Baby chicks

[Trisha Oden]

Hello,
I have 21 new baby chicks. I know the basics like food, water, heat. I keep their area really clean. I had 10 chickens in the past that I raised from chicks to almost full grown till something got in my coop and killed everyone one of them. But these new chicks are doing a few things the other chicks didn't due that I don't know if it's normal. One thing is my youngest chicks are trying to get under the older chicks. Is that normal behavior? Second my olderror chicks are rolling around and trying to throw their food that dumpsychological out on to them selves. Again my last chicks didn't do theverything things any advice would help.

 

[pilch]

Are they just cuddling up? Temperature warm enough? If temp is good, I wouldn't worry about it.

If your chicks have the room to roll around in their feed, change your feeding container set up lol try something like below. You could even put the feed on the wire mesh as well so it falls into the bowl underneath if spilled.

Some info I've gathered over the years that applies to new chicks:

Temperature:
Day 1-2, if it’s warm enough (90 degrees)
Day 3, 88 degrees
Day 4, 86 degrees
Day 5, 82 on can handle 4 degrees less per day.
By Day 10, 62 degree

The above temp can obviously vary but it is a good starting point.

Magic Water Recipe:
1/2 gal warm water
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup honey

Good luck!
Steve

 

[Trisha Oden]

Are they just cuddling up? Temperature warm enough? If temp is good, I wouldn't worry about it.

If your chicks have the room to roll around in their feed, change your feeding container set up lol try something like below. You could even put the feed on the wire mesh as well so it falls into the bowl underneath if spilled.


The long red thing with multiple holes is what the have now.

View attachment 1186512

Some info I've gathered over the years that applies to new chicks:

Temperature:
Day 1-2, if it’s warm enough (90 degrees)
Day 3, 88 degrees
Day 4, 86 degrees
Day 5, 82 on can handle 4 degrees less per day.
By Day 10, 62 degree

The above temp can obviously vary but it is a good starting point.

Magic Water Recipe:
1/2 gal warm water
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup honey

Good luck!
Steve

 

[debid]

Hello,
I have 21 new baby chicks. I know the basics like food, water, heat. I keep their area really clean. I had 10 chickens in the past that I raised from chicks to almost full grown till something got in my coop and killed everyone one of them. But these new chicks are doing a few things the other chicks didn't due that I don't know if it's normal. One thing is my youngest chicks are trying to get under the older chicks. Is that normal behavior? Second my olderror chicks are rolling around and trying to throw their food that dumpsychological out on to them selves. Again my last chicks didn't do theverything things any advice would help.

I'm having a hard time reading around the speech typing errors but I think I figured it out.

You have chicks ducking under other chicks. This can be for security, warmth, or when seeking shade from a baking hot heat lamp. I use a mama heating pad brooder now so they get all of those needs met by their fake mama and interestingly, that particular behavior vanished.

The throwing food out and then rolling and tossing it onto themselves sounds like they are dustbathing in their spilled feed. Try giving them a bin of dirt and see if they like dustbathing in it better.

 

[Trisha Oden]

Sorry for the errors my phone was a little slow last night. But thank you for the advice will fix the heat to see if it helps.

 

[lazy gardener]

How much space do they have? Recommended: 1 s.f. open space per chick to start. By the time they are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have 2 s.f./chick. Heating pad brooder IMO is the best and most natural way to go, makes it almost impossible to make heating related mistakes. It does not overheat the brooder, and the chicks can more easily self regulate their temp. They are not exposed to bright light 24/7, get acclimated to normal wake/sleep cycles. It cuts down on aggression behaviors. And they are comforted by the warm dark cave, much as they would be by a broody hen.

With any artificial heat, it's important to remember that the brooder is only a container that should keep the chicks together and safe from external harm. The heat source is a tiny part of that brooder and absolutely should not heat all of the brooder. It only needs to heat a foot print of space big enough for all the chicks to duck under to warm up, before they go back out to eat, play, and explore in the rest of the much cooler brooder.