Never raise a chicken by itself, bad things will happen

 

  You know how sometimes an idea sounds good in the beginning, but then goes horribly wrong, kinda like a Frankenstein movie?

            These Americana chickens were free ranging out back when they were attacked by a neighbors dog, leaving one hen and a clutch of eggs. The hen was so traumatized that she did not return to the nest. I did not want to lose this breed of chicken, so I thought I would try to hatch out the eggs in the incubator. Unfortunately out of the 20 or so eggs only one chick hatched out.  

            Now I have always been told by my family, that a chick by itself will not survive. As my family has over a hundred years’ experience raising chickens commercially and non-commercially, I should have taken their advice. My wife seeing the chick, gave it a stay of execution. She heard were they used a feather duster as a surrogate mother, and so we gave it a try. Now while this seemed like a good idea at first, it would later prove to be a mistake.

Cookidoo with feather duster mother

             Yes, the chick was happy with it’s feather duster mother, but as we tried to introduce him to the adult chickens we began to see problems. Physically he was a chicken, but psychologically he had no clue as to what he was or how to act like a chicken.

           It began with him hiding in the feather duster when other chickens came around. I understand that if you had not seen another chicken before you might be a little frightened seeing another full grown chicken. Still, over time you would get over the initial shock I would think, but this did not happen.

Cookidoo as adult rooster

           As the chick grew older and finally able to hold his own, I decided to try putting him in with the other chickens. I locked him in the hen house with the other chickens for several days so that he would know where to roost at night. He seemed to get along okay with the other chickens, but was still staying to himself. When I finally let the chickens back out into the run I was surprised to see him roosting outside of the hen house and not with the other chickens. He was an odd duck, and the other chickens knew it. He wasn't a bad looking rooster, but he just did not act right.

        One day I was out in the chicken run feeding the chickens, and I hear around the corner what sounded like someone crushing an aluminum can. I looked around the corner and all I could see was Cookidoo just standing there as if nothing were wrong. I did note that a couple of aluminum cans had blown into the chicken run, but I did not make the connection between the aluminum cans and Cookidoo . I finally came out one day and heard an aluminum can being crushed, and immediately looked around only to see my crazy rooster trying to mate with a beer can. I was utterly amazed as I watched this unnatural event unfold. As I reached for my phone to videotape what was going on he stopped and gave me a dirty look, as if I had interrupted something very important. Although try as I might to videotape him sexually abusing aluminum cans, he always seemed to be aware of what I was trying to do and would immediately stop. 

Cookidoo  flapping wings

         I thought maybe he eat some peyote or something, but there was no real vegetation growing in the chicken run and the feed was clean. This went on for a couple of days before he realized that the hens were a lot more interesting than an empty aluminum can.  After that all the hens were runing for their lives and the Barred Rock rooster was out of breath chasing Cookidoo all over the yard in an attempt to keep him away from the hens. The hens stopped laying eggs for a week because he was always trying to get on top of the hens as they were trying to lay eggs. I was now finding broken eggs because the nest box only has room for one hen, not a hen and a rooster. I tried to put him outside the run, but he always found a way back in. To this day he still does strange things but he has slowed down and the hens are not as nervous as they used to be.

        So the next time someone tells you that you can raise a chick by itself, think about this, "Just because you can do something, does not mean you should do something."

What's a chicken brooder ?

A chicken brooder is what you raise baby chicks in.

A brooder is well worth the investment if you're going to be raising baby chicks on a regular basis. But if you don't have the money they can easily be made. All you need is a large plastic storage container, a couple of lightbulbs some duct tape and stick to go crossed the top. You don't need the lid just the tub itself. The tub should be at least 16" deep so chicks can't jump out. Line the bottom with newspaper, wood shavings or clean sand and suspend the double light over the tub using the stick and duct tape. [NOTE: do not use newspaper or any other slick surface with turkeys or larger poultry, as the slick surface may cause straddle leg and may cripple your poultry.  Also make sure that whatever material you use for bedding, that it is a material that can be periodically cleaned out. And never use colored newspaper as it may contain lead in the ink.]  Make sure that the lightbulb is close enough to the bottom that the chicks can put their body next to the light (40 to 60 W bulbs) but not touching or close enough to be a fire hazard. You should be able to place your hand underneath the lightbulb and comfortably leave it there. If it is too hot simply raise the lightbulbs an inch or so.  The reason I use two lightbulbs is in case one of the lightbulbs burns out. It is important that the chicks can move away from the light if they need to, as they will regulate their own body temperature by moving next to the light and then away from it. Most feed stores use a large water trough with heat lamps suspended over the top at one end. If you have more than 10 chicks at a time, a heat lamp may work better because it will cover a larger area. You should locate your brooder in a place that is free from drafts, away from children and predators such as cats. [NOTE: children should not handle baby chicks as their droppings can contain salmonella and other diseases that children can pick up if they put their hands in the mouth after handling the baby chicks. Always wash your hands after handling baby chicks so you do not transmit diseases to other animals or yourself.]

Old Sears and Roebuck refurbished chicken brooder

    Now normally I'd be using the brooder heater in the back but as I only have three or four chicks the double lightbulb will work out better. The heater is an old heater and doesn't always heat as well as I think it should and even though it is adjustable for this small a number of chicks, the lights will work better. I've added newspaper to the bottom temporarily for a couple of days so the chicks can get acclimated and to give a little added warmth. Even though chickens are not susceptible to straddle leg, I will remove the newspaper in three or four days. One of the things that I think is important to do is to introduce your baby chicks to the food and water. I do this by dipping each chicks beak in the water dish once so they know where the water is. And then I will tap my finger in the feed dish to simulate a mother hen trying to coax her chicks into eating. For the next few days I will periodically monitor the baby chicks to make sure that each and every chick is drinking and eating normally. I will also look for baby chicks that may not be acting normal or any other indicators of illness. I will also watch for fecal matter(poo) building up on their behind's, which can cause poultry to become impacted. If you should see a large build up of fecal matter, use a moist warm washcloth to gently remove the dried fecal matter. Try not to get the chicks feathers wet, as this can cause the bird to become chilled and go into shock.

    As always if you have additional questions you should go to your local extension office. These offices are located throughout the country and are affiliated with your local agricultural University. So if you have any gardening, farming or agricultural questions these offices can be of great value when you're trying to find answers to problems. You can also obtain pamphlets and brochures on a wide range of how to topics. Including canning and food preservation, recycling, and many more topics than I can mention.

    I hope that this post a is bit of help, if you have any questions please feel free to post them in the comment section. I will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. Thank you for checking out this blog and be sure to check out all our other blogs, YouTube videos and websites on other topics.

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