is good then no one is hurting the other. If you cant find some close you can always keep them seperated until they can be mixed.

House chicken= one that free ranges durning day or outdoor run and comes into sleep at night in a pen in the house. Many people will also try and box train theirs so they can range in the house. You will find many ways one here that you can have a house chicken.

Dont give up just get the coop and run fixed and then get some more and go again.

 

[Julie08]

In a hen house or in the people house???

 

[kinardmommy]

I recently incubated 12 eggs. Out of the twelve only three turned out to be fertile and only two of those hatched. One male and one female. I started letting them outside during the day at about 1 week old. I made a temporary pen for them to play in. They eventually learned to fly out of it and I let them roam. They never went too far. One evening I went to gather them to take them inside(their brooder is in the house) and one of them was gone. No blod, no feathers, just disappeared. I searched everywhere to no avail. Now the male, who is five weeks old now, still goes out during the day but comes in at night. I have to do this b/c the other chikens in the coop will not accept him yet and are very mean and not allowing him to eat or even drink. He is mommas baby boy now. Yes, he will eventually go out it just isn't time yet.

 

[Chirpy]

House chicken = in the person's house, not the chicken coop. Some people let their chickens run around their house, they usually put special chicken diapers on them.

As was stated earlier: chicken wire is ONLY for keeping chickens in - it will not keep most predators out. You need to reinforce your existing run with either hardware cloth (that's absolutely the best predator proofing you can have but it's expensive) or 2x4 welded wire. If you go with 2x4 welded wire you will need to also use either hardware cloth or 1" chicken wire around the base (up about two feet on the side and buried at least 15 inches in the ground) to keep raccoons and cats from reaching through to grab your chickens and to keep your chickens from putting their heads through and getting grabbed by something.

Your chick really needs a friend as chickens are very social. That friend needs to be another chicken. So - either you re-home this little chick and start over with some more. Or, find a couple close to the same age and hope they integrate together.

Good luck .... don't give up on chickens. You just learned a valuable lesson (we are always learning) and now know what not to use for fencing.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
People house. Lots of people keep very small chickens in the house, especially if they live in the city. It's no different than having a parrot (except they don't learn to swear or say other embarrassing things).