I NEED URGENT HELP

[INNOCENT85]

guys i need a quick answer ,please when a brooding hen starts hatching the eggs how long would it take for it to hatch all of the eggs,say out of nine eggs it has hatched five now....also i don't know if my guess is right but some of my Brahmas hatched there is one black one among them is it buff Brahma or ?am left with three more for the brooding hen to hatch that's why am asking how long would it take her to hatch all the eggs .....and because she has three more eggs to hatch i did not take the first three chick away from her they hatched yesterday so i wanted to leave them with her for today and see if the others would also hatch then i take them all away from her....please guys am i on the right path ???

 

[INNOCENT85]

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.

guys i need a quick answer ,please when a brooding hen starts hatching the eggs how long would it take for it to hatch all of the eggs,say out of nine eggs it has hatched five now....also i don't know if my guess is right but some of my Brahmas hatched there is one black one among them is it buff Brahma or ?am left with three more for the brooding hen to hatch that's why am asking how long would it take her to hatch all the eggs .....and because she has three more eggs to hatch i did not take the first three chick away from her they hatched yesterday so i wanted to leave them with her for today and see if the others would also hatch then i take them all away from her....please guys am i on the right path ???

 

[INNOCENT85]

okay,i want to raise them on my own so i have gotten the wood shavings,the 100w incandescent bulb,and the feeders so i want to know where to place the bulb before and run a test like some two days before they arrive on Sunday.

guys i need a quick answer ,please when a brooding hen starts hatching the eggs how long would it take for it to hatch all of the eggs,say out of nine eggs it has hatched five now....also i don't know if my guess is right but some of my Brahmas hatched there is one black one among them is it buff Brahma or ?am left with three more for the brooding hen to hatch that's why am asking how long would it take her to hatch all the eggs .....and because she has three more eggs to hatch i did not take the first three chick away from her they hatched yesterday so i wanted to leave them with her for today and see if the others would also hatch then i take them all away from her....please guys am i on the right path ???

 

[Ridgerunner]

You have at least five, hopefully more by now. Great!

I have had all the eggs hatch under a broody hen and in an incubator within 24 hours of the first one hatching. I’ve had hatches under broody hens and in an incubator drag out more than three days. I’ve had broody hens bring her chicks off the nest within 24 hours of the first one hatching, I’ve had some wait three days. I do not know how long it will take for all the eggs to hatch. But the chick absorbs the yolk before it hatches, just sucks it into its body, so it can live off of that for a few days, at least three. That way the first chicks that hatch can wait on the last without needing to eat or drink.

Sometimes not all the eggs hatch. That’s just the way it is. But be patient. The broody hen will know when the hatch is over. Before they hatch but after they have learned to breathe air inside the egg, the unhatched chicks start talking to the broody hen so she knows the hatch is not over.

Some people remove the chicks as they dry off. You could do that since you are going to brood them yourself. I wait until the broody hen brings them off the nest but I’m going to let the broody hen raise them anyway. Either way is OK, you do not have to do this any special way.

No that black chick is not a buff Brahma. Buff chicks are going to be a yellow color, maybe just a real light touch of orange but mostly yellow.

 

[Minnowey]

Could your Black chick be a Dark Brahma? Ridge runner gave you some much excellent advice, but I would like to add on and say that. Occasionally, the mother will get off her nest while the last egg is still hatching. Thos has happened several times. We take the hatched chicks inside for a while until the law egg has hatched, then we put them back.

 

[INNOCENT85]

HI GUYS THESE ARE MY BABIES ALL SIX OF THEM THANKS TO YOUR ADVICE BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.............

1.I AM USING A 100WATTS INCANDESCENT BULB FOR THEM CAN I USE IT TILL THEY GET 5 WEEKS ?

2.THEY ARE A WEEK NOW SO CAN I DECREASE THE BULB FROM 100WATTS TO A LOWER ONE?

3.NOW I AM SCARED ABOUT THIS...WHEN I GIVE THEM FEED THEY EAT IT ALRIGHT BUT ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THE DAY,THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE AT NIGHT.AM I DOING THING RIGHT?

4.WHEN WOULD I REALLY SEE CHANGE IN GROWTH.....THEY WOULD BE 2WEEKS ON 4TH FEB....PLEASE TEACH ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE




















































HI GUYS THESE ARE MY BABIES ALL SIX OF THEM THANKS TO YOUR ADVICE BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.............

1.I AM USING A 100WATTS INCANDESCENT BULB FOR THEM CAN I USE IT TILL THEY GET 5 WEEKS ?

2.THEY ARE A WEEK NOW SO CAN I DECREASE THE BULB FROM 100WATTS TO A LOWER ONE?

3.NOW I AM SCARED ABOUT THIS...WHEN I GIVE THEM FEED THEY EAT IT ALRIGHT BUT ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THE DAY,THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE AT NIGHT.AM I DOING THING RIGHT?

4.WHEN WOULD I REALLY SEE CHANGE IN GROWTH.....THEY WOULD BE 2WEEKS ON 4TH FEB....PLEASE TEACH ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE

 

[INNOCENT85]

HI GUYS THESE ARE MY BABIES ALL SIX OF THEM THANKS TO YOUR ADVICE BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.............

1.I AM USING A 100WATTS INCANDESCENT BULB FOR THEM CAN I USE IT TILL THEY GET 5 WEEKS ?

2.THEY ARE A WEEK NOW SO CAN I DECREASE THE BULB FROM 100WATTS TO A LOWER ONE?

3.NOW I AM SCARED ABOUT THIS...WHEN I GIVE THEM FEED THEY EAT IT ALRIGHT BUT ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THE DAY,THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE AT NIGHT.AM I DOING THING RIGHT?

4.WHEN WOULD I REALLY SEE CHANGE IN GROWTH.....THEY WOULD BE 2WEEKS ON 4TH FEB....PLEASE TEACH ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE




















































HI GUYS THESE ARE MY BABIES ALL SIX OF THEM THANKS TO YOUR ADVICE BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.............

1.I AM USING A 100WATTS INCANDESCENT BULB FOR THEM CAN I USE IT TILL THEY GET 5 WEEKS ?

2.THEY ARE A WEEK NOW SO CAN I DECREASE THE BULB FROM 100WATTS TO A LOWER ONE?

3.NOW I AM SCARED ABOUT THIS...WHEN I GIVE THEM FEED THEY EAT IT ALRIGHT BUT ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THE DAY,THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE AT NIGHT.AM I DOING THING RIGHT?

4.WHEN WOULD I REALLY SEE CHANGE IN GROWTH.....THEY WOULD BE 2WEEKS ON 4TH FEB....PLEASE TEACH ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE

 

[INNOCENT85]

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.

HI GUYS THESE ARE MY BABIES ALL SIX OF THEM THANKS TO YOUR ADVICE BUT I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.............\

1.I AM USING A 100WATTS INCANDESCENT BULB FOR THEM CAN I USE IT TILL THEY GET 5 WEEKS ?

2.THEY ARE A WEEK NOW SO CAN I DECREASE THE BULB FROM 100WATTS TO A LOWER ONE?

3.NOW I AM SCARED ABOUT THIS...WHEN I GIVE THEM FEED THEY EAT IT ALRIGHT BUT ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THE DAY,THEY SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE AT NIGHT.AM I DOING THING RIGHT?

4.WHEN WOULD I REALLY SEE CHANGE IN GROWTH.....THEY WOULD BE 2WEEKS ON 4TH FEB....PLEASE TEACH ME WHAT TO DO PLEASE

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are alive and looking healthy so at one week of age they are eating and drinking. You are passed the period of highest danger, hen learning to eat and drink. You are doing great.

What are your daytime and nighttime temperatures? I know you are in Ghana but I used to work in Nigeria. You are still in winter and it can get a little cool. I don’t know how long they are going to need heat or how much.

The best way to manage that is to let your chicks tell you. That’s the way I do it. If they crowd under the heat they are cold and need more heat. If they line up against the wall as far from the heat as they can get, they are too warm. From your photos yours look good since they are spread out. If they are acting too hot you can use a light bulb with lower wattage or you can move it further away, probably by raising it.

There have been times I’ve turned the heat off day and night at 1 week. There are times I provide heat until 5 weeks. It depends on what the temperatures are and what the chicks tell me.

Since you are using an incandescent bulb they do not know day from night. I do not know why yours are more active at night, but it is not a problem. Chicks have been raised successfully with incandescent bulbs for over 100 years. When they grow enough so they don’t need the heat they will adjust their sleep habits to regular day and night.

You will see them growing very fast very soon. They will probably come close to doubling in size a week from today. Within 4 weeks they should almost be covered in real feathers, not that fuzzy down. They really do grow fast.

It will be fun to see how they feather out. You are going to wind up with a flock of many colors, should be very pretty.

 

[INNOCENT85]

They are alive and looking healthy so at one week of age they are eating and drinking. You are passed the period of highest danger, hen learning to eat and drink. You are doing great.

What are your daytime and nighttime temperatures? I know you are in Ghana but I used to work in Nigeria. You are still in winter and it can get a little cool. I don’t know how long they are going to need heat or how much.

The best way to manage that is to let your chicks tell you. That’s the way I do it. If they crowd under the heat they are cold and need more heat. If they line up against the wall as far from the heat as they can get, they are too warm. From your photos yours look good since they are spread out. If they are acting too hot you can use a light bulb with lower wattage or you can move it further away, probably by raising it.

There have been times I’ve turned the heat off day and night at 1 week. There are times I provide heat until 5 weeks. It depends on what the temperatures are and what the chicks tell me.

Since you are using an incandescent bulb they do not know day from night. I do not know why yours are more active at night, but it is not a problem. Chicks have been raised successfully with incandescent bulbs for over 100 years. When they grow enough so they don’t need the heat they will adjust their sleep habits to regular day and night.

You will see them growing very fast very soon. They will probably come close to doubling in size a week from today. Within 4 weeks they should almost be covered in real feathers, not that fuzzy down. They really do grow fast.

It will be fun to see how they feather out. You are going to wind up with a flock of many colors, should be very pretty.

OKAY AS FOR THE TEMPRETURE I THINK I HAVE TO RAISE UP THE HEAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THEY SLEEP A LITTLE FAR FROM THE HEAT AND THE WEATHER HERE AT NIGHT IS COOL ITS STARTS FROM LIKE 5PM SO I PUT ON THE BULB AT THAT TIME TILL LIKE 7AM THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE AS AT 7AM THE NEXT DAY TH WEATHER IS GETTING WARMER ...... BUT CAN I START GIVING THEM ANTIBIOTICS AND COCKCIDLE MEDICATIONS NOW OR I SHOULD FORGET IT SINCE I HAVE NOT GIVEN THE SOME AT ALL ?