still damp - ok for brooder?

[ukchickengirl]

my chick hatched 24 hours ago and nothing else seems to be happening (lost one, see post in incubation

)

its still not completely fluffed up, would it be ok to put it in the brooder now or not?

also what can i use to keep it company?! soft toy socks etc??

Thanks

H x

 

[silkiechicken]

It would be best to wait till it's completely dry but if you want you can move it now. Good luck. Any soft toy will help it stay in company. A mirror would also be nice.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Check it in the morning, if it still isn't dry, it could be from the humidity in your incubator.
Move the chick to the brooder, make sure it is warm enough.
Dip it's beak in water so it learns where to drink.
I've heard of people on here putting a soft stuffed animal in with single chicks & also putting a mirror in the brooder.

I've not had that experience, so I can't tell you what is the best thing for a single chick. Maybe someone who has had one will post some suggestions for you.

Jean

 

[silkiechicken]

I've had an only chick and one thing I will warn you about: Be prepared to be it's mother hen! I had to carry the little sucker around in a little pouch all day or it would cry. I had to make sure that it could see me at all times or it would chirp constantly. I had it on a heat pad where it could see me and at night I made a little nest for it to burrow into. It became highly attached... and now it is a little rooster... sadly he will be going the way of the rooster in the next few weeks.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

I saw a post somewhere on this site that someone put a fuzzy slipper into the brooder, and the single chick nestled inside that. I thought that was a good idea.

To spend so much time with one chick and then have it go "the way of the rooster" would be nearly impossible for me. I had thought that after my hens stopped being productive I would send them to the stew pot, but now that I've gotten so attached to BoBo, there is no way I could do that to her. I admire you!

 

[silkiechicken]

It's hard to do but when you raise lots of chicks... there's no way I'd be able to peacefully keep equal number of roos. It's just the way it goes out there. I'm happy because I at least have the knowledge that they lived a good life and were happy before reaching the way of the rooster. Even my cornish x come up and when way of the rooster reaches them, they aren't even nervous or stressed out. It's kind of sad but that's what happens.