Baby chick poop

[bigdmomma1]

Hi I am a newby chick raiser we have had our chicks almost a week now and everything was going fine and then today we noticed that one or two of them had developed diarehea we are using electrolytes in their water and keeping them clean and feed with the medicated chick starter food is there something I am missing or should be doing asking for help for a first time Chick Mom

 

[megdarling]

I am a newbie as well, have you looked into fermenting their feed? I have dry feed available all of the time and twice a day I put a dish of the fermented stuff out for my 6 3 week olds, they love it. In my observations It firms their droppings up significantly (it's like a person eating yogurt to improve their digestion and gut health) I put a bit of apple cider vinegar in their water as well.

 

[pink lady]

Hi I'm new too but i give mine fresh water and apple cider vinegar once a week just for a day. electrolytes in their water is good but it's like us to much can give you the runs. theirs a web site called "the chicken chick" she wrote a really good post about normal poop and non-normal poop's a little soft is fine and normal if it's not all the time. but if it's really runny all the time I'd try just giving them just water. also are you giving them treats as well as chick stater? when mine where a week old I bought flowers with lot's of leafy greens on them ( the bigger chicken outside love them too) and some shell grit. Hope that helps

 

[bigdmomma1]

Thanks for the advice guys I will try this didn't know I could give flowers with green leafy

 

[pink lady]

our adult chicken eat most of the stuff in the garden. we never get to eat our fresh broccoli as they eat it first. then landlords plans lots of chook friendly plants and they love it! especial my chill plants I'm trying to grow.

I take mine outside all the time but I only have two to look after. you can give your chicks veg scrap, scrambled egg (with out milk or butter) any think you would give your older chicken. just in small lots and remove after if they don't eat it all. they do need shell grit to help their digestion as chicken's don't have teeth and swallow everything whole. but don't worry you can buy it or i make my own. wash your eggs shell out with water, let them dry and crash them up. (to look like the chick starter) not to fine like powder then i just add that to my chick stater when i give it to them just sprinkle a little bit on top each day.

 

[bigdmomma1]

Thank You very much my hubby is really working hard on our coup so we can give them more growing room I appreciate the advice and will try it too again I Thank You

 

[Stephine]

No,no, the shell grit and egg shells are for calcium - only laying chickens need the extra calcium and for chicks, non laying pullets and roosters it is actually harmful. What chicks do need to be able to digest their feed properly is straight up grit as in little ROCKS (not sand). You can buy it in a farm store ( look for chick grit, it is the right size for them) or you bring in a small clump of greens from your garden with the soil attached and they can - hopefully- find what they need picking through that - check to see if your soil is appropriate, just take a handful put it in a sieve, run water through and see what you are left with....
Also, don't just feed "flowers" please. Saying you can feed flowers is like saying you are brooding "animals". There are lots of different ones some good some not.
It is safe to let a chicken pick its own greens to eat outside, provided it has lots of choice. Very different from serving just anything to a chick in a brooder. You need to know what the greens are and if those are appropriate. That also varies a bit by where you live.
Here chick weed, watercress, sow thistle, dandelion, chamomile, radish or mustard leaves are good weeds to give. Also most soft mild leafy herbs (parsley, Dill, ...) and some salad greens or sprouts are good. For tiny chicks just a tiny bit is good.
In terms of the diarrhea, it is not the lack of greens in the diet.
Could they be too hot? Then they drink extra water to cool themselves off.
How much ACV did you add?
Are you giving them electrolytes the whole time? That might be too much.
Are you sure they have diarrhea? Did you see the same chick have runny poops lots of times in a row? If not, an intermittent runny poop is just cecal poop and normal.
Make sure to check their bottoms a couple of times a day to see that they are clean. If droppings get stuck in their bottom fluff they can accumulate and dry and quickly block their vent so they can't poop anymore, which needs to be cleaned up right away or they can die.