Sick 6 week old chick... many symptoms

I know they can be mean, in fact his flock tried to kill him as well, before I took him out and isolated him. I’m planning on him meeting a few chickens I have in mind that I know to be nice, and go from there. I’d like him to have a buddy this winter, but I won’t just put him in with a potentially mean coop mate. Do you think it would be alright if he went through the winter without a buddy and I bought a chick in the spring that would grow up with him? I feel bad if he was by himself. Now that he can move, he likes to lay in my lap and snuggle up to a stuffed duck at night.
Where are you located and what's your winters like?
How will he be housed during the winter?

If a bird is in good condition and health, they can generally handle cold winters fine as long as they have protection from the wind/elements. Dry housing would be important in my book too.
With him needing special care winter may be more difficult for him. He's not quite able to roost yet and he does "lay down" stay on his legs quite a bit too correct? He would need adequate protection from cold ground/floor so cold does not transmit to him over along winter night - deep bedding may be sufficient - it all really just depends on where you put him I suppose.
I do know where you are coming from and having a buddy would be nice for him, chickens do like company. The buddy may or may not snuggle with him at night - most chickens like to roost, so the buddy may do that instead. But during the day, they will likely socialize.

Please do understand, I'm not trying to discourage you at all here...I just try to look at all the pros/cons of each situation. I know you want the best for him and you feel bad that he's alone.
 
Where are you located and what's your winters like?
How will he be housed during the winter?

If a bird is in good condition and health, they can generally handle cold winters fine as long as they have protection from the wind/elements. Dry housing would be important in my book too.
With him needing special care winter may be more difficult for him. He's not quite able to roost yet and he does "lay down" stay on his legs quite a bit too correct? He would need adequate protection from cold ground/floor so cold does not transmit to him over along winter night - deep bedding may be sufficient - it all really just depends on where you put him I suppose.
I do know where you are coming from and having a buddy would be nice for him, chickens do like company. The buddy may or may not snuggle with him at night - most chickens like to roost, so the buddy may do that instead. But during the day, they will likely socialize.

Please do understand, I'm not trying to discourage you at all here...I just try to look at all the pros/cons of each situation. I know you want the best for him and you feel bad that he's alone.
I live in northern California. We get about 2-3 snows per year plus a lot of dry freezes. We never get below 20 degrees F.
He has started sleeping with his legs under him now that he is walking. I am planning to convert a wooden doghouse for him and insulate it, and I'd like to get a small heating pad but I'll have to see if my dad will allow it. He isn't able to jump up and roost quite yet, but considering hes only been walking two days now I think he might be able to work up to it.
Also being inside isn't an option(again, my dad)
I'm going to get him together with the other chicken I have in mind, who is only slightly bigger than him and half silkie, very sweet, and I'll see how they do and go from there!
Of course if they show any signs of aggression I won't put them together, I've gotten him this far and I don't want to lose him now!
If he does end up being alone this winter I will bring him inside week days when my dad isn't home and make sure to hang out with him a lot on the weekends and holidays, and we might be able to get a baby chick this spring to grow up with him.
Thanks so much for your help, I have no experience with chickens so this advice is very helpful!
I know I shouldn't be a chicken owner without having knowledge, but if I hadn't rescued him he would have starved and I couldn't have that on my conscience.
 
You're dong fine!
You've helped him pull through this far 🤗

A heating pad may not be a bad idea for the coldest nights. But something to consider is once you start providing heat be mindful that he will rely on that. If you lost power, then have a plan for what to do.
If it's going to be outside, I would look at outdoor dog heating mats - I'm not sure how much they are, but they are made to get "dirty" and likely are made to have bedding over top of them like straw or shavings. (Also made to be outside and safe if wet too). Just a thought on that LOL

If you did get him a Buddy, does the dog house have room for you to place a roosting bar just in case the other one wants to roost?

Now, just a note on winter housing...you don't want to close that up completely. Chickens need ventilation (plenty of it) in winter, but they need protection from drafts. I know that sounds odd, but believe me. You close them up tight, they will have respiratory issues (ammonia from poop, dust from feathers, etc.) you want there to be air flow even at night, just not wind blowing on them if that makes any sense at all. LOL
 
You're dong fine!
You've helped him pull through this far 🤗

A heating pad may not be a bad idea for the coldest nights. But something to consider is once you start providing heat be mindful that he will rely on that. If you lost power, then have a plan for what to do.
If it's going to be outside, I would look at outdoor dog heating mats - I'm not sure how much they are, but they are made to get "dirty" and likely are made to have bedding over top of them like straw or shavings. (Also made to be outside and safe if wet too). Just a thought on that LOL

If you did get him a Buddy, does the dog house have room for you to place a roosting bar just in case the other one wants to roost?

Now, just a note on winter housing...you don't want to close that up completely. Chickens need ventilation (plenty of it) in winter, but they need protection from drafts. I know that sounds odd, but believe me. You close them up tight, they will have respiratory issues (ammonia from poop, dust from feathers, etc.) you want there to be air flow even at night, just not wind blowing on them if that makes any sense at all. LOL
I was looking at THIS pad because of the low wattage it takes. I do know that if the power goes out he won't have heat, but we rarely have power outages that last overnight. The doghouse will have a roost for the buddy. I think I know what you mean, I think I can cover the big cracks in the walls but leave the little ones for air? The door can be open
 
That's a good size. 2 small birds should be able to be in there along with a run so they can get out and scratch.
I hope it all goes well for you and Flynn:)

Keep us posted!
Another update!!
Flynney is doing so well. I’ve had some people say it’s a cockerel and some say a pullet, but since she has a lack of saddle feathers atm I’m calling her a girl😂

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She has progressed so much in movement and growth. She is still awfully small for her age but growing quickly. When I first got her she only weighed 7oz, now she is over 2ibs. She isn’t a bag of bones anymore, when I pick her up I can’t feel every bone like I used to. She is pretty much normal now!


We converted the doghouse into a coop directly after I found her one morning hanging from her beak in her cage. I’m guessing she tried to jump and got the hook of her beak stuck on the top wire. She was bleeding badly and nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought something in her jaw had ripped. Once it clotted I could see that the side of the beak directly under the nostril had ripped. It has healed fine.
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(This pic was about an hour after I discovered her)

We made a small run around her house and she is let out for a couple hours each day to free range as well, and occasionally taken on car rides.

She was still eating only mash until a couple of weeks ago. I knew she could eat the dry food but she didn’t drink water, buuuuttt, literally the day after I posted the last update I met someone who had chicks they were raising and they would be ready to bring home in a few weeks. They were ready two weeks ago and once she was home she showed Flynn how to drink! So now Flynn is on a normal diet.

Another cool thing with the other chicken(still haven’t named her yet) is that I was worried about Flynn being too territorial and picking a fight with the new girl, and they had to be able to share the house in two days, becuase it was going to rain. Somebody said there was a 1% chance of them sharing a house in two days. Well, they shared a house in one day. The day the other chicken came home, we kept them separated, for the 1.5 hours before dark. They slept separated. The next day we put them together and Flynn only did minimal pecking and then they got along fine. I think she’s glad to have a friend!! They snuggle at night(they have a roost, they don’t use it, prefer to have their nest in the shavings) sun and dust bathe together, and play some modified version of tag.

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@oldhenlikesdogs
 

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