Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

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amrowe
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Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by amrowe »

Came home today to find a chick in a cardboard box in the greenhouse. It turned out my hairdresser's neighbour had bought some chicks at a market but his wife is allergic to them and he needed to get rid of them. One had died already, but this one is still living and now in my care!!

I am guessing it is only a few days old as he bought them at a market on Saturday as one day old chicks. Anyway, I have no heat lamp so don't know what to do to keep it warm. Currently the box is sitting on a hot water bottle to give it a bit of warmth but not sure if this is too much or too little.

I do have some chick feed as we have our silkie hen sitting on some eggs at the moment, so prepared for her to look after them so will put some of that in the box. I also have a drinker that I will put in the box as the wee pot keeps getting tipped up.

Anyone with some advise as I can only find information about keeping them with heat lamps?

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Mo
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by Mo »

That is disgraceful. Just abandoning them without asking you. And the market for selling them to people who know nothing about what is needed.
Good luck (but don't blame yourself if the outcome is bad). Have you got an adjustable desk-lamp? Or a bulb holder on a flex? If the chicks (!) huddle together under the lamp they are cold so you need to lower it, if they are at the far corner of the box too hot, raise the lamp.

Maybe slip it under the hen at night and be prepared to rescue it in the morning if she hasn't taken it???
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kitla
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by kitla »

I think in your situation I'd use something like a desklamp (as suggested) also put something in the box - (I presume you have it in a cardboard box) that it can snuggle up to, like a scarf or feather duster. Silkies are reputed to be wonderful mums, maybe yours will adopt the extra chick when her eggs have hatched.
Let us know how you get on - you may end up with a house chicken!
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p.penn
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by p.penn »

Seriously unimpressed with your neighbour {mr.angry}

The hot water bottle should do the trick for the time being, but looking after a couple of chicks myself at the moment, I am surprised how much warmth they need.

I was thinking along the same lines as Mo re your broody girl, but have no idea if it would work. I would at least put in a little fluffy toy with the chick to keep it company and give it a snuggle partner.

Good luck, keep us posted please.
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amrowe
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by amrowe »

She has survived the night and seems to be eating really well and pooing too. In the end we used an oil filled radiator and sat half the box on that and the other half rested on the chair. I didn't think of a desk lamp which we have. The bulbs are energy saving so not sure how much heat they let out.

At the moment she is in the greenhouse again. I don't know if that is good or bad. Temps about 20 C today and have no thermometer to measure the temp inside the greenhouse. the greenhouse door is a jar. I am guessing it is warm enough but not sure if it will be too warm and the chick will have nowhere to escape to. Do you think I should do the lamp instead even with an low wattage bulb?

I was thinking that our silkie might take to her but she has a couple more weeks to go before the eggs will hatch.
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kitla
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by kitla »

If the chick is only days old I think it should be indoors in a cardboard (or cardboard lined) box for regular warmth. When I've hatched chicks with a broody they've spent at least half the day snoozing in the warmth of their mum's feathers. I dont think a low energy bulb will give out much heat, I think you'll need to swap it for an old style bulb. Shame you dont live near Northants, I have an electric hen chick warmer collecting dust.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
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amrowe
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by amrowe »

I have tried the bulb but there is little heat, so I have gone back to the heater underneath. Thankfully the weather has been wonderful and so outside has been great in the greenhouse but the few times the clouds came over was thinking whether it might get a bit cold.

There certainly doesn't seem to be any dozing at all during the day but maybe I should have kept the towel over the box. I am heading to Lidl and can nip into Home Bargains and remember seeing some old style bulbs but that was probably a year or two ago so might just have been old stock. I have just remembered while writing this, the bulb in the garage is an old style so I might be alright after all.
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gardenergirl
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Re: Chick left in my greenhouse! What do I do?

Post by gardenergirl »

Hi amrowe, just wondering how the little guy/girl got on? Did it survive?

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