4 hour old baby chick, any helpfull hints ?

[unionwirewoman]

My fiance' decided to see if one of our hens would hatch out a chick. I've raised store bought chicks before , but never a "home grown" one . I'm not too certain how to handle this little bundle . Anyone out ther who has any advice ?

 

[justusnak]

So, the hen hatched it? I would say...leave it with momma...she should take care of it. Is there just the one?? Just keep an eye on it..make sure she is carefull...sometimes they will peck the little ones...and kill them...but thats pretty rare. I say..leave it with mom. She will take care of it.

 

[unionwirewoman]

the setter does'nt want anything to do with it . when i went out o collect eggs i noticed one of them had been pecked . i thought it was one of the regular eggs but upon clser inspection it was one of the ones we marked . the setter wasn't on it , and when i showed her the peeping chick(twice) she ran away . we even tried to leave her alone with it for awhile still nothing . wehave 19 layers and 2 roosters so we were afraid to leave it too long.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Well, you need a brooder to put it in then. It needs a nice warm heat lamp to substitute for a mommy.

 

[unionwirewoman]

I've put it in a box with a heat lamp . I know how to keep it warm , I'm just not sure how to teach it o drink , eat , etc.

 

[thndrdancr]

Poor little baby, rejected by momma!

You need to keep it warm, I think they say newly hatched should be kept about 95 degrees for the first few days at least. Can you manage that?

Even if you dont have a heat lamp, do you have a clamp on light for fixing cars or anything like that, thats what I am using, set on top of a box and I have a thermometer to check the temps. They will cry if they get cold. Use paper towels under it, as well, newspaper is not good cuz it can cause foot and leg problems with them. Cant think of anything else right now, how is it doing?
Hope all is ok.

Jill

 

[thndrdancr]

oh, thats easy. It can go for a day or a little more without eating or drinking tho.
Dont put water in with it in anything it can drown in, they can drown in the smallest amounts! So whatever you put in, put some marbles in too, or some flat rocks, anything that will keep it from drowning and also use something very shallow.

As far as food, you peck with your finger and they usually get interested. Do you have any chick starter, thats really what they need. They shouldnt eat the same food as the big chickens because too much calcium can hurt their kidneys.

I just had two hatch and I didnt even try to feed them for the first 30 hours.

 

[unionwirewoman]

how about grit ? when should I start that ?

 

[thndrdancr]

ok, with the grit, dont feed it any grit until its starts getting treats. thats later on down the line.

Some on here have given grit free choice and the little ones gorged on it, then they got an impacted crop and died.

Its happened several times so be careful, and not too much grit and ONLY when its starts eating something other than the chick starter. Oh, and when they are real little like that, something like parakeet grit or somethin very small is best, dont give them treats til they are a bit older tho.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Thanks eveyone for your help , it's very appreciated . I've raised tons of chicks you buy from the store but this is new territory for me . I tried to tell my fiance' that this isn't the best time of year to start this...but you know how men can be...haha. We have so many chickens as it is , I don't know why he wanted anymore. The only thing I can think of is he enjoys watching me pick the poop off their butts!