Is this a baby chicken?

[Lxlxwx]

We were awoken this morning to this little guy chirping outside our window like crazy! Is it a baby bird or chicken? Or??
Thank you!!

*edit added photos

 

[ninja333pirate]

yes that is definitely a little chick (baby chicken)

 

[ninja333pirate]

do you happen to have a desk lamp and a tote?

edit: or even ask your neighbors if they have any hens that have been sitting on some eggs, the chick may have gotten away from the mother hen and couldn't get back to her.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Yes a baby chicken.
Do you have any idea where it came from?

 

[Lxlxwx]

@ninja333pirate @CluckerFamily
Thanks for your responses! We live in a small residential neighborhood and I have never seen any wild chickens. We do live next to a park, so maybe one straggled over? Haven’t seen any chickens there either though…
BUT…
WE DID have chickens in our backyard, until about a month ago. (We are moving and a gave them to a good friend) They were in a coop but also free ranged around our yard. We had 4 hens. No roosters nearby that I know of. Could one of our hens have laid an egg while she were here that recently got fertilized? Somehow? Could that timeline ever work out?

edited to add-we did have a Plymouth Rock hen, so the coloring is not far off

 

[ninja333pirate]

No, eggs are only fertilized while still in the hen, it could be one of your neighbors has a backyard chicken coop that you don't know about, I would go around and ask some of your neighbors to see, the chick is going to need its mom to survive. Unless you have a heat lamp to keep it at 95 degrees and chick feed and water. And even then chicks shouldn't be kept alone.

 

[Lxlxwx]

No, eggs are only fertilized while still in the hen, it could be one of your neighbors has a backyard chicken coop that you don't know about, I would go around and ask some of your neighbors to see, the chick is going to need its mom to survive. Unless you have a heat lamp to keep it at 95 degrees and chick feed and water. And even then chicks shouldn't be kept alone.

Oh I see…hmm… Could a hen have gotten fertilized a month ago, laid an egg around then, and could that egg have just now hatched? On it’s own? It just recently got very hot here. I know it’s a long shot but don’t know of any other neighbors with chickens. I will ask around.

Also right now the chick is in a box with a heating pad and I take him/her out to feed. I did get some chick starter which he’s happily eating very often. And will take water from my finger

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Oh I see…hmm… Could a hen have gotten fertilized a month ago, laid an egg around then, and could that egg have just now hatched? On it’s own? It just recently got very hot here. I know it’s a long shot but don’t know of any other neighbors with chickens. I will ask around.

Also right now the chick is in a box with a heating pad and I take him/her out to feed. I did get some chick starter which he’s happily eating very often. And will take water from my finger

It'd be best to have food and water available at all times. If you're using heat that allows the chick to sleep a normal schedule, you can remove food at that time. It should be able to drink water on it's own. Edited: use a very shallow dish for water. They can easily drown in water that's not very deep. I like to put pebbles in the bottom of water dish so the chick can drink water from between the pebbles but it's shallow enough to be safe

 

[ninja333pirate]

from what I hear hens usually can hold on to sperm for around 2 weeks (sometime but rarely longer) but an egg needs proper temperature and humidity to hatch so without the mom sitting on it, its unlikely to hatch on its own.

 

[Lxlxwx]

It'd be best to have food and water available at all times. If you're using heat that allows the chick to sleep a normal schedule, you can remove food at that time. It should be able to drink water on it's own. Edited: use a very shallow dish for water. They can easily drown in water that's not very deep. I like to put pebbles in the bottom of water dish so the chick can drink water from between the pebbles but it's shallow enough to be safe

Thank you for the advice! I will try offering food and water in his/her box. We started out with hand feeding because I wasn’t sure if it was a bird or a chicken it seemed to be working, however very demanding!
Can I ask, how do I use heat on a schedule like you suggested?
Thanks again!