First chicks = need advice

I was told that most don't breed until they are 3 and rarely at 2. So if they did breed at 2 I would be thrilled. I just think in worst case scenarios I guess. I have a 6 year old pair here that has produced lots of babies and never got any this year due to the heat. She laid 3 eggs and stopped. They were too old by the time I took them from her. I sure hope this is our last year of drought and heat like this.

Okay I have differing information from a couple of big peafowl breeders. How long do you keep your chicks on wire? What kind of wire and what size do you use. Does it need to be vinyl coated? How much space per birds. How tall and what size cage do you use for chicks?'How long do they need heat? At what age should you worm them? What do you use to worm them?
How often do you worn them? How often do you worm adults?
Do babies need a roost in their temp cage?
Any other information would sure help.

chicken danz said:

Okay I have differing information from a couple of big peafowl breeders. How long do you keep your chicks on wire? What kind of wire and what size do you use. Does it need to be vinyl coated? How much space per birds. How tall and what size cage do you use for chicks?'How long do they need heat? At what age should you worm them? What do you use to worm them?
How often do you worn them? How often do you worm adults?
Do babies need a roost in their temp cage?
Any other information would sure help.

Click to expand...

ok one at a time... First the post before this- mine started at 2, even without any eye feathers. It helps to have older females too.

1) I don't keep them on wire, I keep them in a solid bottom brooder with shavings. People that do keep them on wire keep them on wire, I think, for about three months. Generally this is when they are considered "not going to die for no explicable reason".

2) I want to say I've generally heard 1/4" wire quoted, but as I don't use it hopefully someone that dose can chime in. Basically what you don't want is to have hole so small their toes get caught and you don't want holes so large their feet go through.

3) It does not *need* to be, but it can't be that nice to be bare wire...

4) Don't know how much space they need if you're talking mass quantities of babies. If you're talking just a few, we kept 2-5 in a long rabbit cage for the first three months, with plenty of outside play time.


5) Start their heat the first day between 95 and 100 degrees. Every week decrease by 5 degrees until they are at room temp. If it drops below 70 where they are enclosed at night before they have full feathers, they should have a heat lamp. Once they have a full set of feathers they are pretty hardy. If they are avoiding the heat lamp, you can lower the temp in the brooder an additional 5. If they are huddling under the heat lamp, let it stay warmer for them.

6) Unless there's a problem, I wouldn't worm them until after 3 months, especially if they aren't exposed to other birds or ground where they might get worms from. I personally use Ivermectin. I give it sub-q because it's easier for me than messing around with their water. I'd worm them on the same schedule as the adults- once in the spring and once in the fall, and keep an eye on them between wormings. Ivermectin "stays" in the system for 30 days after administration, so it should take care of the hatch after any current worm load dies, but not all wormers do that; most just flush the system of the current load. This is good for most types of worms but for something like blackhead, you can get an infection between wormings and blackhead takes a matter of days to kill your birds. So worm them, but don't stop being vigilant just because they had a dose.

7) Babies do not NEED a roost in their temp cage... but it's nice. You'll have to show them how to use it probably- I put one in but mine didn't figure out roosting until they were almost half a year old... I never showed them how, and they slept on the floor in my room. Mine also played with toys- bird bells, cat balls, mirrors. The ones I've raised indoors with enrichment like that are definitely the smarter, more interactive ones of my birds.

Well my lone chick is currently in a rubbermaid bin brooder with some chicken chicks. It seems to be doing quite well. I just know it won't be long before I need to move it to something larger. I have a couple more eggs in the incubator but haven't checked them for viability yet. They have another two weeks before the hatch date if they are developing. At some point of course I need to get them moved outside and I want to be sure I do it all right until they reach that healthy age.