Chicks Are Amazing! + Questions

[DellaMyDarling]

Holy chickens, these cheepers are a week old now!
We lost one, sadly, within 48hrs. Everyone else is very much alive!

So, at a week old...
I have a few chicks attempting to fly!
And would you believe it, at least one can successfully fly to top of waterer (large mason jar), then to the top of the brooder box. Up and away! (There's a wire top placed over when I'm not standing there.)
Surprised the heck out of us, especially the dog!

They all run around until they just...don't.
Everyone gets so tired being a chick all day. Adorable. They just fall right to sleep wherever they are.

Feathers are changing, growing. Can really start to see the different patterns emerging and a few have distinct marks from the same breed.

Several chickiespecked at a bug that stupidly fell in, but one little lady went hard core on that bugger. She scratched, pecked, flapped, then ate! Aww, so proud!

A few learned how to Sun bathe in a strip coming past window. Aww.


I've got a few questions though.

On Blooies posts regarding chick behavior, I've seen her say that chicks raised without the artificial heat lamp lighting on 24/7 are expected to sleep at night and not be falling over themselves all day. Did I do something wrong? Lol. We have the MHP set up and brooder is in The Zoo with night/day cycles naturally.

I have 3 chicks, (Jersey Giants) and of the 3 one in particular, are super agitated (?) by anything on a human hand. Bare hands are just explored. Rings and watches are aggressively attacked. My rings arent big enough to cause an image reflection. My daughter's watch is non shiny pink rubber! These guys will also bump the others out of the way just to bump them! Everyone jostlesnaturally, but these guys seem to go looking for trouble.
Ever seen such a thing? Are these brat birds?

We had some sudden intense heat over weekend so I continued mixing electrolytes into water. They drank a good Mason jar and a half yesterday! Today they're barely sipping it. I'm actually of the opinion, based on observation, that they're done liking it. Can I just fill with regular water now?

At what age do you expand your brooder? I have odds and ends, like grass clump and long stick in there for amusement, but thinking that they're maybe ready for a bigger set up. What makes you decide to do that?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I raise mine with a heat lamp. I personally don't believe all that is claimed. Chicks will sleep when they are tired whether it's dark or light.

You can stop with the extra stuff in the water.

Sounds like your chicks need to go outside to burn off excess energy during the day if it's warm enough out for them. They definitely need a bigger brooder if yours is smaller. I expand at the 2 weeks mark to big enough to run back and forth. Mine go outside in a pen during the day to than back to the brooder at night. I set up a temporary fence I move daily.

They chest bump to begin to establish a pecking order. You can push them back, peck them with a finger, or hold them down if they are getting too rough with you. Like all young animals they need to be taught boundaries.

 

[Parront]

Sounds like you are having fun with your chicks. With only 3, you do not need much space. Keep the lid on!

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Sounds like you are having fun with your chicks. With only 3, you do not need much space. Keep the lid on!

I must have worded poorly.
We have 15. 3 seem to be aggressive (all same breed, and one of those 3 is particularly brutal.)


What do you do to make a safe chick outdoor cage? I've got free ranging critters. Chicks don't fit through chicken wire, right?
Do you just run extension cord out for heat?

 

[rosemarythyme]

On Blooies posts regarding chick behavior, I've seen her say that chicks raised without the artificial heat lamp lighting on 24/7 are expected to sleep at night and not be falling over themselves all day.

I have 3 chicks, (Jersey Giants) and of the 3 one in particular, are super agitated (?) by anything on a human hand.

We had some sudden intense heat over weekend so I continued mixing electrolytes into water. Can I just fill with regular water now?

At what age do you expand your brooder? I have odds and ends, like grass clump and long stick in there for amusement, but thinking that they're maybe ready for a bigger set up. What makes you decide to do that?

Chicks will still nap during the day regardless of what type of heat you provide. The difference with using a pad/plate vs a heat lamp is they'll sleep or at least stay quietly under the heat source through most of the night.

If they're attacking rings or watches I would just take them off before handling the birds. Yes those ones are being pushy and you can tell them no by "pecking" them with your finger in the back of the neck or the back. Just be careful to not poke too hard as they're still so little (should be just hard enough to get a reaction).

I use plain water in most cases. I only supplement when needed and otherwise it's plain water for me.

If your brooder can be expanded (i.e. cardboard boxes) then do it when you feel it's looking a bit crowded - don't wait for any bad behavior such as feather picking to start. Or depending on your temperatures (and assuming you don't have other older chickens already) you could just move them into the coop in a few weeks.

What do you do to make a safe chick outdoor cage? I've got free ranging critters. Chicks don't fit through chicken wire, right?
Do you just run extension cord out for heat?

Chicks don't fit through chicken wire but can get stuck in it, so use it with caution. As I raised my chicks in the run yes we ran an extension cord out to provide heat, but once they're around 3 weeks or so in moderate temperatures (mid 50s and up), you'll find they'll rarely go back to use it during the day.

 

[Parront]

I must have worded poorly.
We have 15. 3 seem to be aggressive (all same breed, and one of those 3 is particularly brutal.)


What do you do to make a safe chick outdoor cage? I've got free ranging critters. Chicks don't fit through chicken wire, right?
Do you just run extension cord out for heat?

Chick safe is not the question. It needs to be safe from your free range critters, and Hardware Cloth is usually the answer. 1/2 inch would be a size that would keep a chick in and critter out, and be strong enough to not give way to teeth of wild or tame critters. More space is good, and places to hide from bullies. One week is too small to be out side at night, but on a warm day it is nice.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chick safe is not the question. It needs to be safe from your free range critters, and Hardware Cloth is usually the answer.

Ugh I read that badly when I responded earlier. Yes chicken wire isn't predator proof at all. I got away with it because my chick pen was inside my run. Hardware cloth might be better BUT it depends on what you're trying to protect the chicks from. A small enclosure regardless of material could easily be tipped over by a dog or a coyote, for example.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Ugh I read that badly when I responded earlier. Yes chicken wire isn't predator proof at all. I got away with it because my chick pen was inside my run. Hardware cloth might be better BUT it depends on what you're trying to protect the chicks from. A small enclosure regardless of material could easily be tipped over by a dog or a coyote, for example.

We haven't put all the finishing touches on the run yet, but I do have a chain link enclosed run that my ducks are put up in overnight. This weekend we doubled it in size, so one half has nice grass still haha. I could construct something over there for Chickie's.
How about the plastic poultry netting? I've got some of that.

 

[Parront]

We haven't put all the finishing touches on the run yet, but I do have a chain link enclosed run that my ducks are put up in overnight. This weekend we doubled it in size, so one half has nice grass still haha. I could construct something over there for Chickie's.
How about the plastic poultry netting? I've got some of that.

Inside the chain link? Sounds like a possibility. Watch them and make sure those little escape artists don't go through the netting!

 

[rosemarythyme]

How about the plastic poultry netting? I've got some of that.

As with chicken wire, check the sizes of the holes versus the chicks, especially their heads. Chicks are notorious for finding ways to kill themselves.

If you're putting the chick pen inside a chain link run it should be safer to use chicken wire, netting, etc. as the chain link will help keep out larger animals though I'd still supervise them as much as possible, as smaller pests and predators like snakes and rats could still be an issue.