CHICK - Swollen Vent. One Already Dead....HELP!!!

[chickenhick]

Well, do what you like, but being on wire flooring does not give them much exposure to cocci . Small amounts of exposure to their own feces give them gradual immunity because they consume low quantities of the cocci, which they cannot get if they are housed completely on wire. How old are your chicks?

 

[ruth]

Mine don't like worms but they love crickets and even mealworms but not earthworms.

I too think the wire floor keeps things cleaner.

Yes, I start freeranging (meaning "no fences") as soon as the weather is warm - sometimes at 2 weeks old. I have 200+ chickens and ducks and peacocks plus 6 dogs and 2 cats and everyone has the full run of the farm and no one bothers anyone else. I've never lost a chick to freeranging. I normally start by just dropping the sides of the Chick-N-Hutch and leaving it open with their light still on (for maybe a week). That way they can venture out when they are ready and back in when they want heat (kind of like an artifcial mama). Just like the big chickens, they come back at dark and get back in their hutch which is located inside the main hen house/coop. Of course, once it's really hot I leave the light out or they and the coop can overheat. They don't need added heat when it's already 80 degrees outside.

Once I have a new batch of chicks that need the hutch, the older chicks just camp out under it or pick their own spot in the coop. Each batch of chicks tends to stick together for the rest of their lives.

 

[Masonic Chicken]

Quote:
4-5 Weeks

And the first 2 weeks they were in a bedded brooder.

 

[Masonic Chicken]

I had another one die yesterday. I had seperated him/her the day I wrote this but, I guess I was too late...

However the eggs/crickets/hanging carrot/and hanging CD seem to be helping alot.