Chicks outside??

[chookenqueen1]

I have only just put my six week old silky outside during the day but bring her in every night. It is quite cold now in Queensland , Australia but I usually wait until they are fully feathered.

 

[GOLDENSEABRIGHT]

Mine are at my father's house and they are growing so fast. they are at the ugly but stage where they are getting body feathers. lol but still adorable

 

[nuttyboo]

Mine are at my father's house and they are growing so fast. they are at the ugly but stage where they are getting body feathers. lol but still adorable

Mine are at the same "ugly" stage 4 weeks

 

[Phoenixxx]

As planned, mine went out the other night. The eldest was 23 days old, the youngest 21 days old. Nights are still a bit chilly (I was in a sweater AND housecoat walking the dog last night and froze my butt off!) but the chicks are doing just fine Most have most of their body feathers, some are still fluff balls with only wings. They've chosen a cozy corner on the coop floor which is covered in hay and dried lawn clippings so they have plenty of insulation to nestle in

 

[sssharon]

This is pertaining to chicks and feathering. I have hatched two batches of chicks. The first chicks started feathering at two weeks old and the latest group of five the first chick born started getting feathers at 3 days. I was really surprised. My five are 3 weeks old and 3 of them are almost completely feathered. I put them outside in a separate little cage and they are getting along fine. I put them in a chicken coop at first and one of them could not get around in it because it is lame and had a horrible time walking. I thought maybe it would be happier by itself so I put it in a rabbit cage. It cried and cried and the other chicks started crying too. I thought I would put one in with it but they still cried so I ended up putting all of them together and they never made a peep. Is that funny or what. They didn't want to be without each other. I don't know what is going to come of the lame one when they go in with the others. I guess it will be a survival of the fittest.

 

[karenerwin]

This is pertaining to chicks and feathering. I have hatched two batches of chicks. The first chicks started feathering at two weeks old and the latest group of five the first chick born started getting feathers at 3 days. I was really surprised. My five are 3 weeks old and 3 of them are almost completely feathered. I put them outside in a separate little cage and they are getting along fine. I put them in a chicken coop at first and one of them could not get around in it because it is lame and had a horrible time walking. I thought maybe it would be happier by itself so I put it in a rabbit cage. It cried and cried and the other chicks started crying too. I thought I would put one in with it but they still cried so I ended up putting all of them together and they never made a peep. Is that funny or what. They didn't want to be without each other. I don't know what is going to come of the lame one when they go in with the others. I guess it will be a survival of the fittest.

One of the chicks I hatched out in the incubator, developed a slipped tendon. I tried to fix it, but was unsuccessful. So it is getting around with one foot going one direction & the other foot facing the opposite direction. I couldn't bring myself to put it down. It is a little smaller than it's hatch mates, but I still see it all over the chicken yard. When it gets big enough for freezer camp I'll take care of it then. I guess that says I can kill a chicken if it serves a greater purpose, but I have a hard time just killing one to make fertilizer. It does make you feel bad watching the lame one trying to get around, but the good news is that nobody picks on it, not even the older, established chickens or roosters.

 

[subhanalah]

One of the chicks I hatched out in the incubator, developed a slipped tendon. I tried to fix it, but was unsuccessful.  So it is getting around with one foot going one direction & the other foot facing the opposite direction.  I couldn't bring myself to put it down.  It is a little smaller than it's hatch mates, but I still see it all over the chicken yard. When it gets big enough for freezer camp I'll take care of it then.  I guess that says I can kill a chicken if it serves a greater purpose, but I have a hard time just killing one to make fertilizer. It does make you feel bad watching the lame one trying to get around, but the good news is that nobody picks on it, not even the older, established chickens or roosters.

try giving it poultry nutridrench, it could be a vitamin deficiency?

 

[karenerwin]

try giving it poultry nutridrench, it could be a vitamin deficiency?

I don't think it is a vitamin deficiency since it was the only one out of the 18 that hatched that developed the problem. It was fine until about 3 weeks of age. It is currently 9 weeks old. If it is a vitamin deficiency, do you still think the nutridrench would be effective?

 

[subhanalah]

It's a possibility. Many problems of vitamin deficiency can be almost completely reversed with supplements.

 

[sssharon]

Well, I hope the chickens it's going to be with don't pick on it. These 5 chicks are going to my grandson's flock. They had 24 chickens and lost all but 9 to a fox. I grabbed some of their eggs from their nests and incubated them. I hatched 5 out of nine. They are cute birds. Two are black and I wish I could keep one but I am already past my limit. I hope you are right about other chicks not bothering the lame one.