4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[poppy33]

In my job as a veterinary nurse I have aqquired a chic who hatched this morning to hand rear, I have hand reared chics before so i am not too worried about that bit ; but I would love to keep this adorable little bundle who is all fed and snuggled up asleep in the neck of my dressing gown only problem is i have three older girls ( rather ironically one who is at present broody ) I have an eglu that is inside a WIR and i still have the old run from the eglu, has any of you ever managed to introduce a single chicken, I had thought maybe I could make a little box to fit onto the old eglu run and put this inside the WIR so that when the chic is able to go outside and older they would be able to see each other...I feel this probably would not work and would welcome advice or thoughts on this.

[Egluntyne]

Please don't put a chick who is less than 16 weeks old anywhere near older hens. Put bluntly, they will kill it.

 

Have a look at these articles.

 

**Click**

 

and

 

**Click**

 

In any case, your day old chick will need to be kept under a brooding lamp for approx 6 weeks and then gradually weaned off the heat.

[Patricia W]

I think you'll need to find at least one other chick of a similar age so s/he won't be lonely. I know several others on here have done that successfully.

 

I've got 2 aged 18 -20 weeks who have been in a separate eglu to the big ones since they were about 9 weeks, but I'm still going slow with the introductions. They are now separated by netting most of the time.

 

So it's not a quick process.

 

Tricia

[poppy33]

Thank you for the replies. chick is doing well this morning under the brooder lamp and artificial tissue paper wings and its eating really well. unfortunatly its not likely to find a mate of the chicken variety but I have today through my work found someone who has duck eggs due to hatch in the incubator at the weekend so there may be a chance of some company for the chick.

I am not sure what she is but the person who bought her in said she is a gold laced partridge bantam, and a farmer told me today it was a cockerel because under 3 days old when you pick them up and then put them down again the cockerel will always put its feet down first and a hen does not....sounds like an old wives tale to me ,but then it may be right