Lone chick

[PalmCityChic]

HELP - I know that chicks are flock animals and should be with other chicks - but I have a little Ameraucana chick, Lucy, who was apparently ill and stopped growing. I took her to the vet a few weeks ago and learned nothing - but have been incubating her and trying to nurse her back to health. Her bowels movements are not normal - very puffy and yellow - the vet felt she wasn't assimilating or digesting her food which is why she doesn't seem to be growing. She seems to be doing a little better the past few days - and I've tried to reintroduce her to her flock, leaving her outside with them during the day - but they are all twice her size. They don't bother her or pick on her, but she seems alienated and actually does quite well in the incubator with her stuffed animal she snuggles with.

We live in Florida and it's nice and warm this evening and I thought I might try to leave her outside. But, right after dark, I went to check on them and I could hear her from across the yard. All the other chicks were inside the little cave inside the coop, except Lucy was standing by the door, loudly chirping. I brought her in, she chirped loudly for a long time as I carried her to the house, until she got comfortable back inside her warm incubator wih her "friend."

ANY SUGGESTIONS? Am I going to have a pet chicken living inside an glass aquarium forever?

THANKS!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would either get her a new friend or take one of the other docile members of the flock and put them together for a few days to a week. Then I would put them inside the coop for up to a week, so that Lucy knows where "home" is , and she will come in at night. It is much easier to introduce or re-introduce 2 chickens together than one single.

 

[PalmCityChic]

OK - thank you so much! I will try to figure out an arrangement on where to keep them. Currently, Lucy has been going into the coop during the day and she seems OK during the day - but I've brought her back into the incubator at night just to make sure she stays warm.

All the chicks are about 8 weeks old, Lucy looks like she's about 4-5 weeks old. None of the chicks are mean to her, which was a concern I had.

I'll call the farm where I got her and see if they have any older chicks. Thanks much!

 

[PalmCityChic]

UPDATE: Got 2 new chicks that are approximately Lucy's size last night. She was chirping a lot, so I gave her back her stuffed animal snuggly, she nuzzled in & got quiet. Kept them together over night & it went great. But this morning when I fed them & then left them, Lucy was chirping loudly. She sounds stressed. I don't want her to be stressed. Not sure what else to do??

 

[Eggcessive]

Make sure she is warm enough, but not too warm. Does she still have her stuffed toy to snuggle with? Have you and your vet thought of treating her for a week with an antibiotic such as oxytetracycline in her water to see if it improves her bowel movements? It's possible that she has intestinal infection that is causing the yellow stools.

 

[PalmCityChic]

Yes, we had her on antibiotics for a week: Baytril - also Panacur in case of worms - she ran a bunch of tests and everything came back negative when I took her to the vet on October 30 (I wasn't very impressed with this vet - she is supposedly a bird specialist and cost a small fortune and did not really figure out what was wrong with her). She also gave her a shot of ivermectin.

And yes, she has her stuffed toy with her. I'm not sure she is bonding with the other two chicks yet. They are the same size as her - she doesn't really try to fly or expend any energy. When she sees me, she comes right over to me (cute, but not normal) and wants me to pick her up and hold her. I'm wondering if I give it time - she will bond with the other two? If she's fussing, should I leave her there or put her back in her aquarium alone? OMG - I feel like a new mother worrying about her newborn baby!

Thanks for any help!

 

[Eggcessive]

She will eventually bond with them. Maybe you need to pick her up less often (okay, I know that sounds hard, LOL.) Put some interesting things in with them to explore and play on. A lump of sod with grass, a tiny roost to practice jumping on, a big rock. When she starts exploring she will be forced to interact with them, and may decide to be sociable.

 

[PalmCityChic]

OK ... great ... thanks! It's really hard not to pick up her when she's fussy I will try adding things like that - sounds like fun! I'm going to make them a play yard right now! I'll keep you posted! thanks so much!

 

[PalmCityChic]

Update - Lucy is doing well with her two new friends - she has grown a little - still very small and just doesn't look or act right. Nothing like the rest of the chicks - so I guess she will just be very special! Well, I thought the other two new chicks were going to outgrown her, but SURPRISE - Only one, Belle, is outgrowing her. The other one, Spice, doesn't seem to be growing. IT'S CRAZY! Lucy is now the middle sized chick. 2 weeks ago, they were all the same size (about the size of 4 week old chicks). Belle is thriving and doing the best, she is an Ameraucana. She is big and strong and wants to fly and do all kinds of chicken stuff - but my other 2 - Lucy and Spice (Lucy is also an Ameraucana and Spice is a very tiny Rhode Island Red) neither fly do much more than just eat and drink. They both stay very close to the light bulb and are apparently wanting the extra warmth.

Any suggestions for this new one? Maybe I got lucky and have 2 special chickens? THANKS! I'll take some photos and post them soon.