Can a chicken be raised alone?

17 years ago

My daughter's 4th grade class hatched chicks and we brought 2 home. When they were about 6 or 7 weeks old one died. I am thinking about giving the remaining one away to a place where she'll have company. We have been letting her in the dog pen all day (without the dog in it of course!) and are keeping her in a cage at night. The dog pen is now actually a "duck pen" where our 2 pekins reside at night. Our male duck is very aggressive during mating season and I'm not sure if he would hurt the chick still. My daughter takes the chick out and she chases her around the yard like a dog and sits on her shoulder. Still, she is alone a lot. Do you think she would be better off as part of a flock? THANKS!

Lynn

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Comments (6)

victoria1
17 years ago
Yes, I think the chickie will be much happier with company. But if you are attatched to it, it would be very simple to get another started chick around the same age for companionship. Chickens are fairly inexpensive to keep and easy to take care of in my experience, and are very rewarding to have around. Your daughter can just as easily care for one....or four for that matter, being that she is a 4th grader (9 or 10?). We started off with 16 and it wasn't all that difficult. They only thing is, you will not know their gender until later (roosters can pose an issue sometimes), and the chickens also need a proper place to live. If you only end up with a few, you may be able to rig something up, but otherwise they need a coop and outdoor run for protection from predators. If you do decide to give it away, I am sure someone with a small flock would welcome it. Good luck!
patrick_nh
17 years ago
It's not the end of the world to keep one alone, but as a social animal, they are more content with others of their own species for companionship. I would tell you what already seem to know, if you don't have the proper facilites to keep her, she'd probably be better off with someone who does.
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GennyM
17 years ago
I'm sure she would be ok by herself, but I think she would be happier with another chicken. She needs someone to keep her company when your not there.
sullicorbitt
17 years ago
I had a similar problem with this little girl:
{{gwi:38253}}

Cleo was hatched with some duck eggs that were given to me this spring, the egg was green like the ducks so she got mixed in. I had a bunch of chicks two weeks older than her but the size difference was too much to put her in with them.

So Cleo was raised in a box in the basement until she was 8-9 weeks old then I tried to integrate her with the others in their outside coop. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with other chickens, she considered herself more of a person. To this day (13 weeks old) she holds herself at arms length from the other chickens and perches on the feed container (trash can) and an old directors chair to keep herself above the others. I know she really doesn't feel comfortable with the other chickens but she really didn't have an option (I'm not into chicken diapers!). When all the chickens get let outside she takes the opportunity to eat and drink. I hope eventually she will blend in better with the others but for now she is managing ok.

The big difference is your chick has been with another chick before so maybe it won't act like mine but there's no doubt in my mind that Cleo would prefer to live as the only chicken and inside as a house chicken.

How old is your chick now? and how long has it been alone? that might be a factor as well.

-Sheila
too_many_pets
Original Author
17 years ago
Sheila,
Cleo is adorable! Right now Nugget is 8 weeks old(she was born May 17th). She's been alone for about 2 weeks now. What do you think?
Lynn
sullicorbitt
17 years ago
Hi Lynn,
considering that nugget was raised with another chick it is probably best that she have a friend to keep her company especially if she is alone a lot. She may have a difficult time adjusting to a big flock though, Cleo does not interact with any of the other chickens she is currently with and in the beginning was terrified of them. It sounds to me like she would be happiest staying with you if you could get her a friend. But that's just me and I'm a crazy chicken nut ;)

-Sheila

Can a chicken be raised alone?

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Can a chicken be raised alone?

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