hatched new chicks...feed and ???

[pintail_drake2004]

So, our hen is starting to hatch some chicks last night. I wasn't expecting them until Monday or Tuesday. I will go and get some chick starter tomorrow, will they be ok eating grower for 1 day before I get some starter? What about vaccinations? The rest of the chickens were from a hatchery and were vaccinated. This is our 1st attempt at hatching, and I totally overlooked vaccinations. What do I need to do?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You shouldn't have to do anything other than ensure they have crumble or mash size feed and water. If you've had or your area has problems with cocci then use a medicated stater.

 

[blackdog043]

What Egghead said.

 

[MyISAbrownhens]

You shouldn't even have to be worried about feeding if they will eat tomorrow. When baby chicks are shipped, they eat the yolk on their feathers and are perfectly fine without food or even water for a day

 

[Ridgerunner]

Relax, you are OK. There is no emergency. Sounds like they are in an incubator. Mine are often a couple of days early, in an incubator or even under a broody hen. There is nothing unusual about them being a bit early or even that late. As you have discovered that 21 day thing is just a guideline, not a sure thing.

Before the chicks hatch they absorb the yolk into their bodies. They can live off this absorbed yolk for three days or more. That does not mean they won't eat or drink before three days are up, just that they don't need to. So you have plenty of time.

The chicks will be fine if all you feed them is Grower. It has all the different nutrients they need. I don't know what the percent protein is in your Grower, that would be good to know. Percent protein is about the only significant difference between Grower and Starter and some Growers have a pretty high percent protein level. Some Growers have an 18% percent protein, not too bad even for baby chicks.

The higher the protein level the faster the chicks grow and feather out. The extra protein gives them a better start so feeding Starter for the first few weeks is a really good thing, but in an emergency if you can't get Starter or even Grower for a few days they can stay alive and even grow on just corn meal. Corn meal does not have all the other nutrients they need and the percent protein is pretty low, but in an emergency it will keep them alive.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

So, 7 of the 8 eggs hatched! I checked the 8th egg with the fiancé and we decided it was no good. Upon cracking, we were right.

So, we then moved momma hen and the 7 chicks into a larger (30x30) rabbit cage and left them under the poop board in the coop. The other chickens can see them and we let momma out for a little bit. Chicks appear to be doing fine, even though we had to barricade the sides of the cage to keep them from slipping out. Since the other chickens can see them in the cage with momma, we were debating on when we should let the chicks out in the coop? I'm afraid if we do that, the other chickens may kill them, or they may get stuck behind/in something and die if we are not around.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

Still not sure if I should move them or not?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know what your facilities look like, inside or outside. How big is the coop, how big is the run, or are they allowed to free range on grass. How hard would it be for chicks to get through the pop door? It’s hard for me to make specific recommendations when I don’t know what I’m working with. There is no right way that everyone needs to follow, just a lot of different ways we do this, but your facilities and set-up may make one way better than another.

I have an 8’ x 12’ coop, a 12’ x 32’ main run, and a large grassy area inside electric netting. My pop door is about a foot above the coop floor so I stack pavers inside and outside to make steps to help the chicks get in and out. I handle my broody hens and chicks two different ways.

If my coop isn’t very crowded I let the hen bring the chicks off the nest when she wants to. I put food and water where the chicks can get to them on the coop floor. That’s it, I leave everything else up to Mama. Usually she keeps the chicks in the coop for a couple of days after bringing them off the nest. Then she takes the outside. After that they pretty much spend all day every day outside from morning until night. She brings them back into the coop at night to sleep, usually in a corner on the floor.

If my coop is fairly crowded I wait until Mama brings the chicks off the nest and then lock them in a shelter I have inside that electric netting. I leave them in there for about three days and nights, then open the door. After that the hen keeps them outside all day and takes them back to that shelter at night where I can lock them up.

I always have at least a rooster and other adult hens in the flock. Often I have other juveniles. I have never lost a chick to another adult in the flock. One time I had several 8-week-olds in a grow-out pen. A 2-week-old chick got through the gate into that pen and away from Mama’s protection. She could not get in there to protect her baby. The 8-week-olds killed it. I quickly fixed that gate. As you have seen it’s pretty easy for them to slip through things. To me that’s the biggest risk of trying to keep them separated, the chicks may get to where Mama can’t protect them.

Some people separate a broody hen during incubation, during hatch, and/or while she is raising her chicks. They have their own reasons for that. I’m not trying to say they are wrong, it’s just not the way I do it. But I have lots of room, not everyone does.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

We have a medium sized 8x12 coop with a medium sized 600sq/ft fully enclosed attached run. The other 21 chickens free range 6-8 hrs a day after I get off work. Our pop door is 5" above the ground, so I may have to put some sort of ramp up there for the chicks to get back in. There is 2x4 welded wire fence for the run, and I know they can get through it. So, I'd like to not have to put up another barrier if need be (short on time with work, farming, and wedding coming up) but I may have to.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My baby chicks can walk through my electric netting until they are maybe 6 to 7 weeks old, the openings are that big. Their feathers and down insulate them. Sometimes they do, usually they don't. I've occasionally lost one when they do that, I think probably a snake for the very young ones.

I understand the crunch for time, but you may need to put an apron around that run if it becomes a problem. As long as the holes are small enough the chicks can't get through them chicken wire can work. I did that around my main run which is also 2x4 wire. I bent it so about a foot was flat on the ground and it went up the fence about 18". It would not have to be that high but that kept the adults form sticking their heads through where something could take them off. That flat part can be inside the run or outside, either will stop the chicks. Outside it will stop a lot of digging predators.

I used J-clips to attach the chicken wire to the 2x4 but hog rings might be faster and less frustrating to install. Or you can use wire.