ive never used a heat plate and almost never get sick chicks .. the trick is using a proper wattage light and getting it located so 1) it doesnt tend to turn the whole brooder into an oven, and 2) it creates a warm spot so it allows the chicks to get into and out of it .... other major factors...
the more the better .. its good to have 3 thermometers for next time, the little digital ones are usually pretty accurate as long as the battery is good .. you can get like a 3 pack of them on ebay for 10 bucks ..
They can go through different stages as they mature and change quite a bit, only advice I can give because I'm not a real chicken hugger is if one decides on their own to be your buddy and fly up on your shoulder or leg Etc never shoo them away.. there's usually at least one that will decide to...
at 4 weeks theyre not quite ready for extremes or very experienced on how to cope ..id say yeah, a couple could die on you with heat like that, so id keep them sheltered from extremes until theyre a bit bigger .. couple 3 more weeks anyhow .. and in a hot climate the coop area really needs to be...
they are too young to be getting violent, id be sure they got enough space, 20+ is alot of chickens if room is an issue ... id definitely 'make some room' by dispatching several im sure are roos ... you dont want to alienate your flock and scare them where they see you as a threat .. best way...
i wouldnt leave them in there lol .. id be quick about it but put them in the brooder and get them eating and drinking ..if the other two make it they make it, they likely will ..
you can tell by how they act... arrange it in one end, and also make some kind of hanger to adjust height .. if theyre trying to hug it drop it diwn some ... if theyre on the opposite side of the brooder lift it higher ... in warm weather its doubtful theyll need heat more than 2 weeks, and ive...
no dont clean them, it greatly increases mortality ..if eggs are dirty on a regular basis its usuallly because the coop is dirty, poop all over the place .. eggs will ooze usually by hatch time if theyre rotten, so i usually candle once around 10 days to remove obvious 'clears' and sloshers...
if theyre good-sized id do whats convenient for you, and get them on the daily program .. key is always plenty of space, older hens will never like immature ones, but as long as they can keep some distance theyll be alright .. i free range mine to, biggest step is them learning to put themselves...
i will remove all the bedding and only leave one or two going if theres pullets in the coop ... theyre gonna use them for a toilet and kick them up so i can just spray them out if theres no bedding ..if all you have is pullets yeah, remove bedding from all of them, block them off etc ... once...
I wouldn't worry about it if they ever eat a little something that makes them sick they'll learn LOL .. chickens have a pretty fast metabolism not too many things they'll eat will actually kill them as long as they can pass it .. I think that's the problem with things like lead in the yard it...
young, chick size, pullets are best imo .. chickens learn from almost day1 and have good memories so you can get them into a routine that works for you very quickly ... if theyre older than a couple weeks they will have already picked up alot of 'habits' and possibly had some bad experiences...
really bad around here are possums, ive taken out 20 or so just this year and if enough of them zero in on your coop, theyll take birds to .. anyway, most problems 'at the coop' are at night .. occasionally you could get a rat or black snake snatching eggs in the day but theyll eat them on the...
birthrates in humans are way down to ... that said lol, if your birds are really young or old it affects viability quite a bit .. sometimes culling is necessary if you want to keep numbers tip top efficient .. otherwise, if theyre basically 'pets' then hatch what you can and take what you get...
be sure they have plenty of water either way .. id of already had them in the coop at 4 weeks, but divided off is best .. only condition that can sometimes be pertinent, is if you only have 3 or less mature birds, usually you can just throw them in there. they wont like it, but add a food...