Just raised two baby chicks without a heat lamp

[amber91]

H

Best to stop feeding the big bird(s) layer and feed them all the same grower/starter or all flock with a side of crushed oyster for those that are laying... This way you know for certain the chicks are not getting an excess of calcium by eating layer feed they might find or manage to get... Once they all start laying you can switch back to layer feed and still keep the side of oyster shells for good measure or even continue with the all flock or chick starter as long as you continue to offer some oyster shell...

As for no heat, it's always best to provide supplemental heat for the first few weeks as it's a medical fact that their bodies at that age are unable to properly regulate their body temp... Sure you will find instances where you can get by without it and not have issues, but that is the exception not the rule...

And the best time to use medicated feed is when the new birds are introduced to the older bird(s) and or moved to an outdoor environment... The medication does little good in a brooder environment where they are likley not exposed to much if any cocci... Once they get moved outdoors or in the proximity of older birds their cocci exposure will generally skyrocket and this is when the medicated feed has the greatest impact as it buffers this spike in exposure and gives the chicks bodies a chance to build up immunity...

If your medicated feed is medicated with Amprolium (almost all US chick feed is) there is no withdrawal period for eggs if the elder birds do eat it... If it's medicated with something else you will need to research that medication for egg withdrawl...

hey I want to know is it must to keep them under lamp for first two weeks?the temperature is 20Cand more in the day time and 17-18C at night.I have bought 3new baby chicks yesterday.I keep them in basket with paper and cloth on the surface and cover with warm cloth at night.Keep them in wire cage in day time where they feel good around surrounded by 2hens and 2roosters.

 

[azygous]

They do need some form of heat during the first few weeks until they grow enough feathers to help preserve their body heat.

H
hey I want to know is it must to keep them under lamp for first two weeks?the temperature is 20Cand more in the day time and 17-18C at night.I have bought 3new baby chicks yesterday.I keep them in basket with paper and cloth on the surface and cover with warm cloth at night.Keep them in wire cage in day time where they feel good around surrounded by 2hens and 2roosters.

20C isn't quite warm enough for your chicks to go without a heat source, and certainly will need one at night. But I recommend the heating pad system, not a heat lamp.

 

[amber91]

...

They do need some form of heat during the first few weeks until they grow enough feathers to help preserve their body heat.
20C isn't quite warm enough for your chicks to go without  a heat source, and certainly will need one at night. But I recommend the heating pad system, not a heat lamp.
[/quote
Have a look how is the setup look like.

 

[amber91]

They do need some form of heat during the first few weeks until they grow enough feathers to help preserve their body heat.
20C isn't quite warm enough for your chicks to go without  a heat source, and certainly will need one at night. But I recommend the heating pad system, not a heat lamp.

a view from inside basket chicks are sleeping .

 

[azygous]

No doubt you've been able to provide a system that preserves your chicks' body heat. Insulating fabric and protection from chilling drafts work to help keep chicks from losing precious body heat.

However, soon your chicks will become extremely active, needing a lot of space. They won't be sleeping nearly as much. How will you provide for their need to warm up during the day as they're busy eating and running around? They will lose body heat and need to replace it. Simply diving into the folds of fabric may not be quite enough.

Think about ways to add heat to your fabric layers. A hot water bottle or heated brick perhaps.

 

[amber91]

No doubt you've been able to provide a system that preserves your chicks' body heat. Insulating fabric and protection from chilling drafts work to help keep chicks from losing precious body heat.

However, soon your chicks will become extremely active, needing a lot of space. They won't be sleeping nearly as much. How will you provide for their need to warm up during the day as they're busy eating and running around? They will lose body heat and need to replace it. Simply diving into the folds of fabric may not be quite enough.

Think about ways to add heat to your fabric layers. A hot water bottle or heated brick perhaps.

yes u r saying right.I will change the box for sure next day and arrange a new setup with 100wattbulb and show it to u.hope itll be a better setup than this one.

 

[amber91]

Hello how r doing .Today morning I made new setup see it plz .I m feeling chicks are not happy as they are not sleeping in lightbulb on.I kept a black warm cloth in the corner,air bubble sheet and cloth on surface and some torn paper.All this setup is in my house gallery air passage is fine as its westopen house

.

 

[amber91]

No doubt you've been able to provide a system that preserves your chicks' body heat. Insulating fabric and protection from chilling drafts work to help keep chicks from losing precious body heat.

However, soon your chicks will become extremely active, needing a lot of space. They won't be sleeping nearly as much. How will you provide for their need to warm up during the day as they're busy eating and running around? They will lose body heat and need to replace it. Simply diving into the folds of fabric may not be quite enough.

Think about ways to add heat to your fabric layers. A hot water bottle or heated brick perhaps.

another look.

 

[azygous]

Your chicks do need to sleep at night, and they need it to be dark to do that. But they also need heat at night.

Chicks a week old also need space to run and play and develop. So you need a large box big enough for them to do that. They don't need the whole box to be warm, though. If you fix up your fabric layers in a corner with a hot water bottle folded into the layers as a heat source, the chicks will crawl into this to warm themselves.

Once they get warm, they come back out and resume running and playing again.

Have you given thought to where these chickens will live once they grow large? They double in size each week, and will be almost full grown in four months from now. If they are female, they will lay eggs around age six months, so they will need a nest.

Two weeks from now, your chicks will be trying to fly out of the box you have them in, so prepare for that or you will lose them.

 

[amber91]

Your chicks do need to sleep at night, and they need it to be dark to do that. But they also need heat at night.

Chicks a week old also need space to run and play and develop. So you need a large box big enough for them to do that. They don't need the whole box to be warm, though. If you fix up your fabric layers in a corner with a hot water bottle folded into the layers as a heat source, the chicks will crawl into this to warm themselves.

Once they get warm, they come back out and resume running and playing again.

Have you given thought to where these chickens will live once they grow large? They double in size each week, and will be almost full grown in four months from now. If they are female, they will lay eggs around age six months, so they will need a nest.

Two weeks from now, your chicks will be trying to fly out of the box you have them in, so prepare for that or you will lose them.

no no I never wanna loose them.It is my 4th badge of buying chicks after a gap of 5months because there was respiratory disease by which they all suffered and died after my extream care no medicine worked for them.In first 3weeks they were healthiest chicks I ever had but after that suddenly one two them then all started showing symptoms of CRD.So I m afraid because i don't want to see all that again.And i have other different arrangments in the roof area as the will grow up I will move them there.