Topic of the Week - Raising Chicks

[sumi]

With Spring only a few weeks away many chicken owners are thinking about hatching or buying chicks to raise during the warmer months. I would like to hear your thoughts and tips on buying and raising chicks. Specifically:

- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks?
- Tell me about your brooder(s); Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors?
- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc)

Anything you'd like to add?


For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[azygous]

It's Chick Time and BYC suddenly awakens with eager newcomers seeking the sage advice of those who've been there before them. Getting those cute, tiny, helpless fluff balls can be very anxiety provoking. You just look at them and think, one false move and they're done for.


- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks?

So you prepare. That means studying up on what things chicks require for safety, proper development, and over-all well being. Most people automatically think chicks are so fragile they need to be kept indoors in a box with a hot light on them, with a thermometer hung inside like an oven thermostat lest the tinys suffer a little cool-off and fall like a cake in an undependable oven.

Then later on, they are overwhelmed by the constant chirping, poop odors and dander and dust. "When can they move outdoors?" is the common question on the chick forum a few weeks into chick season. Well, I say move them outdoors from the very start!

I brood outdoors now. Gosh, it's so much better for everyone, especially the chicks. They start out where they're going to end up anyway, and there's no stressful adjustment later. They are installed with the adult flock and are accepted as members of the flock early on, making integration a breeze.

I use the heating pad system so no dangers of overheating, and the chicks establish natural day/night sleep patterns, contributing to their well-being. They harden off early to cooler temps, therefore they need no acclimatizing later on. And best of all, you have a clean house with no greasy dander to hunt down and clean up.

- Tell me about your brooder(s); Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors?

I section off a safe chick pen in the run. My run is covered and the sides are protected from the wind and weather. The chicks have their heating pad cave for warmth, and even when it's freezing at night and only in the 50s(F) during the day, they're just fine and manage to warm up when they need to.

They are growing up in proximity to the adults and learning every single minute from observing them. By the time they are given access at age two weeks by means of portals from their chick pen, they already understand which adults needs to be given a wide birth and which ones can be trusted.




By age five weeks, they are finished with their heating pad and can move into the coop with the big chickens. This method of brooding is so effortless and natural, it's really catching on here in the BYC community. I anticipate the day when plastic tote brooders with heat lamps will be laughed off the pages.

- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc)

On day one, the chicks get Poultry Nutri-drench as a precaution and nutritional boost to combat any shipping stress and to get them off to a good start. I make a weak "tea" from it and the chicks drink it for their first week or so.

I feed my chicks fermented feed, but to start them off, I sprinkle dry crumbles on the ground to get them to want to eat. They scratch around and eat what they find and quickly graduate to the FF. I've found that, since chicks have a proclivity to swim in their food, a tiny container no more than a couple inches in diameter is best. I use the plastic cups the icing comes in that you get with those tubes of breakfast sweet rolls and I glue metal washers to the bottom to give them weight .

Growing up outdoors in proximity to the adult flock is the best way to insure healthy chicks since they are picking up immunities from their environment against disease, making them more disease resistant. Chicks brooded indoors miss this valuable "window", which closes after the first couple weeks. Chicks raised outdoors feather out quicker and are more cold hardy because of it. Best of all, there is very little stress involved as the chicks are integrated into the flock.

 

[Lfulvipes]

This is my brooder. But it is based on theoretical knowledge only

. I have it in our below ground basement where the temperature is constantly 55 degrees and with the lamp I can get it up to 95 degrees inside the brooder. Under the pine shavings is a folded tarp so when I need to "change the diapers" I can just fold it up and take it to our compost heap. We are preparing for 8 chicks and this is our first time having chickens. We are very excited!

Am I missing anything?!?

 

[Beekissed]

With Spring only a few weeks away many chicken owners are thinking about hatching or buying chicks to raise during the warmer months. I would like to hear you all's thoughts and tips on buying and raising chicks. Specifically:

- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks?
- Tell me about your brooder(s); Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors?
- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc)

Anything you'd like to add?


For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Nowadays I only use broody mamas, which pretty much takes care of getting them started right in all ways, but before that and when I had chicks to brood without a mama, I did the following:

I brood the chicks right in the coop and right on the same deep litter my flock has been using.





I integrate them with the flock at 2 wks if they don't have a mama and at one week if they do have a mama. I get them out on range at that same age...the quicker they are exposed to the flock's pathogens and the soil's pathogens, the stronger their immune system.




I use a hay bale brooder setup, which makes it highly adjustable for number of chicks, for when they grow and for ambient temps. These chicks are being brooded in an open air hoop coop in 30-40 daytime temps and 20s at night....






I use fermented feed from day one also.




I no longer place ACV in the water as the FF has all they'll need in the way of dietary acid and probiotics. I use nipple buckets for broodies and chicks, as they are just cleaner and puts less moisture into the bedding. With broodies and chicks I use the bucket below...it has vertical nipples on the bottom for chicks and a side cup nipple for the hen...as you can see, I use bricks under it for the chicks to stand on so I can keep the bucket high enough to escape the scratching of the bedding by the hen. If I don't do that the nipple cup will soon fill with kicked up bedding.






I don't use a heat lamp any longer...I use a heating pad brooder setup so they are warmed as much as possible as they would if they were under a broody mama. They adjust to cooler temps faster, they don't develop pasty butt, they feather out faster and they get darkness for sleeping...this increases their melatonin uptake, which is an important chemical for the immune system function(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3645767/).





When I did use a heat lamp, I made sure to keep the brooder size big enough for the chicks to escape the heat of the lamp by providing a cool side and a warm side....water is kept on the cool side and the feed kept half way between the heat and the cool. When using a heat lamp, I always make sure to secure that lamp in three ways so that if the clamp fails, I still have two secure points insuring the lamp cannot come in contact with the brooder walls, bedding or anything else. This can be done with simple zip ties and baling twine on the lamp head and also the lamp wire. Always secure that lamp...can't stress that enough. Check the bulb for a secure screw in and for dust...keep it clean.






Preparations before a broody hatch include preparing individual nesting sites on the ground level for the broodies in the maternity ward. Then moving them and their eggs, under cover of darkness, to their nests. A cardboard box upturned over the nest or closing off the front of the nest box for the next day usually keeps the hen settled on the new nest site. Then it's just feed and water and let the broodies do all the work.









These two wanted to share a brood and that went very well....I'm not always successful at keeping them apart.



Then out on range after the first week and they go off into the wild green yonder. After that the broody decides when to integrate them with the flock, shows them when and how to roost, and weans them when they are ready...average is about 2 mo.

 

[sumi]

Make sure the brooder is spacious enough for the number of chicks and that there is both a warm area and a cooler area where they can go to regulate their body temperatures. I watch the chicks' behaviour in the brooder to see if they are comfortable. Too hot and they will spread out as far as possible away from the heat source and possibly breathe with open beaks (panting almost). Too cold and they will dog pile and/or huddle closely together. Comfortable chicks will walk and/or sit around the brooder, messing about and chattering happily when not sleeping.

The recommended temperatures for brooding chicks (in the warmest part of the brooder) is around 95F for the first week, to be reduced by about 5F weekly until they are fully feathered. I've brooded new chicks at 80-85F and they were quite happy at that, so I go for what their behaviour tells me and adjust the heating accordingly.

Brooder size recommendation as follows:

Up to 2 weeks: 0.5 sq ft per chick
2-4 weeks: 1 sq ft per chick
4-8 weeks: 2.5 sq ft per chick
Over 8 weeks: 4 sq ft per chick

 

[burkechicken]

Welcome to BYC. Great info here. Just be ready for a fine coating of dust on everything. I also raised thee feeder and waterer up on a brick so they wouldn't poop in it. Good luck

 

[jrmiller9]

They like a little roost even when they are little.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm new here! Hello everyone. So we went and got some straight run chicks and I've had them for 2 days. I feel like we already have a dominant rooster. He is larger than the rest of the birds and he will peck at you if you try to put your hands in the cage. He also will give the chicks I put back in the cage a little peck once they are returned. Does any bird do this or is this most likely a roo?

Could be a roo. Regardless, he/she needs some lessons in manners. First lesson being: do not peck the human. While it may be cute, when he is small, cute little chicks grow up to be big chickens, with a peck that is capable of causing some serious injury. When he pecks you, peck him back with your finger. Or, pick him up and then use your index finger on the other hand to push his head down below chest level. Repeat till he willingly keeps his head down when you remove the finger.

This is my first time ever having chicks and I'm a nervous wreck! Can't seem to get the temperature right. Is it normal for them to kind of pile just outside the main lamp space to sleep? Kept thinking it's too hot but it's lower than suggested and they were happy when awake.

I would reduce the temp under the lamp until they go under it for heat. I know that this goes a bit contrary to "heat lamp 101". But, in a small area like this it is so very easy to overheat chicks. You can raise the lamp, decrease to a lower watt bulb, or put a dimmer switch on it. Many of us have ceased using heat lamps altogether, and now use a heating pad to give a much more natural and safer brooding experience. I also don't see how you have that heat lamp secured. IMO it should have 2 methods of securing it so it can't fall or get knocked out of position and cause a fire. It should not be close enough to any surface that ithe surface gets hot to the touch.


- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks? Take the incubator for a test drive: set it up in the room that it will be used in, put some sealed water bottles in it to approximate the liquid volume of the eggs being set. Calibrate thermometers, and hygrometer. Check bator for warm/cold spots and install air baffles to correct, or make note so eggs can be positioned accordingly (I have 2 home made bators.) Read "Hatching Eggs 101" in the learning center. I've hatched eggs for the past 4 years, and ALWAYS read this article before plugging my bator in every spring.

Get your brooder set up. If using MHP, get the frame(s) set up with the heating pad(s) and the covering material. Be sure to secure covering in such a way chicks can't get caught in the material or in any tape or other materials used. Be sure the heating pad(s) work. Start some FF for the chicks, if the adult flock is not already eating the same feed the chicks will be getting.

- Tell me about your brooder(s) For the first couple of days, I brood in my basement/garage in either an appliance box (with a cover) or bring in my 3' x 6' tractor. Shower curtain or tarp on the floor, a nice thick layer of shavings, (and paper towels for the first 2 days). Be sure feeders and waterers are clean and ready to use. Purchase starter crumble if not already using it for the adult flock. When chicks are eating well, I remove the paper towels, and complete the conversion to feeding only from the chick feeders. For the first couple of days, I supply both dry crumble and fermented feed. Then, I remove the dry crumble and switch them to 100% FF.

Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors? They stay inside (basement or garage) for the first couple of days, until they are all eating and using their heating pad brooder appropriately. Then, they are moved out into my spare coop where they are in a 4 x 8 loft for a couple of weeks before being allowed to have the lower 8 x 12 deep litter run area as well. By the time they are 3 weeks old, they are flitting around in that whole loft/run like a bunch of parakeets.

- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc) If hatching eggs, see to it that your flock is in prime condition to be supplying the healthiest eggs possible: My flock gets fermented feed. I let them out to range when I can be available to deal with any predators that show up. We have big issue with hawk predation. I also provide supplemental vitamins, which make a decided difference in shell quality and egg size. If greens not available in my yard, the flock gets sprouted grains.

I have Poultry Nutri-Drench available and use it every other day for the first week or so. If I have stressed chicks (more often with shipped chicks) I might mix up some electrolytes for them.

Healthy guts = healthy immune systems. Chicks are hatched with immunity received from their mothers. This lasts about 2 weeks. That gives you a 2 week window to build a healthy immunity in your chicks. Fermented feed is loaded with probiotics to jump start their gut flora. It also has some extra vitamins that are manufactured by the yeast in the FF. And the anti-nutrients are broken down, so the FF is easier to digest than dry feed. A plug of sod from your yard will give them: beneficial bacteria and fungi to further supply their guts with good flora. It will also give them their first exposure to the pathogens (including cocci) that are in all soils. DON"T PANIC! Cocci are in all soils, and are a natural flora in a chicken's gut. It's only when the bad guys outnumber the good guys that a chicken will get sick. That plug of sod will also give your chicks: their first grit, some minerals, their first greens, their first insects, and perhaps some worms. Their first dust bath, and an opportunity to play king of the hill. They will have infinite play opportunities with it. When they wear that clump out, go get them an other one!

Brooder: Make it big enough. Chicks need room to play. By the time you have their heat source, their feeder, and their waterer in there, there is often little room left for the chicks to move around. The brooder needs to be big enough that the chicks can be under their heat source to warm up, but able to move away from that heat to get to an area that is room temperature. I cringe when I see chicks confined to little boxes or rubbermaid tubs, with a heat lamp shining down on them. It's so very easy to over heat those chicks. If you ever see chicks laying down with wings spread or panting, they are too warm. That is an emergency situation IMO. I like to hang my waterer. It makes it super easy to adjust the height and keep them from kicking bedding into it. A wet brooder is an invite to illness.

Stress reduction: Give them a minimum of 1 s.f./chick for the first couple of weeks. After 2 - 3 weeks, I like to see them have 2 s.f./chick. Crowded birds of any age will engage in destructive behavior. Give them the opportunity to engage in normal chicken behavior, and they will be too busy to feather pick, or engage in cannibalism. IMO the best possible brooding is accomplished with a heating pad cave for a heat source. It more closely mimics the heat provided by a broody hen. MHP chicks will sing themselves to sleep. I've never heard that contented trill from a heat lamp chick. MHP chicks are already adjusted to natural day/night cycles. Not so with heat lamp chicks. They often go into total panic when they experience dark! MHP chicks all go to bed together, and get up together. This encourages normal social and flock structure. Heat lamp chicks are up all hours of the day and night. When one chick does manage to fall asleep, he often gets trampled by the ones who are participating in the "all night jammie party". MHP chicks are very easily brooded outdoors. It's a bit more difficult to brood heat lamp chicks outdoors.

Anything you'd like to add? Don't hatch chicks unless you have an exit plan for the roos, and any chicks that have developmental or genetic abnormalities.

 

[Jester57]

I don’t know if this has been covered before, but I’ve been raising my chicks outdoors in a brooder box in the (enclosed) run. They’re a little over a month old. Temps have varied from 80 down to 28 or so, but the chicks seem happy and healthy. I built the brooder box and set up a mama heating pad using a regular heating pad and part of a tomato cage for the frame. The chicks seem to have been accepted as part of the flock (the rest of the flock has been able to see them since day one. They have regularly been running around outside in 50 degree weather for more than an hour. They voluntarily didn’t go out when it was raining, so I have a pretty good feeling about their survival skills. Honestly, after raising them indoors the last time, I see no reason not to raise them outside with the rest of the chickens.

 

[lkalexander27]

I'm new here! Hello everyone. So we went and got some straight run chicks and I've had them for 2 days. I feel like we already have a dominant rooster. He is larger than the rest of the birds and he will peck at you if you try to put your hands in the cage. He also will give the chicks I put back in the cage a little peck once they are returned. Does any bird do this or is this most likely a roo?