(Picture of baby chicks just home from the post office. The one looking at the camera with the bump on its nose is a Turkey. Bottom right is a Buff Orpington. Bottom left is a light Brahma. They all looked great when they arrived)Assuming you are not lucky enough to have a hen hatching eggs...you get to be the overlord of the chicks. Their life and health depends on the diligence of the keeper. As babies they are still stupid and poop all over everything PLUS they are cold and small and extra needy. And it is the only time (unless you are insane) that they get to poop in the house. These are the joys of baby chicks.
Arrival
When I get the call from the post I usually duck out and go pick them up right away. They are so loud the post usually calls two or three times in the twenty minutes it takes me to get over there. You get to schedule the day your chicks ship, they arrive a day or two after the ship date. They ship them in at least 25 at a time so they stay warm enough and they don't really need to eat those first two days. I don't know why, but they arrive alive (usually). Since I know the arrival date you would think I would be prepared and all set up...but I never am.
A chick or two may die in transit, but I often have them all make it. Only once have I lost more than two in transit. It was cold (zero-ish) when they arrived with half the birds DOA.
The first couple days are usually the most critical for the new chicks. I have a clip-on lamp with a metal dome on it. I put it on the edge of a plastic lined box. Sometimes I put a big bag on the outside of the box. Sometimes on the inside. Have I mentioned they poop all over everything??? Keep this in mind.
In the brooder box you need to put some kind of bedding or litter. Do NOT use cedar shavings. It will kill your chicks. I put down newspaper and then put shredded paper on top of it. Straw works. You also need to be sure that your box is big enough for a waterer and food dish and room enough for the chicks to move around. The more crowded they are the more cleaning and bedding the box will require. For food I usually give them moist chicken pellets. They turn into a mush when you make them wet. There is also chick starter, but I usually don't bother with it. Water is tricky. They are dumb and will drown themselves if you let them. I fill a jar with water, put a plate on it then flip it over. Tilt up the jar a little to let water out every so often. It keeps the water shallow. After a week I use a cottage cheese container I trim down to 2 inches high. I change out the water once a day and food twice a day. I give them little extras like noodles and veggies. When they are a little bigger they will chase each other around to try to steal the noodle from each other. It is worm like. If you can get a worm it is even more fun.
If your box is warm enough some chicks will be under the light some not. If it is too hot, none will be under the light and they sort of lay down and spread out their wings and look sort of flat. If they are cold they will all huddle in a pile as close as they can to the light. Check them every couple hours the first day.
When the chicks first go into the brooder I take them out of the shipping box one at a time. I gently dip the beak of each chick into the water a couple times and make sure it drinks. I also show it the food. You want to be sure they are all eating and drinking.
The Wobble of Death
The wobble of death is a bad, bad sign. A couple times I have seen the wobble and had a chick pull through. 99% of the time once they get the wobble they are goners. This is usually due to chills or not eating. I anticipate losing anywhere from 2-4 out of a batch of 25. This last round I lost 7, which is unusual. After the first couple weeks you are usually in the clear until they go outside.
You can buy fancy feeders and waterers. I have had them...then I lose them. I find using stuff I have sitting around works just fine.
Daily I add a new layer of clean bedding and then change out the whole box every week or so. I just throw the whole thing away. You can use a tote but then you have to wash it. Have I mentioned that they poop everywhere?
After a week you need to install a stick for them to roost on. Put it about an inch off the floor. Eventually they will all sleep off the ground instead of sleeping in the poop.
Sometimes they get "pasted vents", which is pretty much just a bunch of poop stuck to their butts. Clean it off with warm water if it is really stuck on there. Once they start roosting it is less of an issue.
Every week you can move the light back until around 3 weeks when you can get rid of it. By 4-5 weeks I am ready for them to head outside if the weather is warm enough (40-50 degrees). This is aggressive. I usually lose a couple in the move outside. But by then I am really tired of the smell of them in the house and it gets harder and harder to keep them in the box or to find one big enough for all of them.
Outside I have 3 basic issues. One they fit through the holes in the fence and are often running loose. A loose chicken is an eaten chicken. Two I have to worry about my grown chickens being mean to them. This is usually not too much of a problem but if I see it I get after the big chicken. Three it is hard for them to get in and out of the coop. If they get out and the temp drops at night they can get chilled and die on me. Wimpy breeds won't last a week in my yard. I have spent many hours chasing the little turds around trying to round them up and into the coop for their own safety.
When I put them out I have to be sure there is a watering dish that is not too tall so they can reach it. I also try to give them a box of some kind in the coop that the big chickens can't get into in case they need to hide.
By the time they are too big to fit through the fence they are good to go.
Anyone getting chicks should be prepared. They are really not very smart. They will do dumb things and you will lose a few along the way.
Arrival
When I get the call from the post I usually duck out and go pick them up right away. They are so loud the post usually calls two or three times in the twenty minutes it takes me to get over there. You get to schedule the day your chicks ship, they arrive a day or two after the ship date. They ship them in at least 25 at a time so they stay warm enough and they don't really need to eat those first two days. I don't know why, but they arrive alive (usually). Since I know the arrival date you would think I would be prepared and all set up...but I never am.
A chick or two may die in transit, but I often have them all make it. Only once have I lost more than two in transit. It was cold (zero-ish) when they arrived with half the birds DOA.
The first couple days are usually the most critical for the new chicks. I have a clip-on lamp with a metal dome on it. I put it on the edge of a plastic lined box. Sometimes I put a big bag on the outside of the box. Sometimes on the inside. Have I mentioned they poop all over everything??? Keep this in mind.
In the brooder box you need to put some kind of bedding or litter. Do NOT use cedar shavings. It will kill your chicks. I put down newspaper and then put shredded paper on top of it. Straw works. You also need to be sure that your box is big enough for a waterer and food dish and room enough for the chicks to move around. The more crowded they are the more cleaning and bedding the box will require. For food I usually give them moist chicken pellets. They turn into a mush when you make them wet. There is also chick starter, but I usually don't bother with it. Water is tricky. They are dumb and will drown themselves if you let them. I fill a jar with water, put a plate on it then flip it over. Tilt up the jar a little to let water out every so often. It keeps the water shallow. After a week I use a cottage cheese container I trim down to 2 inches high. I change out the water once a day and food twice a day. I give them little extras like noodles and veggies. When they are a little bigger they will chase each other around to try to steal the noodle from each other. It is worm like. If you can get a worm it is even more fun.
If your box is warm enough some chicks will be under the light some not. If it is too hot, none will be under the light and they sort of lay down and spread out their wings and look sort of flat. If they are cold they will all huddle in a pile as close as they can to the light. Check them every couple hours the first day.
When the chicks first go into the brooder I take them out of the shipping box one at a time. I gently dip the beak of each chick into the water a couple times and make sure it drinks. I also show it the food. You want to be sure they are all eating and drinking.
The Wobble of Death
The wobble of death is a bad, bad sign. A couple times I have seen the wobble and had a chick pull through. 99% of the time once they get the wobble they are goners. This is usually due to chills or not eating. I anticipate losing anywhere from 2-4 out of a batch of 25. This last round I lost 7, which is unusual. After the first couple weeks you are usually in the clear until they go outside.
You can buy fancy feeders and waterers. I have had them...then I lose them. I find using stuff I have sitting around works just fine.
Daily I add a new layer of clean bedding and then change out the whole box every week or so. I just throw the whole thing away. You can use a tote but then you have to wash it. Have I mentioned that they poop everywhere?
After a week you need to install a stick for them to roost on. Put it about an inch off the floor. Eventually they will all sleep off the ground instead of sleeping in the poop.
Sometimes they get "pasted vents", which is pretty much just a bunch of poop stuck to their butts. Clean it off with warm water if it is really stuck on there. Once they start roosting it is less of an issue.
Every week you can move the light back until around 3 weeks when you can get rid of it. By 4-5 weeks I am ready for them to head outside if the weather is warm enough (40-50 degrees). This is aggressive. I usually lose a couple in the move outside. But by then I am really tired of the smell of them in the house and it gets harder and harder to keep them in the box or to find one big enough for all of them.
Outside I have 3 basic issues. One they fit through the holes in the fence and are often running loose. A loose chicken is an eaten chicken. Two I have to worry about my grown chickens being mean to them. This is usually not too much of a problem but if I see it I get after the big chicken. Three it is hard for them to get in and out of the coop. If they get out and the temp drops at night they can get chilled and die on me. Wimpy breeds won't last a week in my yard. I have spent many hours chasing the little turds around trying to round them up and into the coop for their own safety.
When I put them out I have to be sure there is a watering dish that is not too tall so they can reach it. I also try to give them a box of some kind in the coop that the big chickens can't get into in case they need to hide.
By the time they are too big to fit through the fence they are good to go.
Anyone getting chicks should be prepared. They are really not very smart. They will do dumb things and you will lose a few along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment