Three-week old baby chick looking for mom

[alessadry]

I have a 3-week old baby chick who was raised by her mom and the two were very attached. In these days, I have heard the baby chick cry a whole lot. Tonight, the chick in the coop keeps crying. For a moment, I thought oh, gosh, maybe its mom is dead. So I look all over my land and no dead body. At the end, I get my flashlight and do a headcount of all the chickens and they are all there.
Is mom just giving up on the chick as part of growing up? We are in Arizona by the way and day time is in the high 80's and in the night a little under 60.

 

[alessadry]

I am seeing now that the mom is on the perch but the chick cannot get across all the other hens to reach her. She used to sleep on the bottom of the coop but looks like now she has decided to sleep up and doesn't seem to care. The chick seems to be fully or almost fully feathered. Is the chick going to be OK? tonight it's going to be 59 degrees.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do you know which hen is mom? She probably decided to go to roost and the chick didn't follow. Also sounds like she's getting tired of motherhood already. I would place the chick on the roosts next to her, or pull her to the floor with the hopes her mothering instincts will kick back in.

 

[Folly's place]

I've had this happen too, and generally my broody hen will come down to be with the screaming chicks for another night. You could check again and see if that's what she does. Also, add a box, or a lower roosting bar, or something, so the baby can get up there with mama at night. It won't be long before your chick will do fine getting up there! Mary

 

[alessadry]

Thanks, the chick can jump up the roost but since mama is at the end of it, the other mean hens won't let him/her pass through. I can't go in the coop to move the potential mother (not 100 percent sure it is her, but that's the hen baby chick wants to go to) as I am afraid all roosters and hens would get scared. I have anther hen with 4 chicks but she seems to care less, and a broody hen, but she also seems to care less and wont move to the chick as she is warming up eggs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

No other hens will care for the chick and can potentially kill it. Hopefully it's fine in the morning and joins mom again.

 

[Petra Pancake]

Can you lean something like a "ladder" to the roost so that the chick can climb up right at the end where its mom is? I did that for one of my chicks and it worked.

 

[lazy gardener]

For future incidents, I'd simply wait till dark, then go in and rearrange everybody, and make room for the chick so she can be with her Mom. A head lamp with a red bulb is great for night time duties in the coop. Many hens do wean their chicks early, especially with warm temps. If a hen weans her chicks before they are feathered At 3 weeks the chick should be fine if she has other bodies to snuggle with. And she will most likely survive the night on the floor, as long as your coop is secure from rodents. A rat will kill a young chick.

You also might need to assess your coop. Is there plenty of room on the perch? While birds will scrunch together at either end, leaving an open space, it's recommended to have 1 l.f./bird. They need that extra space so they can fly up/down from perch.

 

[azygous]

LG has hit every point.

All I can do is reinforce every point she's made by completely agreeing, and urging you to take charge of your flock and not be afraid to do so. LG has explained how you can safely intervene for this chick without creating much of a disturbance.

Your hen is likely missing the security and comfort of roosting with her mates. It doesn't necessarily mean she's abandoning her chick. Place the chick next to her broody mama on the perch, and then gently lift the wing of the broody so it covers the chick. That should quiet the chick and prevent the others adjacent from harassing the chick.

After a few nights of this, the chick should know the drill and the other chickens will go along with the program, too. If not, try rearranging the lineup on the perch so a friendly chicken is next to the chick.

This is called flock management, and it's permitted.