ALABAMA!!

[bamachicks8]

Tomtommom, it's looking good!

X2 I can't seem to picture what your planning your end results on do you have a picture of something similar?

 

[Tomtommom]

Advice needed please...so we got our chicks a little over 4 weeks ago. Some were 1 week old and some were 3 days old. At first we had them together. The older ones were too rough for the younger ones so we separated them. They are now outgrowing their brooders. We have 8 smaller ones (5 RIR and 3 cochin frizzles which are still tiny). The 7 older ones are all RIR. So the older ones are growing like crazy and the younger are not growing nearly as fast. They seem to be much further than 4 days behind. Their brooder is smaller (about 3 ft x 16 in x 16 in high) than the older ones' brooder. The older ones can actually perch, etc. They are now a little over 5 weeks old and the others will be 5 weeks on Thursday. We have the fully enclosed 10x10 hen house ready. Would it be too early to put the older ones in there with a brooder lamp after this cold spell through the weekend? They have most of their feathers already. We have also divided the hen house into a section for them and put a tarp over part of it to help keep some heat in their area. So, we need advice on why the younger ones aren't growing as fast and how soon we can put at least the older ones in the hen house. We are in Shelby Co. Thanks!

I think they would be just fine, as long as you got that lamp available, if they choose to want some extra heat. They may not even need the lamp, but in my mind it's like a security blanket at first haha.

Chickens are tough little critters. They generally don't sleep under their momma at 5 weeks (poor momma if they did!)

On the size difference, maybe parasites? Or it may just be perception.. I have a group of 6 that are a week older than my other 4, and I swear the first group grew faster.. but I think I was watching them so closely, they grew overnight, every night.

 

[Tomtommom]

X2 I can't seem to picture what your planning your end results on do you have a picture of something similar?

It's all in my head... LOL

Fiance drew this beforehand. We made some changes as we went and there will be a few more (I'm doing the roost along the whole length and a seperate nesting area). It's not really true to scale, it looks really long and narrow here.

 

[Wisher1000]

BB - I don't know why the younger ones are so far behind, are they getting the same food/water/treats/supplements? The size of the brooder shouldn't matter that much. As far as the coop goes, if they are out of the wind/drafts and have a heat source where they can get their body temp warm enough, they will be fine. I would suggest you put two brooder lamps in case one buld blows during the night. I would also provide a small enclosed area like a 2x4 box with the lamps inside so they will be comfortable. I had some chicks in an 8x8 room with a brooder box in one corner. There were two lamps and a small door the chicks could go in and out of. Their food and water were just outside the door. They came out to eat, drink, and play, but went inside to sleep and get warm.

 

[bamachicks8]

It's all in my head... LOL Fiance drew this beforehand. We made some changes as we went and there will be a few more (I'm doing the roost along the whole length and a seperate nesting area). It's not really true to scale, it looks really long and narrow here.

Oh I get it now. As someone said you will be forever making changes to the coop. I still haven't decided exactly where I'm gonna place nest boxes perches etc but I think I have a rough idea.

 

[bbdal]

Thanks Wisher and Tomtomom
I assume you are meaning internal parasites? They all get the same feed and water and shavings. How would I begin treating parasites? DE? Sorry to ask questions on this, but we haven't read up on parasites yet.
Thanks

 

[bbdal]

Also, we started with 18 and lost 3 of the younger RIR. They would just appear lethargic and by morning, we would find them dead. 2 died in with the older ones which is why we separated them. We just assumed that they were being bullied away from food and water and being younger they just weren't strong enough to defend themselves. The 3rd one was found underneath the younger ones still alive but then died as soon as my husband picked it up. The last one died about a week and a half ago. Could this all be related?

 

[bbdal]

Also, we started with 18 and lost 3 of the younger RIR. They would just appear lethargic and by morning, we would find them dead. 2 died in with the older ones which is why we separated them. We just assumed that they were being bullied away from food and water and being younger they just weren't strong enough to defend themselves. The 3rd one was found underneath the younger ones still alive but then died as soon as my husband picked it up. The last one died about a week and a half ago. Could this all be related?

I just read that cocci is a parasite - they are on medicated feed and I have seen some diarrhea but it is not like every bird has diarrhea. Should we treat them for cocci and see if it helps? Any natural treatments? Will treatment affect the meat and/or eggs when that time comes?
Thanks again!

 

[bamachicks8]

Crazy little chicks I bought a chick flock block thingy from tsc. The chicks haven't even touched it. Is ok for the hens to eat? Or is it something the chicks will eventually figure out?

 

[bbdal]

I bought one too. Ours are unsure of it also. My husband actually got our largest chick (we think it's a male) to eat it if it is broken off and given to him.