Almost 4 weeks old- bad behavior?

[Baysidegal]

First time Chicky Momma here.
My girls are three weeks old and currently in a play pen in the house. It’s been warm during the day so I’ve only used the heat lamp at night.
1. They seem to be starting to be mean to each other, flying at each other.?
2. Medicated or non medicated feed?
3. When do I start giving them grit and DE for bathing ?
4. Are they too young to go outside for about an hour in their yard that is waiting for them?

 

[Mamatomany123]

1. Very normal for males and females. Its how they play.
2. Depends on what you want to feed. I've never fed medicated feed to any of my chickens.
3. You can give grit whenever they start to eat anything other than chick crumble. Ibe never provided grit. Mine have always found what they needed from the ground.
4. As long as the outside space is predator proof they should be fine going out. My babies have had access to the run since 2 weeks old.

I also would wean them from the heat. At 4 weeks they should no longer need it.

 

[Rammy]

First time Chicky Momma here.
My girls are three weeks old and currently in a play pen in the house. It’s been warm during the day so I’ve only used the heat lamp at night.
1. They seem to be starting to be mean to each other, flying at each other.?
2. Medicated or non medicated feed?
3. When do I start giving them grit and DE for bathing ?
4. Are they too young to go outside for about an hour in their yard that is waiting for them?

1. They are establishing pecking order.
2. Medicated for 3 weeks, then regular after that is what I do.
3. They should have grit available with thier chick feed. Im not sure if doing DE is wise since it can cause respiratory problems.
4. They can stay outside all the time now if they are fully feathered.

 

[WallyG74]

All good advice. BUT, don’t throw that heat lamp away just yet. I took mine off heat at 3 weeks, but the heat lamp came in handy during training. If I wanted them in a certain place at dark then I would hang the heat lamp like a beacon for them. It worked twice. Once for the baby brooder house and more recently when they went to live with the big girls. I learned that from BYC. Keep reading and you’ll feel like an expert in no time!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My fencing at the moment is chain link. I have shade cloth for the run, but it’s not up yet.

Chain link can be iffy with chicks - small enough ones can squeeze out. If you don't have time to augment it with hardware cloth, something like cardboard ziptied in place could do in a pinch, or you'll just need to supervise.

Also since you mentioned shade cloth, is there shade available for them to use in the run area? Even if it's just an hour they still need to be able to get relief from heat if they need it, especially since many areas of the US (if that's where you are) have been extremely hot this year.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Their heat lamp is off per your suggestion. It’s about 70-75 degrees in the house. But they have been screaming MOST of the day. Is it the age? (4 wks) or am I missing something? They have food and water.......

Other than turning off the heat lamp did you make any other changes? I would expect them to be upset at losing the heat lamp because they've become accustomed to having the light on at night, but that doesn't account for the daytime if you'd already been leaving it off during the day.

 

[birdlover2]

1. They are likely establishing a pecking order, they'll chase eachother and peck and males may fly at eachother and have skirmishes but this is all part of growing up and what cockerals and pullets do. As long as nobody is drawing blood let them be, they need to establish a pecking order now to prevent problems later
2. I don't think my mother has ever given hers medicated feed, and I don't know the benefits vs the cons, others on here know more than me
3. DE can be used for killing mites and other things. It can cause respiratory problems and such so you may want to only dust them if they have mites and such, but I've never had problems giving it to chickens every once in a while. Grit should be provided just in case, but if they aren't using it that's alright
4. You can start putting them out in the run, I would supervise cause I'm a cautious nervous person, but that's just me lol, is your run covered? Can predators dig under? How big are the holes in your chicken wire/netting?

 

[birdlover2]

My fencing at the moment is chain link. I have shade cloth for the run, but it’s not up yet.

So then I would let them out in the run only when able to supervise. Go ahead and put them out there for an hour, as long as you're watching them

 

[Sammi_0411]

Oh and mine came off heat lamp at 4 weeks they doing fine have it on hand just incase tho xx

 

[Baysidegal]

Other than turning off the heat lamp did you make any other changes? I would expect them to be upset at losing the heat lamp because they've become accustomed to having the light on at night, but that doesn't account for the daytime if you'd already been leaving it off during the day.

They were fine last night w the lamp off but this morning one of them started complaining loudly! They are all quite loud right now. Are they coming into their voice? They just seem upset about something and I don’t read chicken lips very well yet.