How can I get a wild new mom chicken to take a 1 week old chick that isn't hers - Caribbean chick ne

[Skooni]

Hi all -

New here and just became a very reluctant baby chick mom an hour ago when my spouse couldn't stand to watch a one week old(?)
chick as it desperately ran from adult to adult trying to get underneath someone for warmth. When a rooster started attacking it we became parents.

Since we live in the Caribbean, there are chickens everywhere and there's a new mom just down the block from us. Is there any way to convince this mom to take on a new baby? I don't see a future for this wee sprout without a real mom.

Any clues deeply appreciated. Love your site - within 5 minutes I knew what to feed and how warm it needed to be!

Thanks in advance,
Skooni


UPDATE: (and new questions)

Thanks for this info you are all very kind and helpful!

I've got bread to lure the mama and a squirt gun to dissuade the daddy - now all I need to do is find them - I saw them a couple of days ago but they seem to have disappeared. In the meantime, the wee sprout is in the bathtub on a towel covered heating pad under a little stuffed duck toy.

Also, eggs and rice are all she/he's eaten so far - I even trapped ants with sugar and she pecked at them but wasn't fast enough to eat one. We don't have a store with chicken feed here so I bought millet and lentils to mix with the rice. Not sure what else to do as she's rejected smashed cashews, applesauce and banana.

I am not sure how much she should be eating and sleeping. She doesn't have any tail feathers but she has a few tiny pin feathers on her wings. I found a chart that said she should be a week old based on that. She's done a ton of sleeping. We set alarms and got up every two hours in case she was hungry but she slept hard all night.

Lastly is it possible to tell their gender this young? Thanks again!

 

[chickensfinally]

lots of times hens will adopt chicks that are not hers. the trick for you is trying to get close enough to a wild hen with the chick that it might be able to get under her. plus she may have a cock around too, watch out they protect their women well. good luck. i don't know if this helps at all, but maybe someone else who knows more than me will give some advice.

 

[junebuggena]

The chick has to be young, under 72 hours, to 'imprint'. A week old may be too old for it to recognize a specific hen as it's 'mommy'.

 

[chickensfinally]

The chick has to be young, under 72 hours, to 'imprint'. A week old may be too old for it to recognize a specific hen as it's 'mommy'.

with farm store chicks often they are close to three days old, or even older, by the time you get them, and I just put 11 chicks of varying breeds and ages, a few looked at least a week old, under a broody and she took right to them. if you are not prepared to raise this chick, and since there is only one it would be so lonely, trying this may be the only solution so you might as well give it a try.

 

[Skooni]

Thank you! This is very hopeful!

 

[chickensfinally]

Hi all -

New here and just became a very reluctant baby chick mom an hour ago when my spouse couldn't stand to watch a one week old(?)
chick as it desperately ran from adult to adult trying to get underneath someone for warmth. When a rooster started attacking it we became parents.

Since we live in the Caribbean, there are chickens everywhere and there's a new mom just down the block from us. Is there any way to convince this mom to take on a new baby? I don't see a future for this wee sprout without a real mom.

Any clues deeply appreciated. Love your site - within 5 minutes I knew what to feed and how warm it needed to be!

Thanks in advance,
Skooni


UPDATE: (and new questions)

Thanks for this info you are all very kind and helpful!

I've got bread to lure the mama and a squirt gun to dissuade the daddy - now all I need to do is find them - I saw them a couple of days ago but they seem to have disappeared. In the meantime, the wee sprout is in the bathtub on a towel covered heating pad under a little stuffed duck toy.

Also, eggs and rice are all she/he's eaten so far - I even trapped ants with sugar and she pecked at them but wasn't fast enough to eat one. We don't have a store with chicken feed here so I bought millet and lentils to mix with the rice. Not sure what else to do as she's rejected smashed cashews, applesauce and banana.

I am not sure how much she should be eating and sleeping. She doesn't have any tail feathers but she has a few tiny pin feathers on her wings. I found a chart that said she should be a week old based on that. She's done a ton of sleeping. We set alarms and got up every two hours in case she was hungry but she slept hard all night.

Lastly is it possible to tell their gender this young? Thanks again!

make sure she has access to small stones, she will need to ingest these to help her crush up and digest the grains she is eating. very hard to tell sex at this age. most of us start to ask others on this site about potential to be a female or a male when the chicks get to be 3-4 weeks old and even then it can be tricky. cockerels have attitudes and affectations that lead us to thinking "boy" before that first crow comes!