lonely chick

[goddesses]

We have a runt chick. She is about 2/3 the size of everyone else. During the second week of her life, she could not walk and we had to separate her as they started to peck her.

Since we moved them all into the coop, they have not bothered her. However, they all sleep together, but her. She sleeps alone in the corner. When they go outside, she prefers to stay in the coop and we manually take her out. No problems when she is outside with them.

We are not sure if this is o.k. or if this lone chick thing may mean something more serious. She eats and grows at the same rate as the others.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Mother goddess

 

[Chirpy]

I can only relate this to my Silkie roo. All my chicks are 12 weeks old now, including him. During the day he is out with everybody but stays mostly to himself, although there are no acts of aggression toward him that I've seen.

At night all the others roost together - he sleeps on the floor in the corner. Even if I put him on the roost, he immediately gets down and goes to his corner.

I have a silkie hen in that bunch also and she's literally less than half the size of everybody else but is always right in the mix of everything! She gets up to the highest roost every night and sleeps right between all the bigger chicks.

If she's eating and growing and not being aggressively pecked on I'd not worry about her ... just keep an eye on her.

 

[robinaggie]

I have a little runt that is in the brooder with nine of its hatchmates. They are two weeks old now, and Sparky is about half the size of the others. They stomp on him when they get excited, but he holds his own. Since he's learning to stay out of the way, he isolates himself a bit. I don't think he's lonely, just smart.

 

[goddesses]

Thanks to all; I'm relieved. My husband, a city guy that thought chicks were silly (!) thought sure she looked sad, sitting there all by herself!!! Obviously he no longer thinks these girls are silly, and frets over them daily. He was able to convince me she was lonely!

Mother Goddess

 

[robinaggie]

Maybe that's because he wants more chickens!!