RESCUED CHIC

[poppstun]

Hi ,
One of my baby chicks fell in a mole hole and we didnt realize it ,until the dog dug her out . The bird was in the dogs mouth when we found her but we dont know if her leg was injured by the dog or the fall .She was also missing feathers from her wing. I set up a box in my room, fed her , watered her just took care of her and am happy to say she is recovering well. The issue is that she thinks I am her mother , she is quite attached to me , and I am not sure how to introduce her back into the coop . I dont want the other chickens to attack her . I have been taking her out to her own pen but I cannot walk away from her without her becoming upset . Please ...any suggestions on how to help her become a chicken again? Thanks for reading and looking forward to any help ! She is about a month old maybe a little more, she was a couple weeks old when she fell in the hole .(she just got her tail feathers at the time)

 

[CSAchook]

I think once she re-integrates with her flock mates she will stop having "mommy issues." Last year I had a single day old chick that I raised on his own for about a week before I was able to purchase some other chicks to keep him company. The first day I introduced the new birds my little loner freaked out. Kept crying and would only quiet down if I held him. But of course holding him wasn't going to help him establish himself in the new flock. I had to stop picking him up and let the chicks sort it out themselves. After a day or two everyone got used to each other and the cries for attention stopped (although he remained very friendly).
As far as how to reintroduce her...the "see but don't touch method" seems to work well for integrating birds (there are lots of helpful articles about this and other methods for integration on this forum). I.e. put her in a pen where she can see and be seen but can't get picked on. Do that for a few days or a week before putting them all in the same pen together. Unfortunately I think you may just have to ignore her cries during the integration process. She will be okay .

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It can take a while to re-integrate a lone chick - I agree that placing her where she can be seen will help ease the transition. Having a secured grow out pen and housing for her will make it easier. There are a lot of threads and articles on introducing a lone chicken to an existing flock. Read some threads by @azygous - good information there - here's one to get you started - good luck http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock

 

[azygous]

You don't mention the age of this chick. If she's still very small, you might have better luck re-integrating her by bringing in a "playmate" to keep her company. Be prepared for a peck on the head from whichever chick considers themselves to be dominant. Completely normal greeting between chicks.

Leave them together for a couple days, then introduce the two back into the chick group.

 

[poppstun]

Mommy issues ...I thought I was done with those! Lol ! OK, you are right I will buck up and learn to walk away ...thank you! I have read some articles on here and online and they all say what both of you are recommending so I am going to go with it . Thank you so much for responding ! For me its always better to go with what people say rather than just what I read in an article so I am feeling much more confident.

 

[featherhead007]

Hi ,
One of my baby chicks fell in a mole hole and we didnt realize it ,until the dog dug her out . The bird was in the dogs mouth when we found her but we dont know if her leg was injured by the dog or the fall .She was also missing feathers from her wing. I set up a box in my room, fed her , watered her just took care of her and am happy to say she is recovering well. The issue is that she thinks I am her mother , she is quite attached to me , and I am not sure how to introduce her back into the coop . I dont want the other chickens to attack her . I have been taking her out to her own pen but I cannot walk away from her without her becoming upset . Please ...any suggestions on how to help her become a chicken again? Thanks for reading and looking forward to any help ! She is about a month old maybe a little more, she was a couple weeks old when she fell in the hole .(she just got her tail feathers at the time)

You are truely a good mama to that precious pet! as long as there is no open wounds, she will be fine, just take time reintroducing her back to the flock. Wow how proud I am of you to care so much, as I do!