Adding Chicks

[azygous]

1. You will know it's not going to work if you see the older chicks chasing the babies around the brooder, and their terror will be very obvious.

2.Chicks will wean themselves off their heating pad. You only need to keep raising the center of the pad so the chicks have the option of continuing to make direct contact with the pad by using the sides where the ceiling is lower or remaining in the center where the height makes it cooler on the floor.

By this method, two age groups are able to use the heating pad at the same time. The new chicks will hunker at the sides where the ceiling is ow enough to make direct contact. It will look something like this:View attachment 2093416 You would want to flatten out the lower part of the sides, though, to accommodate the heat needs of the new chicks and turn the setting up to high. The older chicks will be happy to sleep in the center as you see this chick doing or they will be sleeping just outside the entrance.

The beautiful thing about the heating pad sysem is that it can easily accommodate the heat needs of different age groups at the same time. The chicks themselves make the necessary adjustments to meet their individual needs.

3. If you are lucky and the chicks all get along well as a unit, you will move them to the coop as a unit, just as if they were all the same age.

What I suggest is to move all the chicks to the coop when the older ones are six weeks old by moving the heating pad setup with them. Chances are that your older chicks will have stopped using the heating pad to sleep under by age four to five weeks. Moving them all to the coop should result in the older ones sleeping just outside the heating pad in order to be near their younger mates, and the younger ones will gradually wean themselves off the heating pad, depending on the night temperatures, by age four to five weeks. When all the chicks are sleeping outside of the heating pad, you can then remove it.

By the way, I always use the heating pad to transition my chicks to the coop since it's familiar to them and gives them a sense of security even though they are no longer needing it to be actually on and providing any heat. View attachment 2093416After I remove the heating pad after a night or two, I give the chicks an old cat bed to sleep in to further transition them. It certainly reduces the stress of change for them, and within a week, they can be taught to roost.View attachment 2093429

 

[azygous]

1. You will know it's not going to work if you see the older chicks chasing the babies around the brooder, and their terror will be very obvious.

2.Chicks will wean themselves off their heating pad. You only need to keep raising the center of the pad so the chicks have the option of continuing to make direct contact with the pad by using the sides where the ceiling is lower or remaining in the center where the height makes it cooler on the floor.

By this method, two age groups are able to use the heating pad at the same time. The new chicks will hunker at the sides where the ceiling is ow enough to make direct contact. It will look something like this:View attachment 2093416 You would want to flatten out the lower part of the sides, though, to accommodate the heat needs of the new chicks and turn the setting up to high. The older chicks will be happy to sleep in the center as you see this chick doing or they will be sleeping just outside the entrance.

The beautiful thing about the heating pad sysem is that it can easily accommodate the heat needs of different age groups at the same time. The chicks themselves make the necessary adjustments to meet their individual needs.

3. If you are lucky and the chicks all get along well as a unit, you will move them to the coop as a unit, just as if they were all the same age.

What I suggest is to move all the chicks to the coop when the older ones are six weeks old by moving the heating pad setup with them. Chances are that your older chicks will have stopped using the heating pad to sleep under by age four to five weeks. Moving them all to the coop should result in the older ones sleeping just outside the heating pad in order to be near their younger mates, and the younger ones will gradually wean themselves off the heating pad, depending on the night temperatures, by age four to five weeks. When all the chicks are sleeping outside of the heating pad, you can then remove it.

By the way, I always use the heating pad to transition my chicks to the coop since it's familiar to them and gives them a sense of security even though they are no longer needing it to be actually on and providing any heat. View attachment 2093416After I remove the heating pad after a night or two, I give the chicks an old cat bed to sleep in to further transition them. It certainly reduces the stress of change for them, and within a week, they can be taught to roost.View attachment 2093429

 

[azygous]

Ignore those "View attachments". I was trying to post some photos, know darned well I did it correctly, but it wouldn't let me. So here is one of the photos.

 

[azygous]

And here's the other one. (Stupid system can't discourage me.)

 

[Lumikko]

@azygous - thank you for this! I appreciate the detailed follow up to my questions. It's incredibly helpful. This chick adventure has been a lot of fun. I thought I had a good baseline understanding when we picked them up (been reading up for about a year) but the questions that have come up have been unexpected!

Final follow up (for now) - would you put the chicks together as soon as I bring the newbies home or give them a day or so?

 

[azygous]

Put them together right away. But watch closely for signs of conflict.

It's normal for the new chicks to receive a "greeting" with a little peck on the head. Beyond that, chicks should settle down right away to being chicks, running around, exploring the brooder, and playing with each other as you've probably become accustomed to.

Chicks normally want to be in a chick crowd. They're like five-year old kids who haven't grown old enough yet to have biases about appearances and they will be thrilled to make new friends unconditionally. Watch for the sort of terrorizing I mentioned. That will signal this probably won't work.

 

[azygous]

Here's an unsolicited tip for if you have a bully. If one larger chick becomes fixated on pecking at another chick, even one its own size, give it a sharp "peck" on the back with the tip of your finger.

Stand watch for a few minutes. Each time the bully chick goes after another, be ready to "peck" it. Anticipating the bully move with a preemptive peck is even more effective, kind of like mom knowing what you're thinking of doing naughty even though her back is turned. Being called out for something you're just thinking of doing is just as effective with a chick.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's an unsolicited tip for if you have a bully. If one larger chick becomes fixated on pecking at another chick, even one its own size, give it a sharp "peck" on the back with the tip of your finger.

Stand watch for a few minutes. Each time the bully chick goes after another, be ready to "peck" it. Anticipating the bully move with a preemptive peck is even more effective, kind of like mom knowing what you're thinking of doing naughty even though her back is turned. Being called out for something you're just thinking of doing is just as effective with a chick.

I love this, @azygous! My one BJG chick was very bright and bold from the beginning (in my batch of BA chicks). I was afraid he might turn aggressive so when he started charging at me at about a week to ten days old while cleaning the brooder I knew I had to put a stop to it right away. He ran into my hand with his chest so I pushed him back. He charged my hand again and I did it again, harder. He did it a third time and I repeated it, harder still. He stood back and thought about it and then backed off. He's about ten weeks old now and has not tried it again, although he always comes to the front and seems interested in what I'm doing.