One lone australorp...

[amity3520]

At least I think it's an australorp! We seem to have come in possession of an orphan chick. We raised our day-old breeders with no problem before, but this little guy is causing all sorts of worry! He only wants attention and company and really just loves sitting in our hands. Anything other than that and he will let you know, very loudly. We're going to call around today and see if anyone else has an day-olds so we can get him some friends, but does anyone have any advice for raising an orphan chicken? Anything to look out for? We've already become ridiculously attached, but I think my sleep schedule will take a toll. I put a heat pad in there last night with a towel and he figured that out well and slept, but is there anything we can do to distract him during the day?

Also, our year old layers are pretty vicious towards things that enter the coop, like mice and sometimes themselves, so we're afraid to try socializing this little guy with them. I might pick out the nicest one and try letting her be with the baby in a couple weeks, but I'm not sure how well they'll get along...

Any advice? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[poultryhaven]

Quote:
When i had lone chicks i always put a stuffed animal in there for it and it would cuddle up with it all day

 

[RAWR]

Quote:
put a stuffed animal in there with him :]
when i had to isolate my BWT pullet, Kiromi, i put a stuffed animal in there and she cuddled with it. it was so cute! hope things work out for ur baby :]

 

[jeremy]

A stuffed animal will do well enough, but I would try to find him a buddy.

I'm sure there's somebody somewhere that's close to you that'd be willing to give you a chick. They're always happier when they've got somebody to peep with.

 

[farmin'chick]

If you can manage it, it would be best not to add the baby to your grown flock until he/she is of a comparable size to your grown chickens.

 

[gritsar]

Stuffed animal or clean feather duster until you can find it some peeps to hang with.

 

[amity3520]

Thanks for all your info! I have been addicted to this site the past couple days, it's such a wealth of information! We gave in and ordered 12 chicks from MPC, they should come in Wednesday or Thursdays. Should I take any precautions when introducing them? We're going to still keep them separated for a bit to make sure there are no health issues, but should I be looking out for any other concerns?

Once again, thank you all so much!!

 

[Kieyamama]

hehe-started with 1, now you'll have 13!!!

Oh man...chickens are the new drug of choice!

 

[cmom]

 

[BethMac]

We have both australorps and barred rocks. For chicks, you don't want to put them with the larger chickens until they are about 20 weeks old. The chick needs to eat chick starter and should not have the extra calcium which will hurt it before it begins to lay eggs. Also, I don't think a small chicken like that wouldn't probably have a chance with the big ones because they will establish their pecking order and possibly kill it.

If it is lonely, try putting in a small stuffed animal and a mirror.