Rescued an orphaned baby chick... very clingy!

[Alchemist0118]

Hey guys! This is my first time raising a baby chick. I live in the Caribbean, and we have a ton of feral/wild chickens here. A few days ago, I was walking to the beach, and found this poor little sweet thing all alone and being chased by a stray dog. I scooped her up and tried to find the mother hen, but she was nowhere to be found. So, I am now the new parent of this cute little chick. No idea whether it is a hen or a rooster, but for now, we will call it a her, and her name is Littlefoot.

Littlefoot has been with me for about 4 days now. It took her less than 24 hours to decide I was now her new parent, and she won't leave my side. I love her and she is adorable, but she is SO clingy. She won't stay in her brooder unless two conditions are met: 1, she must be hungry or thirsty. 2, she must be able to see me at all times. As soon as she can't see me, or has eaten and drunk her fill, she cries at me till O take her out. Once she is out, she just wanders around me and climbs on me, chirping happily and often laying down to sleep on me. It is cute as all hell, but I have stuff I gotta do and I feel so bad hearing her cry for me. At night, getting her to sleep is like putting a human baby to sleep... Cuddle until she is asleep, then gently place her in the brooder and stroke her with my finger till she passes out again. If she wakes up and realizes I'm not right there, she cries. If she wakes up and sees me, she goes right back to sleep.

Am I spoiling her too much? Is it just because she is solo and I'm her only flock member? Will it improve as she gets older?

PS: I plan to litter train her when she is older. Any tips for methods and treats? She doesn't like bananas much, and strawberries are tricky to find here. She likes fresh coconut, but that's kind of a hassle just to give her a treat. Are citris fruits ok? We have tons of things here like pineapple, passionfruit, starfruit, tamarind, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Tookie]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
First of all you need to be feeding it chick feed, it cannot only be eating fruit. Also treats should make up less than 10% of their diet, it should not be eating any treats at this age, only chick feed. Do you plan on keeping this chick? If so you need to get some more chicks to keep it company, chickens are flock animals and need others of their kind, it should also help with it being clingy to you. What is your brooder set up? What bedding are you using? Do you have a heat lamp or brooder plate?

 

[Alchemist0118]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
First of all you need to be feeding it chick feed, it cannot only be eating fruit. Also treats should make up less than 10% of their diet, it should not be eating any treats at this age, only chick feed. Do you plan on keeping this chick? If so you need to get some more chicks to keep it company, chickens are flock animals and need others of their kind, it should also help with it being clingy to you. What is your brooder set up? What bedding are you using? Do you have a heat lamp or brooder plate?

I am feeding her starter feed, I made her a mixture of oatmeal, plain bread crumbs, and a hard boiled egg for the first day... then I went to the store the next morning and got actual starter feed.

Her brooder is a plastic tub, but I plan on replacing it with a clear one, as I think she may feel better if she can see more. I've given her a ceramic heat lamp, but we only use it at night... during the day, it is well into the 90's, drops to the 80's and high 70's at night.

For bedding, I just have paper towels down for now, but I have aspen shavings I'll upgrade to soon as she gets a little bigger.

She has a shallow water dish, a food dish, a piece of an old sweater as a blanket (she sleeps on it and it makes it easier to put her in the brooder at night), and I plan on getting a stuffed animal and a mirror. I'm toying with the idea of getting another chick or two... but my family is already looking at me like I'm completely insane because I'm doting over this feral chick lol. People have said that raising her alone is doable, but that she will basically be attached to my side. One person described it as "like having an unbelievably neurotic, but very loving, friend." Not sure how I feel about that. Also not sure how I feel about becoming that weird guy with all the chickens

Edit: forgot to mention the treat situation. I give her treats occasionally, when she is being polite. I just want to find a type she really enjoys, so I will have a good training incentive later, when she is old enough to be trained.

 

[Tookie]

I am feeding her starter feed, I made her a mixture of oatmeal, plain bread crumbs, and a hard boiled egg for the first day... then I went to the store the next morning and got actual starter feed.

Her brooder is a plastic tub, but I plan on replacing it with a clear one, as I think she may feel better if she can see more. I've given her a ceramic heat lamp, but we only use it at night... during the day, it is well into the 90's, drops to the 80's and high 70's at night.

For bedding, I just have paper towels down for now, but I have aspen shavings I'll upgrade to soon as she gets a little bigger.

She has a shallow water dish, a food dish, a piece of an old sweater as a blanket (she sleeps on it and it makes it easier to put her in the brooder at night), and I plan on getting a stuffed animal and a mirror. I'm toying with the idea of getting another chick or two... but my family is already looking at me like I'm completely insane because I'm doting over this feral chick lol. People have said that raising her alone is doable, but that she will basically be attached to my side. One person described it as "like having an unbelievably neurotic, but very loving, friend." Not sure how I feel about that. Also not sure how I feel about becoming that weird guy with all the chickens

Edit: forgot to mention the treat situation. I give her treats occasionally, when she is being polite. I just want to find a type she really enjoys, so I will have a good training incentive later, when she is old enough to be trained.

Sounds good!
This chick looks to be about 2 weeks old.
Don't worry about what other people say or think about you having chickens and getting more. Many people here on BYC have chickens, name them, and love them, including me. Eventually your family will like this chick. If you do keep her/him you should get more chicks. Also start thinking about building a coop, this chick will grow fast and will need to be outside.