Brand New Week Old Chicks Need Help

[faithtomlinson]

Hi everyone! I used to have a flock of 12 beautiful ladies, but unfortunately they were taken out by a fox overnight and so i decided to raise some chicks to fill the empty space in my yard! I am a new chick raiser and i have never raised anything younger then 24 weeks before. I don't really know what type of food to get, which water and feed containers to get, and what to really raise them in before they can go into the outside coop. If anyone knows anything i would really appreciate the help!

 

[Missy020219]

Hi everyone! I used to have a flock of 12 beautiful ladies, but unfortunately they were taken out by a fox overnight and so i decided to raise some chicks to fill the empty space in my yard! I am a new chick raiser and i have never raised anything younger then 24 weeks before. I don't really know what type of food to get, which water and feed containers to get, and what to really raise them in before they can go into the outside coop. If anyone knows anything i would really appreciate the help!

When I start chicks I usually put them into a big enough enclosed area withy alot of bedding with a heat lamp. i bought non medicated chick starter from a local feed store. i used these kind of waterers and feeders.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Quite a few articles on here that can help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/hatching-eggs-raising-chickens.22/

This one has pretty good basic info: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens.47691/

As far as feed, look for "chick starter" "chick crumble" anything like that. There's medicated (if coccidiosis is a concern for you AND the chicks are not vaccinated for it), non medicated, organic, etc. I admit to being super cheap and putting the feed in just a shallow dish, or you can pick up chick feeders pretty inexpensively, either the style Missy020219 showed or a mason jar style that's round with similar small openings which can be found at any feed store.

Water can either be in a very shallow dish (with pebbles or marbles for safety so they don't drown) or again, there's mason jar style waterers that are very simple.

If you can run electricity out to your coop, you can raise them out in the coop. If you're planning to raise them indoors (either garage/shed or inside the house), other than heat source and bedding the other important thing people seem to overlook is a lid or cover for your brooder, for safety, as chicks can jump pretty high and escape brooders much more easily than people realize.

 

[AstraChick]

i use a cage which i made a liner for so the little ones cant escape through the bars, heat pad which they sit on, heat pad is under the plastic liner. Its summer here and the chicks are inside our house. I have Australorps and they feathered out pretty quickly so i only need the heat pad for 3 weeks. pics of 2 hatchs i have recently done

first few days...

as they start to grow i raise the water/food. water bowl is best to be kept just above their bums to stop them pooping in it.

As they grow i add things into the cage.
These white Australorps went into the outside coop at 7 weeks of age but its summer here so nice and warm for them.

2nd hatch, larger roost to prepare them for the outside coop.

I feed them chick starter
Will depend on your weather as to when you put them into the outside coop.

Good-luck, its so much fun caring for and watching chicks.

edit: from day 1 at night, i also take the food out of the cage and turn the lights off. When i remove their food i leave a light on which lights the corner of the cage where they sleep. This teaches them to sleep at night just like they would with mum. They know when its time for bed when i come in and remove their food. They then go to their bed and start to settle down for the night. About an hour later i sneak in and turn the last light off and they are all settled in their bed. well sometimes they are cheeky and it takes a bit to get them to settle so i start turning the last light off and then on, they get the idea.
another pic of them in the outside coop. they did sleep on the floor under the poop boards the first 2 nights.

 

[Criticalicious]

Sorry for the loss of your flock! I hope you've reinforced your coop to prevent future losses, because even if you've disposed of that predator, if the weakness in the setup persists, another will come along and take its place. Electric poultry fence is an awesome deterrent against most ground predators - highly recommend it.