Brooding Chicks In November

[CatsAndChickensAndDogs]

Hi y’all, this is my first time posting here
I’m getting 4 chicks next week, and they’re all gonna be around 2 week old when I get them. Breeds are unknown as my friends who’s giving them to me was hatching eggs donated by a local farmer
I’m currently wondering about the temperatures we have, right now they range from 4-10 degree Celsius. I want the chicks to have some outside time, would they be ok going out for about 30-minutes everyday?
Also concerned about breed mixing. I currently have 3 silkies, one rooster and 2 hens. The hens are extremely docile, while the rooster is the opposite and can be territorial. The chicks are supposed to be like, regular chicken size. Will my silkies get bullied by the chicks even if they’re older? Or will the silkie rooster try to attack them?
(Orange guy is rooster, brownish grey are hens)

Thanks for advice!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi, and welcome to BYC!

Your silkies are beautiful!

I'd take those little ones out for a bit and you'll see if they're getting too cold. It would be good for them to get outside now and then when temps permit. That's a little too cold for them to be outside for too long though, but a couple of more weeks should make a huge difference.

What I think will happen down the road is everyone should be able to get along as your silkies will stick together as their own clan, as will these new ones. If you've got some new cockerels in that batch, if they stay with their own, it should still be okay depending on how many you wind up with.

The perfect scenario would be if you have no new cockerels and your beautiful silkie rooster is the only one.

 

[Sparrows]

Hi y’all, this is my first time posting here
I’m getting 4 chicks next week, and they’re all gonna be around 2 week old when I get them. Breeds are unknown as my friends who’s giving them to me was hatching eggs donated by a local farmer
I’m currently wondering about the temperatures we have, right now they range from 4-10 degree Celsius. I want the chicks to have some outside time, would they be ok going out for about 30-minutes everyday?
Also concerned about breed mixing. I currently have 3 silkies, one rooster and 2 hens. The hens are extremely docile, while the rooster is the opposite and can be territorial. The chicks are supposed to be like, regular chicken size. Will my silkies get bullied by the chicks even if they’re older? Or will the silkie rooster try to attack them?
(Orange guy is rooster, brownish grey are hens)

Hi and welcome to BYC! Love your silkies, they're so cute!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I’m getting 4 chicks next week, and they’re all gonna be around 2 week old when I get them. Breeds are unknown as my friends who’s giving them to me was hatching eggs donated by a local farmer I’m currently wondering about the temperatures we have, right now they range from 4-10 degree Celsius.

4-10 C = 39-50 Fahrenheit.

Too young to be sexed. Not feathered out so they are not ready to live in those temperatures unheated.

I want the chicks to have some outside time, would they be ok going out for about 30-minutes everyday?

Good idea. It will help them feather out faster and get them acclimated to colder temperatures. Broody hens can raise chicks even when there is snow on the ground. The chicks come out from under her to eat, drink, and play, then go back under her to get warm when they need to.

I don't know how long your chicks will be able to be outside in the cold. That partly depends on how well they are acclimated and feathered, how cold it actually is, and if a breeze is hitting them. You want to protect them from a breeze, they can get cold really quickly in a wind. They will tell you when they are cold. They will stand still, fluff up, and give a horrible peeping sound that tells you they are miserable. Instead of going by the clock go by what they are telling you.

Also concerned about breed mixing. I currently have 3 silkies, one rooster and 2 hens. The hens are extremely docile, while the rooster is the opposite and can be territorial. The chicks are supposed to be like, regular chicken size. Will my silkies get bullied by the chicks even if they’re older? Or will the silkie rooster try to attack them?

They are living animals, you never know what will happen. People get so tied up by breed that they forget that they are living animals and about anything can and sometimes does happen. From what I've seen size is not important. Bantams often dominate full-sized fowl. Each chicken has its own personality, each flock has its own dynamics.

Maturity usually has a big effect on how they get along. While it is possible young chicks can live closely with mature adults it hardly ever works that way with my flock. Typically my immature chicks avoid the adults until they mature enough to join the main flock. Until then I usually have two sub-flocks. The young avoid the mature chickens as they are likely to get pecked if they invade the adults' personal space. If the adults walk toward them the young can panic, trying to get out of the way. It really helps to have enough room for the young to avoid the adults. I consider space critical.

Sometimes a rooster will help take care of chicks while the sweet docile hens are brutal toward them. It is a rooster's job to take care of his flock, if he sees them as part of his flock he can be a huge asset. Some people have roosters attack chicks but I never have. Usually the hens aren't that bad either unless the personal space has been violated.

You can get a lot of advice on how to integrate your new chicks, some of it conflicting. I find it best to house them side by side for a week or two so they get used to each other, then when I let them together I give them as much room as possible. I try to let them manage it and try to not force them to occupy a small space together, day or night. Provide widely separated feeding and watering spots so the young can eat and drink without challenging the adults. It's best if those are out of line of sight, behind a barrier of some type. If your facilities are small that might mean feeding and watering in both the run and the coop.

I don't know what will happen. People go through this all of the time. Sometimes pretty seamlessly, sometimes there is a lot of drama. Good luck!

 

[Yardmom]

I have both Silkies and standard chickens. I mostly keep them in separate coops. The reason is not the size, but the personalities. The more aggressive standard chickens can pull beards and pick on the laid back silkies. I do keep a few docile standard hens with my Silkies after they hatch, but I remove cockerels before they are of breeding age.

 

[CatsAndChickensAndDogs]

Thanks for the advice on this thread guys! I just had one more question, what sort of bedding should I use for the brooder? Is there anything I should avoid? Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

what sort of bedding should I use for the brooder? Is there anything I should avoid?

No cedar shavings. Nothing that they can get tangled in (like fabric with frayed ends).

I personally prefer large flake shavings since it helps minimize how much of it they'll eat, otherwise my chicks grow up in the run on the same run litter as the flock uses.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume you are brooding in your house in a climate-controlled area. Your brooder needs to stay dry, otherwise it can stink and be unhealthy. The purpose of the bedding is to absorb moisture. Moisture can come from the waterer so minimize spills. If their poop builds up very thick it can stay wet, the bedding cannot absorb enough moisture from it. So don't let the poop build up enough to stay wet.

Different people use different things for bedding. A few include wood shavings, horse pellets, straw, hay, sand, puppy pads, or paper towels. I brood outside in the coop and use a 1/2" hardware cloth bottom so the poop falls through but that would probably not work inside your house. Definitely avoid cedar shavings because the vapors can be deadly to them. Avoid anything slick like newspaper, they can slip and strain a tendon. Pine or Aspen wood shavings are probably the most popular in the US since they are usually readily available and relatively affordable. Since your temperatures are in Celsius I assume you are not in the US. I'm not sure what is available where you are.

I'll mention something else. They will be 2 weeks old when you get them. I don't know how warm you keep your house, it may be warm enough for them, but it will probably be a good idea to provide some additional heat. With only 4 chicks the tendency is to have a small brooder. They will grow quickly so don't make it too small. A small brooder can easily overheat. To me the ideal brooder has one area warm enough in the coolest conditions but also has an area cool enough in the warmest conditions. That can get wild outside where ambient temperatures can go from freezing to short sleeve shirt weather in a day. Inside a climate-controlled house that can be a lot easier. As long as they have options they are excellent at finding a temperature where they are comfortable.

I use a heat lamp outside but do not recommend a heat lamp in a climate-controlled house for different reasons. They usually do not work well. Heat plates or heating pads are generally better methods, those heat a small area which is great.

Good luck!

 

[CatsAndChickensAndDogs]

CHICK UPDATE

 

[Penpal]

It would help in the future if you put your location on your page. Since you are using Celsius I'm guessing somewhere in Canada.