Extra Care for shipped Chicks

[CrazedCowgirl]

My husband got me 10 chicks from Ideal Hatchery that will be delivered next week. I've always gotten chicks locally from either breeders or the feed store. What do you recommend for a little added TLC?

I was already planning on getting them some electrolytes and some mash/ fermented for feed for the first day or so.

Any advise would be much appreciated!

 

[lazy gardener]

My husband got me 10 chicks from Ideal Hatchery that will be delivered next week. I've always gotten chicks locally from either breeders or the feed store. What do you recommend for a little added TLC?

I was already planning on getting them some electrolytes and some mash/ fermented for feed for the first day or so.

Any advise would be much appreciated!

As for the electrolytes, you can save your money, and make your own. Simply do a google search for home made electrolyte solution, or home made GatorAid. It's stupid simple to do. Spend your money where it counts! I always start a batch of chicks off (no matter where they come from) with Poultry Nutri-Drench. (be sure to change it out every day, b/c any thing other than plain water is a bacteria magnet) A bit of sugar water will be helpful as well, as newborns (even the human kind) have a bit of trouble keeping blood sugar up initially. Heat the water up to a comfortable temp so they won't have to expend vital energy heating it up with their body heat. Baby chicks can be chilled by the transport.

FF is great, but I start chicks out with crumble sprinkled on the floor of their brooder, initially, as that feeds into their instinct to peck at such things. You can certainly put out FF the first day, but be sure it's such that they can't fall into it, and it's thick enough that they won't get wet if they play in it. A jar lid is good for starters.

I'm a huge advocate of heating pad brooding. Will never go back to a light, unless sheer numbers make HPB not feasible. Even then, I think I'd simply buy an other HP. I already have 2 dedicated to chick brooding. It makes an incredible difference in the socialization of the chicks, how quickly they feather out, and decreasing their stress level. They literally trill themselves to sleep. Never heard such a sound using a heat lamp.

As for chicks being sent through the mail compared to feed store chicks: Feed store chicks come through the mail, usually! The big difference as far as I can see, is this: When you order direct, you get that 48 hour live guarantee. Feed store? At least where I come from, once it leaves the store, all bets are off. If the chick dies in the parking lot, that's just too bad for the buyer. By purchasing direct, you know how the chick has been handled straight out of the box. No worries about some incompetent dropping the chick, or handling it and putting it back into the wrong bin. No worries about multiple sets of not so clean hands touching it. Just be sure you have good verbal communication with your post office, and instruct them to call you immediately when the chicks arrive at the PO. Be available to pick them up immediately, no matter what time of day or night. Have the brooder warmed and ready.

HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

Neat! I do love their feathery faces and beards!

I started out April '16 with five brown layers and one white layer. I quickly realized I couldn't eat half a dozen eggs a day so I started selling them at work. I figured this yr, I'd add some color to my cartons so everyone could have some fun. Made a pretty good little business out of it at $2/dozen this summer. Stashed enough money from selling just eggs to pay for a new 8'x6' coop for the girls and some new additions.

 

[Shezadandy]

I started out April '16 with five brown layers and one white layer. I quickly realized I couldn't eat half a dozen eggs a day so I started selling them at work. I figured this yr, I'd add some color to my cartons so everyone could have some fun. Made a pretty good little business out of it at $2/dozen this summer. Stashed enough money from selling just eggs to pay for a new 8'x6' coop for the girls and some new additions.

Awesome! We've created a number of 'won't buy from the store anymore' egg addicts too. Those pretty blues and greens (which never show up as pretty in pictures as in person) add the finishing touch. And to think I once thought green eggs and ham was just a kids' book thing!

 

[Shezadandy]

How to extra care for a baby chick??plz im almost new so i dont know much tell me everything

I would start in the learning center:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/getting-started-raising-chickens

Another very nice and informative site is:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/p/chick-care.html

Once you've read through the topics, tally up specific questions about what you've read that you want more information about-- then do a search of this site and look through threads that exist on that topic.

 

[3riverschick]

My husband got me 10 chicks from Ideal Hatchery that will be delivered next week. I've always gotten chicks locally from either breeders or the feed store. What do you recommend for a little added TLC?

I was already planning on getting them some electrolytes and some mash/ fermented for feed for the first day or so.

Any advise would be much appreciated!

Skip the electrolytes, they need to be digested. Instead go to your local feed store or Tractor Supply and get the smallest bottle of Bovidr Labs Poultry Nutri-Drench. Because it doesn't need to be digested, it is excellent or combatting travel stress in shipped chicks! http://www.nutridrench.com I have never had a sick or dead chick when raised on Nutri-Drench in their water the 1st 2 weeks of life. Give each chick one drop only by mouth. If they are weak, repeat as necessary every 8-10 hours until perky. Put it in their water so the water looks like very weak tea. For the 1st 2 weeks you have them. It will get them off to a strong start. Drench also combats pasty butt, and the runs. Plus it resets and supports the immune system.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[lazy gardener]

1. Heating pad brooder.

2. Large brooder: plan on minimum 1 s.f. per bird to get them to 5 weeks. They need that room to stretch their wings and legs, and to allow proper social development.

3. Fermented feed. (Your choice re: medicated or not medicated. There are compelling reasons for choosing either option. Do your homework and come up with your own decision. Do not let an other BYC member, or even an employee at the feed store tell you that you must do it their way.

4. Use Poultry Nutri-drench in the first week. You can also give them a bit of sugar water. Be sure to change the water every 24 hours. Save your money on electrolyte packets. You can make your own electrolyte solution for pennies. (do a google search for home made gator ade or electrolyte solution.)

4. Give them a plug of sod from your yard during the first week: (be sure the yard/garden has not been treated with insecticide/herbicide/fungicide in the last year or more.) Sod gives them beneficial bacteria and fungi, first grit, first greens, first insects/worms, and (yes, this is a good thing first exposure to the soil pathogens. First dust bath, and plenty of play opportunities.

5. Have your coop ready before getting your chicks: They grow fast, and if you build your coop right, with electric access (can be as simple as a heavy duty extension cord with outlet protected from moisture.) Plan to brood your chicks right in the coop. Make that coop large enough to meet your FUTURE needs. Make it predator proof (hard ware cloth instead of chicken wire over all openings) Give it lots of ventilation, and natural lighting. I STRONGLY recommend that you avoid purchasing a pre-fab coop. I have not yet seen one that is appropriately designed to meet the needs of the chicken or the flock owner. For the same cost, you can do your own stick built, or buy a woodenshed that can then be upgraded with perches, windows, ventilation, etc.

6. Every time you observe your flock, assess their activity, general appearance. Also assess the environment with an eye towards their safety. Chicks pop out of the shell and immediately start to look for new and unique ways to commit suicide. They can drown in a tablespoon of water, they can get stuck in, under, behind objects. They can escape the safety of the brooder. They make nice bite sized snacks for 4 legged pets and predators, as well as winged preds. Children need eyes on supervision when interacting with chicks. Too easy to drop a squirmy chick, or even squeeze him too hard. They are especially prone to over heating or chilling. This is why the HP brooder is especially helpful. It allows them to self regulate.

7. Have fun with your little flock, and as you stroll around on BYC, realize that there are many ways to raise poultry. Each owner needs to make their own decisions based on their own flock their own management style, their own environment, and their own risk assessment and tolerance.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You sound like you're prepared, have you got a heat/warmth source? Read up on Blooie's thread = MHP.

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

I do have a heat source and brooder. This isn't my first round of chicks, just my first ones shipped directly from a hatchery so I wasn't sure if they needed extra love or not due to added stress from shipping.

We're supposed to get pretty cold here next week when they're scheduled to be delivered so I'm getting extra shavings and straw tomorrow to add to their brooder just in case we get snow or ice.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You're ready! Enjoy & bundle up. We're having rain after more rain, ground is muddy & icky! Winter weather is a hard one