A couple more newbie questions-Please humour me.

[Hatrick]

Alright so a few random thoughts, questions, observations about my new fluffy bum babies.

So a couple of them have poo stuck to their bums but UNDER their vents. They're not having any trouble going however, should I be washing this off under warm water? I don't want to chill them but I don't want dirty little bums either.

It seems that out of the four one of them is often sleeping by itself as opposed to with the others. This is also the one suspicious potential rooster. Is that a sign?

The temperature in the brooder is just above 90 degrees under the light (they're almost a week old) however since the brooder is so big (75 gallon terrarium) will I need to raise the light in the coming weeks? The temperature in other parts of the brooder range from above 90 to below 80, will they just move to whatever part is comfortable for them?

We don't have a top for the brooder yet. It's about 24" high, at what point do I have to be concerned about them jumping and/or flying out? They already try...very cute.

I think that's it...for now.

 

[Slywoody]

Quote:
Thats the first sign of pasty butt and i personally would get it cleaned up now. ( nip it in the bud so to speak) and then keep an eye on them. About the possible roo; hard to tell. You probably will have to move the light up eventually or you may have fried chicken.
About the jumping or flying out; Mine did it in week 3. Good Luck Woody

 

[gkeesling]

I'll leave my feedback. Others with more experience may have something different to say.

I wouldn't worry about the poo on their butts if it's under their vents. It should dry and fall away. If it gets to much of a build up you may want to remove it for them.

Just because one, that young, is sleeping off by itself doesn't mean it's a rooster.

You didn't say how old they were but I"m assuming, since you said they are new, are about 1-2 weeks old. You should lower the temperature by 5 degrees each week. If you have a wide temp range in your brooder then they will move in and out of the different temperatures based on their comfort. If you see them huddling around one particular area for an extended period of time then you may want to make a temp adjustment in your brooder.

24" should be high enough until they get feathers. Then, depending on the room they have, you may either want to get a top cover or move them to a larger location.

 

[citrusdreams]

Sometimes I remove the poo myself and sometimes I don't. It depends on how it's going: if they seem to be accumulating, I remove. If they're coming off themselves, I don't. Obviously, if they're getting pretty large, I'll remove. I haven't had to this time around. Last batch I had to remove a few. Same for the goats

Sometimes I see a chick lying over by itself. I personally don't think it's an indication of being a rooster. Maybe they're warm or just comfortable a little apart from everyone else.

Moving the lamp is really something you also have to play by ear. The chicks will move around and make themselves comfortable. I really don't go by the book. I go by how the chicks look. I would say, if you see them piling up under the lamp in a mountain, you'll need to move the lamp closer. But as they get bigger, they'll generate more heat. So I'm suspecting you won't have to move it in, but out. Don't forget the bedding gets warm too.

When they make it to the rim of their container/brooder, I put a cover of some sort on it....or if I don't have a cover, what happens is, one morning I wake up and there are a few chicks on the floor and chicken poo on the floor, I have a meltdown and move them all out to the henhouse

My brooder is about 24" tall and I moved them out at two weeks, without a heat lamp, with overnight lows of 50s and 60s. My henhouse is always a bit warmer than outside, and they weren't shivering in a pile, and they've been out there over a week and all are doing well. So I've learned, you don't always have to go by the book.

 

[sjarvis00]

I wouldnt wash them, they take forever to dry, all their fuzz gets stuck. But if their bottom is bothering you, you might try wetting a paper towel with warm water and try to pull it off gently, this way you dont soak them.

I don't really know about the temperature as I am new at this myself but I have some 2 week olds that seem to be doing fine with the different temps just so long as its not drastically different I would think they would be ok, but I'm not positive.

As for the jumping and flying, If they can already get over half way up when they jump or fly I would start looking for a lid! I didnt think some of mine could get that high off the ground. Boy was I wrong, it wasnt very fun chasing them down.

Hope I helped some.