Lone Chick-A little help

[ChikkiDoodleRoo]

Hey lovelies ,

I have a lone chick I hatched myself recently (we sort of rescued her, she almost became our dinner as the neighbors gave us the egg to try; they thought the egg was infertile, but it turns out it wasn't.lol) and I have a mirror in with her, but I don't want her to be all alone as they are flock animals.

I have raised chickens in the past, but never like this, they always came to me as a cute little clutch. So my question is, they just got a few chicks at the feed store last week and the ones that are there now that have not sold are about the age of my little one, give or take a few days.....my question is, is there ANY risk to my little one? I am not talking as far as them not getting along, they should be close enough in size and young enough that it should not take long to get them aquainted, I am more worried about disease. My biggest fear.....Marecks.....she is not vaccinate as this was unexpected and they must be vaccinated within 1 day of life. So now, as any chicken momma would be, I'm freaking out and worried evil ole Mareck is lurking around every corner lol

So what do you guys think? I mean she can't be alone forever (well she can, but it would be awful for her) so should I just take the risk? Is there anything I can do to minimize the risk? Should I scrap the feeder chicks and get them from a breeder where I KNOW they will come healthy and vaccinated? I'm at your mercy fellow BYCenders

 

[AlleysChicks]

Feed stores don’t spend extra money for vaccinations. You can ask a breeder if they vaccinate but don’t assume they do.
Your best bet is to order chicks from a hatchery and get them vaccinated there. Even if they are a week difference in age they should be fine together.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I have no experience in this area, so take this with a grain of salt:. For healthy, long-lived birds, I would always go where I knew that they were going to be the healthiest. If that's a breeder you know, someone who really cares about the bird living a long time & has bred for that genetic health stability, well that seems like a no brainer to me.

And there's never any guarantee that you won't run into a health issue, but there's no guarantee that you will, either. Practicing good flock maintenance, strict bio security & just knowing your flock seem like the best ways to head off trouble, nip it in the bud or at least stop it from spreading (hopefully!)

The risk in getting hatchery chicks is two-fold, the second part being that if they're not bred to last, they'll just break your heart when you can't help them thru a rough health patch. That's the worst feeling & I wouldn't want you to have to go thru it (or go thru it again.).

Those sweet, tiny, fluff balls are just the most adorable little things, but I say "resist now & save a later heartache.". Go where you know.

 

[ChikkiDoodleRoo]

Feed stores don’t spend extra money for vaccinations. You can ask a breeder if they vaccinate but don’t assume they do.
Your best bet is to order chicks from a hatchery and get them vaccinated there. Even if they are a week difference in age they should be fine together.

Yep, thats my fear thus why I said maybe I should go with a breeder? A reputable one? What do you think? Ugh....this is so nerve wracking!!!! She is doing great, I put a mirror in there and a feather duster and she barely ever peeps, at all. The only time she gets talkative is if I am in there with her singing to her haha. She is starting to get playful though and I feel bad because she tries to play with the "chick" in the mirror and looks behind the mirror when it doesn't respond lol........I still can't believe it was a fertile egg.....

It was given to me (a gorgeous mint green egg from an Easter Egger hen, the father is a pure white Silkie) and my neighbor said there was no way it was fertile. Me being a Zoologist I said, "Do you have a rooster"? He said yes, a male silkie, and I said "Yea, if there is a rooster and a hen and they are both sexually mature then there is always a chance the egg is fertile." He kept saying he didn't think it was, but my intuition said "you know what? What if? I am going to incubate the little guy and see what happens".....Then, exactly 21 days later on Valentines Day of this year imagine my surprise when, a healthy lone chick was born. I have NEVER been so excited in my life lol, we named her Valentine (works for both male and female) .

 

[BarredRockMom]

Awww, so sweet! Yes, I have to say, a reputable breeder who vaccinates does seem like the way to go.

 

[ChikkiDoodleRoo]

Awww, so sweet! Yes, I have to say, a reputable breeder who vaccinates does seem like the way to go.

Thank you so much for responding love, yes it was so cute that she was born on Valentines day . Its just so crazy that they have to be vaccinated by 1 day old or its too late. I never knew that as my chicks always came to me ready to go lol. She will be a pet so she will live out her life with me. There is a breeder that has a REALLY good reputation, but they are in another state. She obviously sells her chicks all over the US, but you must buy 4 or 5 min and I really don't want to put a chick through that. I also don't want 5 hens right now as this was so unexpected. My neighbor has more fertile eggs and that would have been the best option, but by the time I incubate them and they hatch, my little one will be 1 and about 1 week old which I think would be too old....

Do you think that idea is plausible? I would love to have another silkie cross . Then I would know that the chick is healthy......What do you guys think? Would my 1 month old chick be too old to introduce to a chick thats a few days old? I would hatch the little one and then wait a few days until it is a bit bigger and stronger to introduce them (those little buggers grow so dang fast!! ).......let me know what ya think of that idea.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Hmm, I'm out of my depth here, so I'm going to have to defer to those with much more chick-rearing experience. My gut says that it's possible, but I don't know how you'd keep the oldest from dominating & sassing the fuzz feathers offs the little ones behinds...

 

[BarredRockMom]

How far away is the breeder? Too far for a road trip? I only ask because crazy chicken people do all kinds of things for their babies. I speak from a completely crazy chicken lady perspective, mind you.

 

[ChikkiDoodleRoo]

Yep waaayyy to far haha. They are half way across the country. I mean I am sure there are breeders here in my state too, but I just don't know of any just yet.

 

[JedJackson]

Hey lovelies ,

I have a lone chick I hatched myself recently (we sort of rescued her, she almost became our dinner as the neighbors gave us the egg to try; they thought the egg was infertile, but it turns out it wasn't.lol) and I have a mirror in with her, but I don't want her to be all alone as they are flock animals.

I have raised chickens in the past, but never like this, they always came to me as a cute little clutch. So my question is, they just got a few chicks at the feed store last week and the ones that are there now that have not sold are about the age of my little one, give or take a few days.....my question is, is there ANY risk to my little one? I am not talking as far as them not getting along, they should be close enough in size and young enough that it should not take long to get them aquainted, I am more worried about disease. My biggest fear.....Marecks.....she is not vaccinate as this was unexpected and they must be vaccinated within 1 day of life. So now, as any chicken momma would be, I'm freaking out and worried evil ole Mareck is lurking around every corner lol

So what do you guys think? I mean she can't be alone forever (well she can, but it would be awful for her) so should I just take the risk? Is there anything I can do to minimize the risk? Should I scrap the feeder chicks and get them from a breeder where I KNOW they will come healthy and vaccinated? I'm at your mercy fellow BYCenders

Did you ask the feed store if their chicks were vaccinated? If not, it might be worth a try because you never know. Otherwise you will need to search hard for vaccinated chicks because not all breeders vaccinate. In fact, I would say most don't. Hatcheries will vaccinate on request, but it would probably take a while to get chicks from them. Sorry I can't be of more help.