Raising a baby chick alone?

[henney]

Can a baby chick be raised alone till its old enough to be introduced to my two Ameraucana's? I know chickens are very socialable. We want three chickens total. I am intrested in a Buff Orpington or a Wyandotte chick.
Thanks

 

[gingernutranger]

No. I once had one chick hatch and when it was older it didnt know what to do around the other chickens. It wouldnt eat and was scared of everything. Raise a few chicks and once the one is old enough to be with the others sell the others to someone else or give them away.

 

[silkiesandbuffs]

I bought a lone silkie and it has been fine. It is still by itself right now because it is too small to be with the other chickens.

 

[Souperchicken]

We are raising a lone baby chick right now, due to a bad hatch(roo with low fertility). It does just fine. It was never with any other baby chicks, so it doesn't know what it is missing.

I'm not sure if a baby chick would adjust quickly to being alone if it has already been around other chicks. I know when I've had several together and one gets separated from the others, it has quite and persistent "cry".

 

[henney]

Very good info. I like the idea of raising two then giving one away as soon as they are older, cause I don't want to stress the chick out.

 

[MagsC]

I think it varies. I am on my third time this year raising one alone, the other two have integrated well with others as they got bigger. Will just have to see if this one does too.

 

[chickory]

i had this one chick left over from a bad batch of 3 cockerels and one pullet. the roosters were rehomed and i kept the pullet. she thinks she is a dog. she hangs out with my dog -perching on the top of her chair. now i have 5 new chicks about a month old and "easter" is very tender with them.

i think because she was alone she became more pet-like. very social. if you dont want a chicken that thinks it belongs in the house with the people and the dog you might not wanna raise one alone. LOL

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I would recommend you get at least one other chick to keep with it. I like the idea of raising a couple and then selling or giving away the ones you don't want. If you do have one by itself, I have found that it seems to soothe lonely chicks to put a small stuffed animal in with them. At least they will have something to cuddle up next to while sleeping. I have also read on this forum that some people have used something else, like a rolled up towel.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I think if you HAD to you could raise a chick alone. If you only had one hatch from your incubator, or had a broody who refused a chick, or something like that, and couldn't find another chick around the same age to buy. But I don't think it's ideal, or practical. STUFF HAPPENS to chicks, and you want at least one back-up, or you'll be that far behind in getting your finished flock.

If you get 2 or more chicks then Ol' Murphy will leave you alone and you'll have an extra one to sell or give away. Just don't get all attatched to them both. You might even be able to recoup your feed costs for the one you keep.

 

[Lady_Cluck]

Yes! If it has to be done, it is do-able. Years ago, a small sumatra hen flew up to the rafters of the barn and laid her egg in one of the pigeon's nest. The pigeons incubated it, and it hatched. Well of course I couldn't let the pigeon raise a chicken (I'm not sure who would have been be more confused), so I raised the chick by itself. It was the only chick in the brooder and it did require a lot of attention, but it was healthy and happy. Every night I would take it outside to garden with me, which it loved. When it was a few months old, I slowly introduced it to the older birds. There were the usual squabbles with a newbie, but within a couple weeks everyone got along just fine.

Seven years later, the hen (turned out to be a girl, yay!) is still happy and healthy. She is still very tame and still loves to "help" me garden (see pic below, taken earlier this spring). She's also become the boss of the barnyard and the rest of the flock, second only to the rooster. Maybe she thinks she gets special privileges due to her upbringing??