Lone chick?

[lsv313]

I have a 5-6 week old RIR. Her two companions have each died, and so now she is alone. I do have other older chickens (3 months) but am afraid to put the RIR in with them since she is so much smaller. My question is, is it okay to keep her by herself until she is old enough to go out with the others, or do I need to get a new chick to be with her for now? I have heard that chickens can't be alone. Does anyone know? Thanks!

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

I would get her a friend (or two) her own age. That way when you do introduce them they'll have each other for backup with the older pullets. The loner chicken in a sad sight.

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Ditto. She'll be better off with a friend. If you put her in with the bigger chickens now, she may get picked on because she's the only small one.

However, if you can't find a nice, healthy, friend for her, introducing her to the bigger ones can be done. Keep her in a cage in their run for a few days before you let her out!

 

[math ace]

any idea why the other 2 companions died? ? ?

I think she should have company if you are planning on introducing her to the flock in a couple of months. Check with craigslist, it should not be too hard to locate somebody selling young chicks.

Where are you? ? ?

Maybe if you posted in the WANTED section, a fellow byc member could toss a couple of chicks your way.

 

[Kittymomma]

Like the others have said, she'll be better off with a buddy or two. Where abouts are you located? Cl is a good resource but you might also have some luck checking the where am I, where are you thread for your area. Another BYC member in close to you may have chicks close to your little ones age.

 

[Swampwood]

Get two more these

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Where are you lsv313 - - what state do you live in ? ? ?

I am almost positive that some BYC member could hook you up with a couple of age appropriate chicks

Let me know if you are near me - - - Jacksonville, FL.

 

[lsv313]

Math Ace: I am in Everett, WA, so about as far away from you as I could be, but thanks anyway! I actually went to the feed store yesterday and ended up buying a barred rock to keep the RIR company. I wish I had seen these responses first though - I didn't even think to ask anyone on BYC for an age appropriate chick to spare. The one from the feed store is a newborn (all they had there) and the RIR is about 5 weeks old, so there is a bit of an age discrepancy, and I will need to keep the RIR inside with the baby longer than I otherwise would have, so I won't have to introduce them separately to the rest of the flock. Oh well. As for why the other 2 died: one is a mystery, and the other involved an accident with her jumping out of my hand and landing wrong on the floor

Very sad times. The RIR and barred rock seem to be adjusting well to each other... took a little getting used to for the both of them, but I think they have settled in together and I've caught them snuggling a few times

 

[Kittymomma]

For future ref. this is the Washingtonians thread. It's pretty active and has a lot of great people on it so you might want to check it out/bookmark it. I have family in the Everett/Snohomish area and get up there from time to time, but nothing in the right age group for your needs at the moment. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=461

Edit: because it's a bit embarassing when you mistype the name of your home state.

 

[wsdareme]

Wish I had known where you were -- I'm in Yelm (down by Tacoma) and I have a whole bunch of 6 week old EEs I need to find homes for (my DH's boss asked if we'd like to have "a few" chicks when we lost 4 from our first hatch -- didn't know "a few" was 12 chicks). I have way too many chickens right now!!!