is this strange or what and possibly we should all start to do this :)

[lucyharper123]

well my first ever hatch was fantastic on 22 out of 24 eggs had hatched and were thriving in the brooder but the only thing was that they kept cirping for me as if i was the hen so what i did was i grabbed this one teddy of my bed and put it in with them they loved it they would cuddle up to it all night long and were silent but happy cirps and now ever since that i have put the same teddy in the brooder each time and they all love it !! it even has a name'ted'it really has helped me out but the question is should we all be putting a fake mother ? i mean c'mon they must get lonley not having something to cuddle into

 

[sumi]

Congrats! That's a very good hatch rate.
Lots of people put soft toys in the brooder for the chicks to snuggle up to, especially if there's only one chick. I hang a feather duster in the brooder for the chicks to crawl under. They love it! I think, being babies and not having a mommy can be scary for them, so something to crawl under and snuggle up to is great.

 

[nok13]

i take a long sock, stuff with rags or orphan socks , and curve it around in a corner of the box; our lone chick sleeps there (first i saw it sleeping in that corner every night, so tahts wher i put the 'soft sleeper'... i also put in a small mirror so it sees itself. it doesnt know that it is a reflection, so that seems to provide 'company'

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Congrats on the hatch!!!

 

[nok13]

well today the lone ranger chcik got some siblings; five more popped out fo their eggs and are now all in the brooder, warm and snuggly and he is the boss chick, they watch him/her and learn to scratch for food and drink water... and they are all kick boxing already (thai fighting chicken breed) ;
the two blond ones seem weaker, wondering if that colour or that father si a weakr specimen? the dark ones are all strong and bouncy..

 

[SarahJaneB]

Aww the teddy bear and feather dusters are such good ideas. I'll have to try that with my brooder when I build it!

 

[DayOldChicksNY]

I've heard of people putting stuffed animals in with there brooder but i don't really care for that idea. First of all, The Bacteria... The feces are getting on the stuffed animal, and i really don't want to have to run him through MY wash machine that i wash my clothes in, HA! Second, if your using a brooder bulb, its a fire hazard... Those are the first two things that come to mind. If the chicks are screaming there's a few reasons why... There Hungry, They Are Too Cold, They Are Too Hot... If they are comfortable they wont be chirping like crazy.

 

[NotableNancy]

I've heard of people putting stuffed animals in with there brooder but i don't really care for that idea. First of all, The Bacteria... The feces are getting on the stuffed animal, and i really don't want to have to run him through MY wash machine that i wash my clothes in, HA! Second, if your using a brooder bulb, its a fire hazard... Those are the first two things that come to mind. If the chicks are screaming there's a few reasons why... There Hungry, They Are Too Cold, They Are Too Hot... If they are comfortable they wont be chirping like crazy.

I'm confused... you state that if you are using a brooder bulb, it's a fire hazard. I thought we are supposed to use a brooder bulb?? I'm new to raising chicks, don't get my first ones until April, but what are you saying we should use??
Totally confused.

 

[sumi]

Most people use a brooder bulb. If wired in correctly and placed not too close to something flammable you won't start a fire. Here's some pics of brooders with bulbs to give you an idea of what and how you can do it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-chicken-brooder-designs-pictures

 

[conny63malies]

I did the same thing with a lone serama chick. Even the two dutch banty chicks were too big for him.