Raising just one chick, introducing an older chick to younger ones

[kaddidle]

At the beginning of March I got my first chicks that I'm raising since I was a kid and raised some on my family farm. I figured I'd start small and only ordered three. Well, I made some mistakes about housing and handling chicks safely and two were killed by dogs--terribly sad. But something interesting has happened with the one surviving chick. I felt sure that she'd grieve herself to death alone and was trying to rush out and find any chick I could to keep her company, but it seems that she's quite content to have humans as her "flock." When we had other chicks around, she was the one who liked being held the least and would run when I put my hand into the brooder. Now, she runs toward me as soon as I enter the room she's in. (She's outgrown the brooder and her outdoor run isn't complete, so she currently has free range of my computer room.) She comes when I call her and, if I try to sit and ignore her while I type on the computer, she'll fly up to my lap and then climb onto my shoulder to play with my hair. She also likes to fly across the room and land on my head.

I'm getting two chicks on Monday so she'll have clucky company again soon, but I love this adorably affectionate behavior that she's exhibiting as an only chicken. I'm wondering if any other chicken owners have raised a single chick and what their experiences were with it. The bird in question is a White Rock and the babies I'm getting on Monday are a RIR and a Wyandotte.

Also, I'm wondering what to expect when I introduce the two new chicks, who will be about a week old. I'm planning on having them in a brooder in the same room so that they can hear and see one another but not reach each other. Do I need to worry about my month-old chick hurting the new babies? Do they normally take to younger chicks ok? I'm wondering if she'll be a little socially retarded after associating with us humans for the past week.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've never had a single chicken of any age so I cannot speak from experience. I can talk in general but not specifically for your situation. Chickens are flock animals and you are the only flock she knows right now. She has probably imprinted on you as her mother.

Chickens are living animals. You cannot guarantee what any of them will do in any situation. You plan sounds good. Your chick will need the company of other chickens. How she takes to them is the question. With the month's difference in age, she might hurt them or you might have no problems whatsoever. It is possible she will pretty much ignore them and consider you her flock mate while the two new ones hang together. They do form cliques. Or they might all get along immediately.

Chickens are natural bullies and will bully any weaker chicken. A lot of that is that they establish a pecking order to see who gets to be the king/queen of the flock and all the privileges that go with that. Eventually the pecking order in yours will be established by the spirit and desire of the individual chickens, but initially the more mature one will be the boss. So when you eventually put them together, expect the older one to peck and chase the younger ones. That is perfectly natural. However, if she senses that one or both are weak, especially if she has a strong bullying personality, she might injure or kill them. It can be a stressful time for you. You will have to watch and make a judgment on how bad the pecking actually is and whether you should intervene. Depending on the personality of the chicks involved, it may not be bad at all. You never know for sure until you do it. There are some things you can do to improve the odds of a good integration. House them next to each other as you plan. If you can arrange to have them eat together with just a wire separation, that could help. When you integrate them, give the younger ones plenty of room to get away. Maybe have something around they can hide behind. Do it in a place that is unfamiliar to the older one. She will not be as territorial that way and may be more interested in the new territory than the new chicks. Have two different feeding and watering spots to reduce possible conflicts. Having more young ones than old does help.

Some people suggest putting them together at night so they wake up together. I'm not a big fan of that but if it works for them, great. Maybe waking up together helps. I really don't know. They still have to establish the pecking order so the flock can operate as it is supposed to. Many times these seem to go relatively peacefully and sometimes you wind up with injured or dead chickens. I prefer this initial mixing to be when and where I can observe and intervene if necessary. We all do it differently and sometimes have good results and sometimes have not good results.

The big question is when do you let them at each other. The general rule is to wait until they are the same size. I don't think yours is the general situation. I think I'd wait about a week, letting the young chicks get old enough to be quick and active so they have a bit better chance of getting away if they need to, then under controlled conditions, put them together and see how they act. Maybe just leave them together for a few minutes the first time and gradually extend the time. Maybe they will do great together from the start. You are the one on the spot and will have to use your judgment.

I haven't tried it, but some people on this forum report merging chicks with this age difference in the brooder with no problems. Some try it and wind up with injured or dead chicks. As I said, they are living animals and you can never tell how they will react. It depends on a lot of things, including their individual personalities. I think you are doing the right thing and going about it the right way. I think your chances of success are pretty good. I do wish you good luck!