best tips to a new chick Mom?

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G’Day from down under Miss Chickpea :frow Welcome!

You might be interested in downloading this free e-book My First Year With Chickens

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

BYC has Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group. This one may be of interest to you:
Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Chickens

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out ;)

Best wishes for the New Year!
 
Blooie said:
Pine shavings are wonderful, as Welshies has said. They stay dry, smell great, and a relatively inexpensive bag of them decompresses when you open it to cover a lot of territory. For chicks I'd strongly recommend large flake..and covering them with paper towels at first because a few dummy little chicks WILL try to eat them! I happened to use straw over MHP outside because of the insulating properties....and because someone gave us several bales I needed to use up! ;) This video was taken a few years ago. But pine shavings do work on top of, around, and under MHP as well.

In my coop and run, I primarily used pine shavings for deep litter at first, but found after a few years when doing a major clean out that what I had wasn't good, rich compost - it was gray pine shavings, still easily recognizable after their years in there. Well, what to do? I liked pine shavings for all the things we've outlined, but I wanted true deep litter, not deep bedding. True deep litter means decomposition. So on the advice of @Beekissed, a lady much smarter than me, with 40 years of chicken experience and the most stunningly healthy birds I'd ever seen, I switched to leaves, garden scraps and refuse, pulled weeds, pine needles, wood chips - a total hodgepodge of compostable materials....and then I did get true deep litter. But for the brooder, I still preferred shavings or straw. The chicks spend so much time on top of the heating pad cave that leaves would have quickly become matted, soaked and slippery. I don't have that issue in the coop or run, but 20 chicks in a confined area like a brooder puts a whole new spin on things! Glad you enjoyed the video! If you decide to try MHP, come on over to the thread and join the Broody Brigade. :frow
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We have lots of that on the property! Maybe start with shavings (large, then move to smaller while they are inside) and add to that with the garden scraps when they go into the coop. What about footing for the run? I wanted grass, but assume that will last a Week before they eat it all. We will be doing a permanent coop, not a tractor.
 
Oh, I'd say you have a while to peruse, research and decide on the coop and run yet. :D I'd focus on the brooder, and large pine shavings, covered with paper toweling for the first couple of days, would be fine for that. If you decide to stay with pine shavings when they are older, the size of the flakes becomes less of an issue. If large ones are available, use them. Run out and all that the feed store has are small ones? No problem - toss 'em in. The only thing I'd avoid, if it was me, is cedar. The jury is out and I've read conflicting advice, but the general consensus is that cedar can be toxic, and until anyone comes out with irrefutable proof otherwise I'll stick to that. They will destroy grass in a run - and they aren't too kind to it in a small yard, either. So you'll need to put something down in there when they are living out there - if for no other reason than to keep down the mud. Some folks like sand, too.
 
Welshies said:
No no no. Never news paper, it causes straddle or spraddle leg. Towel would be good. Some chicks eat shavings some don't- mine never did, so it's up to you.
If you want to do the deep litter method I highly suggest shavings. Cheap, easy to aerate, easy to see when dirty, and naturally very light.
Make little "lips" or ledges before doorways and chicken doors to help contain your shavings too! A 2x2 works well for me.
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Ok, towels it is! Thanks for the tips
 
Blooie said:
Oh, I'd say you have a while to peruse, research and decide on the coop and run yet. :D I'd focus on the brooder, and large pine shavings, covered with paper toweling for the first couple of days, would be fine for that. If you decide to stay with pine shavings when they are older, the size of the flakes becomes less of an issue. If large ones are available, use them. Run out and all that the feed store has are small ones? No problem - toss 'em in. The only thing I'd avoid, if it was me, is cedar. The jury is out and I've read conflicting advice, but the general consensus is that cedar can be toxic, and until anyone comes out with irrefutable proof otherwise I'll stick to that. They will destroy grass in a run - and they aren't too kind to it in a small yard, either. So you'll need to put something down in there when they are living out there - if for no other reason than to keep down the mud. Some folks like sand, too.
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Okay so paper towel is a good option? I guess layered for easy cleaning. I read that somwhere...ever daynor twice a day pull up a layer for a clean floor. Would you put wood chips in a run? No cedar, got it!
 
Teila said:
G’Day from down under Miss Chickpea :frow Welcome!

You might be interested in downloading this free e-book My First Year With Chickens

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

BYC has Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group. This one may be of interest to you:
Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Chickens

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out ;)

Best wishes for the New Year!
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Thank you so much:) I'm just learning how to navigate this site so the tips are appreciated! I can't wait to share pics of my babies!:)
 
Hi and welcome to BYC :frow We're so happy you've decided to join us:ya

You've gotten great advice and a lot to think about. I'll touch on feed a bit, but understand that how we feed our birds is likely different for many. You'll need a balanced feed ration for your birds. I start mine with a 22% protein for the first 3-6 weeks then transition them to an 18%. I have a mixed flock right now so I stay at 18% until the young ones are full grown, then I'll transition to 16%.

Treats should be kept to less than 10% of total diet. Treats/other feed ingredients dilute the protein, vitamins and minerals in your balanced ration and also effect the balance of amino acids. Nutritionists design their feed blends around this 10% rule.

There is no real need to transition to a layer mix because you can provide oyster shell on the side and they'll consume it as needed. Too much calcium can shorten the lifespan of your birds, if they're not using it. If you want to transition to a layer once they start laying, that's fine too, but I still provide Oyster Shell free choice.

You'll want to provide grit of appropriate size free choice at all life stages of life.
 

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