Hi, I'm Shel, and I have a little chicken......

[HippyChickz43]

Yesterday the guys brought home a "baby" chicken. It's just starting to grow it's comb. Not sure how old, or which sex.... Not sure what I'm gonna do. lol It's in a plastic tote with leaves, a towel, a very shallow container of water, some creamed corn, pancake n catfood. I am about to go check the cupboard for some oatmeal.
IDK what I'm doin', or what those guys were thinkin when they chased this chick down and brought it home,,,,,, lol
I see that this is the holy grail of chicken info and am gonna spend the afternoon reading thru it. I even posted it on my FB. lol
have a great day y'all!

 

[Imp]

A warm welcome from an imp in Washington

Good of you to take in the chick

Imp

 

[chics in the sun]

Once you start, you can't stop. Now get those guys to help you build a coop, then go find more chicks around the same size. They are social creatures, and get lonely and bored by themselves.

Quick lesson in Chicken Math: 1 chick = at least 2 more = still only 1 chick, since you bought the two new ones for the first one.

 

[Baralak]

That's Great of you to take this little critter in!! BUT BE WARNED... they are like lays potato chips.. you can't have just one..

You will need to get it a buddy. Chickens are flock critters. What you can do for now, is get it a smaller stuffed toy (petco has some of those little doggie toys that are machine washable) that would be good or put a mirror in the cage with it.

The little feller (lady hopefully) will also need something proper to eat. Go to your local feed store, or to Tractor Supply Company (TSC) and get some 20% Chick Starter. TSC has it in small bags so I would go there if you have one. What area of the country are you from? There maybe some BYC folks in your neck of the woods that can supply you with a buddy.

Also keep her warm. Depending on how old she is, she will need to be around 90-100 degrees. You can use one of those clip on lights you get at walmart, or a hardware store. Kinda aim it inside the box, cage, but don't put it too low so that she can come into contact. Does she have any feathers, or just fuzz?

Also put a pic on line and we can help determine age. By the time it is 4-5 weeks old, you can generally tell what sex it will be.

With that being said..... Good luck with your little find. You will find it quite addictive. and

from West Monroe, La!

 

[HippyChickz43]

can't post a pic.... but it has enough feathers to be able to fly across the room. lol it's about 4 inches tall.... I will see if my boy will start up the webcam thing when he gets home.

It was running around a yard in a rural area, the lady said if they could catch one, they could have it. lol I told 'em that they need to go get another one now, cuz this one is lonely... lol

It stays quiet untill it gets out from under it's towel. I found some oatmeal to add. Haven't seen it eat or drink yet, and it goes crazy when it thinks it can get away. I read the wing clipping tutorial.... this is crazy.
thanks all.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. Good advice given.

 

[Baralak]

Quote:
When it is under the towel it thinks it's under mama.. and it might be cold. Do you have a heating pad? If so, wrap a towel around it and put it in the tote set it on low. If the chick wants to hang out on it, then it is cold and that should help.

Chickens have a hard time eating something new, so just leave it out. If you have any eggs, scramble an egg and you can feed it that it will eat that until you get some chick starter. This will be a good source of protein since you don't know what it was eating before you got it. Be careful feeding it any type of seeds, or raw products because you don't know if it has grit in the old gizzard yet.

 

[chicken wild]

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Hi. Yes, get some chick starter food as soon as possible. That should be it's main food source as it is balanced nutrition. Also, it won't need grit to digest that, while it might need chick grit to digest a lot of other food. Make sure it has clean water 24 hours a day. Until you get it a buddy, it might help to put a little mirror in with it.

 

[HippyChickz43]

thanks.....

Heating pad, chicken starter, water, towel, sometimes a mirror..... all done. His poop is brown, not slimy n green.... ????
How fast is TC gonna grow? I do NOT have a chicken coop.... he/she is in a lil bird cage. He/she does 2 tricks, lol and we get it out and socialize it a couple of times a day.
What's the deal with this "grit" stuff? I have had birds, the grit was in the food.... I've got kids and life and 2 dogs (who want to eat this lil guy) and very little money.... I am hoping to be able to keep TC alive, but this is a lot to figure out.
We love the little guy, any help appreciated.

shel