Orphan baby chick, HELP!

[Creacia]

Help!!! The neighbors "free range" chickens that have made my property their home, roost in some trees over my dog kennel. One of the hens fell out of the tree and my dogs killed her now I have a baby chick. Will it survive inside in a dog crate overnight? It is resting peacefully in a towel in my arms. What do I need to get to take care of it? Appreciate any advice

 

[CaraDD]

Does it have any feathers or still just in down? How old do you think it is? The rule of thumb is that it need to be 95 degrees for the first week then decreasing temperature by 5 degrees each week after that.

 

[Creacia]

It has feathers on it's wings and tiny tail feathers. I am guessing about 3 weeks old. I throw out cracked up corn and it was eating the smaller pieces. I just couldn't leave it outside, it hs been in they 30's at night. It will deff be a pet if it survives.

 

[gabrielle1976]

Wing and little tail feathers says 2 to 2 1/2 weeks to me. Little one will still need some heat , you can use a desk lamp with a 60 to 100 watt bulb whatever you have just make sure she has room to get in the heat of the lamp and room to get away. Chick feed is best if you can get some , I know the feed places around here sale 5 lb brown bags if you dont want to purchase the big 25 aor 50 lb ones. They are pretty simple , feed , water , heat. May want to grab a mirrior or little plushie or feather duster for her to snuggle with.

 

[gabrielle1976]

Oh and can we get pictures please may help us age her but mostly I just like seeing cute babies

 

[Creacia]

I have it in a dog crate covered with towels and put a fluffy slipper in there and it climbed in for about 5 minutes. Very vocal now. She seems to have bonded really quickly with me. Do they xalm down? It is fine as long as I hold it. Lol Will upload picture when I figure it out. Thanks so much!

 

[gabrielle1976]

IF you dont have a heat source like a light ect she will cry loudly because she is cold and would be warm while held therefor calm down.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I've used hand warmers wrapped in a dish towel before when the power went out. They don't last that long though so a steady heat source would be much better.

 

[HooverHenHouse]

I agree about shining a desk lamp in for some heat, You can also warm a bottle of water so she can lay next to it for warmth. Go to the local feed store (TSC etc.) in the morning and the small bag should last you awhile for just one chick.

Put her down on a towel, dont use newspaper, or anything she can slip on, as it could cause splay leg. If you want to use newspaper, I would shred it..and try putting paper towel down first, then layer on shredded newspaper.
Straw, and shavings will of course work too.

it's normal for her to chirp, especially if she is alone, but she should have no problem living through the night..just make sure she gets some actual food and not just cracked corn.

 

[HooverHenHouse]

Also-As gabrielle mentioned, make sure the chick can get under and away from the heat. Just shine the light into the dog kennel so she can lay under it, and leave enough kennel space for her to get out of the light/heat if she gets hot. -but leave the light on..she may end up getting cold during the night, and will go back and forth.

Another tip-which shouldnt be a huge deal if she is indoors, but dont give her real cold water, just room tempture, or slighty warm. (can't remeber the reasoning behind this, I read it somewhere, and it had a story to go behind it..but makes sense)