Very needy chick

[tapjazzdncr]

I bought 10 eggs and incubated them. Only one survived, so me and my husband went to a store and bought 2 chicks (week /week and half old)to keep the one chick company. So me and my husband get home and give the two little chicks some attention. Well the one i gave attention to, became very attached to me and chirps like crazy and trumys to get out .when in the cage and wants to be on me or held. Will not stop. Im afraid it will hurt its self.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It will soon flock with the other birds. If the two you just purchased were from different bins then they too are strangers just as much as the hatchling. Peace and harmony will reign in no time.

 

[tapjazzdncr]

Okay..
But the other two chicks are quiet and getting along. It looks for me and last night cried til 2 in the morning. And the second it heard someone awake this morning it started crying again til i walked by it. Is there anything i can do to help get it to stop crying without holding it?

 

[Shastain's mom]

Hi all,
I am having the same problem, except, well, I ...Hell, here it is. I am a new chicken mom (4 silkie chicks) and the last one we got, Alectra, was only 2 days old. The breeder told me not to handle her for at least a week and to also keep her separated from our other older chicks (1-4 months old) until she got bigger. Had I known this was going to break my heart, we would have gotten 2 to prevent lonliness. Anyway, I thought the breeder was crazy regarding it being fine to sequester such a tiny thing, after all, it's a baby and it needs love, right? Right. So, I made a papoose that hangs around my neck out of a scarf, and put her in there while I went about my daily business.
Ok, so before everyone is totally satisfied that my kookiness is beyond help (like my husband thinks), I feel I must explain that this papoosing of tiny, needy creatures is what I do when neighbors bring me a squireling or a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest and needs constant care and contact to thrive and I have had no previous issues of extreme bonding. So there's that.
So anyway, unfortunately, Alectra soooo loves it in the papoose that putting her to bed at night without incessant peeping quickly became a major sleeping issue for us all since my chicks' current living quarters are in our living room in the tv cabinet I converted into a luxury chicken hutch, complete with a VIP lounge. That being the case, I decided one night, under duress of causing her extreme stress, to hell with it, I'll just let her sleep with us, tucked in her papoose, around my neck. Now, she does not tolerate the hutch at all and won't eat unless I'm sitting RIGHT THERE with my face practically in the hutch with her. And so this is how I've created my little monster. She's not content to snuggle down in the papoose most of the time anymore, prefering instead, to perch on my shoulder or tressed up precariously in my hair. While I like to consider myself graceful, the poise I must attain to keep her balanced is out of league. I can't hardly get anything done. She's about 2 weeks old now and still subject to adverse affects due to stress. Do I just have to deal with this until she's too big for the papoose? Should I just come to terms with this and create some sort of wearable chicken hutch? Will she be able to join our other chickens without serious social issues? What can I do to make life easier for us both?

 

[Chickassan]

I would try to get her intergrated with your youngest chicks now before they develop a pecking order and you really do have issues getting her accepted into the flock. Breeder was nuts letting you just get one anyway if there was an option for two. Also full of crap on the no touching for a week..geeze! Try giving her one on one time with your very youngest, but supervise closely. Good luck.

Hi all,
I am having the same problem, except, well, I ...Hell, here it is. I am a new chicken mom (4 silkie chicks) and the last one we got, Alectra, was only 2 days old. The breeder told me not to handle her for at least a week and to also keep her separated from our other older chicks (1-4 months old) until she got bigger. Had I known this was going to break my heart, we would have gotten 2 to prevent lonliness. Anyway, I thought the breeder was crazy regarding it being fine to sequester such a tiny thing, after all, it's a baby and it needs love, right? Right. So, I made a papoose that hangs around my neck out of a scarf, and put her in there while I went about my daily business.
Ok, so before everyone is totally satisfied that my kookiness is beyond help (like my husband thinks), I feel I must explain that this papoosing of tiny, needy creatures is what I do when neighbors bring me a squireling or a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest and needs constant care and contact to thrive and I have had no previous issues of extreme bonding. So there's that.
So anyway, unfortunately, Alectra soooo loves it in the papoose that putting her to bed at night without incessant peeping quickly became a major sleeping issue for us all since my chicks' current living quarters are in our living room in the tv cabinet I converted into a luxury chicken hutch, complete with a VIP lounge. That being the case, I decided one night, under duress of causing her extreme stress, to hell with it, I'll just let her sleep with us, tucked in her papoose, around my neck. Now, she does not tolerate the hutch at all and won't eat unless I'm sitting RIGHT THERE with my face practically in the hutch with her. And so this is how I've created my little monster. She's not content to snuggle down in the papoose most of the time anymore, prefering instead, to perch on my shoulder or tressed up precariously in my hair. While I like to consider myself graceful, the poise I must attain to keep her balanced is out of league. I can't hardly get anything done. She's about 2 weeks old now and still subject to adverse affects due to stress. Do I just have to deal with this until she's too big for the papoose? Should I just come to terms with this and create some sort of wearable chicken hutch? Will she be able to join our other chickens without serious social issues? What can I do to make life easier for us both?

 

[Shastain's mom]

I would try to get her intergrated with your youngest chicks now before they develop a pecking order and you really do have issues getting her accepted into the flock. Breeder was nuts letting you just get one anyway if there was an option for two. Also full of crap on the no touching for a week..geeze! Try giving her one on one time with your very youngest, but supervise closely. Good luck.

Thank you. I have been intoducing her to our other chicks for a little bit each day, but unfortunately, our rooster, Phyllis (the oldest), is mean to her! He pecks at her as if he's trying to poke her little eyes out . Wth is wrong with him? He's a bit of a bully to our other youngest, Valentino, but is quite sweet to us and our other female, Shastain. Do I need to separate him for a few days to take him down a couple of notches, or what?

 

[Chickassan]

Yeah, i'd give Phyllis some space to himself at least untill you get the girls to play nice. Sometimes when you have a male in with females nearly his own age they get a bit bossy and mean. It will be much easier to get the girls together without him being a brat.

Thank you. I have been intoducing her to our other chicks for a little bit each day, but unfortunately, our rooster, Phyllis (the oldest), is mean to her! He pecks at her as if he's trying to poke her little eyes out . Wth is wrong with him? He's a bit of a bully to our other youngest, Valentino, but is quite sweet to us and our other female, Shastain. Do I need to separate him for a few days to take him down a couple of notches, or what?

 

[Shastain's mom]

Good idea. He's such a big baby, though, he cries when he's alone, or even when I get Valentino out of the hutch, which is weird, since he's the one he bullies. Go figure.

 

[Chickassan]

Eh, he's a boy they tend to be a little goofy. You can always put him somewhere where he can see whats going on and talk to the girls but not physically be a butt.

Good idea. He's such a big baby, though, he cries when he's alone, or even when I get Valentino out of the hutch, which is weird, since he's the one he bullies. Go figure.