I NEED URGENT HELP

[INNOCENT85]

HI MY NAME IS ISAAC FROM GHANA,MY BOSS HAS BRAHMA BIRDS.I LOVE THE BIRDS SO I WANTED TO KEEP SOME IN MY OWN BACKYARD.NOW ACCORDING TO HIM THE BRAHMA HE HAS LAYS EGGS BUT CAN NOT HATCH THEM SO WE GIVE THE EGGS TO OUR LOCAL HEN TO HATCH THEM.NOW I HAVE TAKEN 6 OF THE EGGS AND GIVEN THE TO A LOCAL HEN IN MY AREA TO HATCH THEM WHICH I THINK AM LEFT WITH LIKE A WEEK MORE FOR THEM TO BE HATCH,NOW I WANT SOMEONE TO REALLY TEACH ME HOW TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM ...SOME OF MY QUESTIONS ARE WHAT BULB WATTS SHOULD I USE FOR THEM?FROM THE FIRST DAY WHAT MEDICATION SHOULD I GIVE IN WATER ?CAN I ADD SOME FRESH VEGETABLES TO THEIR FEED OR IF THERE IS A NATURAL FEED I CAN GIVE ETC......

 

[Ridgerunner]

Isaac, is there a rooster with those hens so the eggs are fertile? Unless there is a rooster the eggs will not hatch. I think what you mean is that the Brahma hens do not go broody and incubate the eggs themselves but I’ll ask a silly question.

Is it possible to let the local hen that hatches the eggs raise the chicks for about 3 to 4 weeks? In Ghana you have a warm tropical climate, it just doesn’t get that cold. If that hen can raise the chicks for 3 to 4 weeks you do not need not provide any heat for them. That is the easy solution if possible.

Too much heat is as dangerous to chicks as too little heat. In your climate you do not need much heat, a fairly small wattage bulb should work well. Your goal is to have one part of the brooder to be around 32 degrees C but have other parts cooler if you can. That way the chicks can move to comfortable parts of the brooder as they wish. It’s not a matter of how many watts, it’s a matter of keeping one area warm enough. In your climate it will not take much.

One summer here I had daytime temperatures above 32 C during the day and not much lower than 32 C at night. I turned the daytime heat off at 2 days and the nighttime heat off at 5 days. They did fine, they really did not need the extra heat. In cooler temperatures I provide more heat longer.

I personally do not use any medication or add anything to the water or food. If you are taking care of the chicks instead of the hen that hatches them, the most important things to do is see that they have clean water and keep the area you have them in dry. If you can do that they will probably be healthy.

Chickens do not have teeth so they cannot chew their food. They eat a lot of things that they need to chew. They have an organ called the gizzard that chews food up, but that needs small pebbles to act as teeth. If you give the chicks access to the ground you will see them pecking at the ground a lot. One of the thing they are doing is eating small pebbles so their gizzard can chew food up for them. If you do not give the chicks access to the ground, take some dirt with small pebbles and let them pick through that. We call those small pebbles grit, but the British call it insoluble grit. After they get grit they can eat about anything you eat, vegetables, grains, or about anything else. But it needs to be in small pieces for them.

Good luck. Chicks aren’t that hard as long as you provide enough but not too much heat, clean water, and keep them dry.

 

[INNOCENT85]

YES there is rooster with those hens,thanks for the advice i was also thinking of letting the local hen that hatches the eggs raise the chicks for about 3 to 4 weeks but my friends are also scaring me but i feel since its the hen that hatched them she can take good care of them,but i was told the best is since they are like 6 eggs when they hatch i should use like 60watts bulb for the as heat ........i love the birds soo much

 

[INNOCENT85]

CAN I ALSO FEED THEM EGG SHELLS IS IT GOODS?

 

[Ridgerunner]

After they start to lay you can feed them egg shells. Until they start laying eggs do not feed them egg shells. They probably will not eat them anyway until they start to lay. Egg shells are mostly calcium so after they start to lay hens need a lot of calcium. Egg shells are good for that. But until they start to lay too much calcium can possibly harm the chicks’ internal organs or even skeleton.

 

[Minnowey]

I do not give medication to my birds either, but you might want to give them some kind of chick friendly grit, for their digestive system. For the first 2-3 days you may want to put a VERY TINY amount of table sugar in their water (Myer hatchery recommends about three tablespoons in every quart). As for the heat, Brahmas are a hardy breed and as Ridgerunner said, you have a warmer climate. Sometimes I will put my chicks in something like a warm wool hat or on a heating pad. Heat lamps are not the only option.
Good Luck-Minnowey

 

[Teila]

Hey there Isaac Welcome to BYC!

I agree with Ridgerunner in that if you can, it is probably preferable to leave the chicks with the mother hen so that she can raise them for you; much less stress for you and she will be happy getting to raise the little ones she hatched.

If that is not possible and you will have the chicks at 1 day old or so, Ridgerunner has also give you some good advice for that scenario.

The Learning Centre also has some great articles on Raising Chicks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks

Best wishes with your new little ones!

 

[INNOCENT85]

thank you all but i would need more advice from you

 

[INNOCENT85]

so guys what do i need to add to thier feeds so that i can get them bigger and produce more eggs and also after their first 4weeks do i need to give them some medications as well like some antibiotics or vitamins??

 

[Minnowey]

You may want to check out this article: http://modernfarmer.com/2016/03/how-to-raise-chickens/ I don't think it has the answers to everything you seek, but it has some good advice. Antibiotics and vitamins are not required, but once they start to lay you should definitely give them the egg shells you mentioned.