HELP!!! 101 on chicks ANSWER PLEASE!!

[Courtney_S]

Hi there, i'd be happy to help! I'm not an expert but i'll try my best...

My pet chicken is almost 5 months old. I found it by the chicken coop when it was just a day old. It's mother was nowhere to be seen so i decided to adopt it! I had no idea what I was doing as I hadn't done much research about caring for chicks, but what I did seemed to work! We found whatever we could, which was an old plastic washing basket, a piano lamp to keep it warm, and a small box for it to sleep in. I also put some newspaper down and made sure I replaced it each day to keep it clean.
I found that milk bottle lids work well for food and water! Just make sure your chick doesn't tip it over as they require a fresh supply of food and water to help them grow. You will find that lots of books and websites say that you need to feed your chick starter feed, but i found that normal pellets were sufficient. I made sure they were ground into a powder.
I also handled my chick alot, and still do, which means that it is extremely tame. Whenever it sees me it comes running! It is good to spend time with it because it means that you can check for any unusual behaviour.
Another important thing I learned while raising my chicken was they can't stand the cold! I had to learn this the hard way. One night it was being so noisy that I put it in the car so I could get some sleep. I went to check on it in the morning and it looked as if it was dead, so I grabbed a shovel and was about to bury it. But just as I was digging the hole, it opened it's beak! I thought i'd better wait incase it was still alive. I held it in my hand for about 15 minutes, and it started to move! I put it back under the heat lamp and in a few hours it was back to it's normal self. So whatever you do, make sure it stays warm!
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions i'd be happy to help. All the best with raising your new chicks!

 

[AKsmama]

Chicks will flop over pretty much anywhere to sleep, and they'll look dead when they do. You'll get lots of scares until you get used to it!

They will run from you, particularly when you come at them from above. Doesn't mean they hate you. It just scares them, no matter how many times you do it.

They (mostly, but not always) don't really want to be petted. They want to eat, sleep, drink water, and scratch and peck. In other words, they want to be chickens. I love mine and I love it when they tolerate some petting, but keep in mind that they are not cats and dogs.

Wear old clothes if you are going to handle them, because they will always poop on you

Take lots of pictures, because when they are chicks, they change almost every day. Each morning you'll see someone has gotten taller/bigger, and someone has gotten pinfeathers where there was just fluff yesterday.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Thanks you all SO much i have definitely learned a lot! I was planning to take pics every day and post 'em!

and JROOSTER thats a cute dog!

XD

 

[CammieSilkie]

I know soooo much on chicks and chickens its not even funny.

since you are a newbie to the chicken world, i suggest going to www.mypetchicken.com and using their e-book. READ THE WHOLE THING!!! here it is: http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/guide-toc.aspx

Here is a little bit of my own notes:

-if your chicks aren't vaccinated, make SURE you buy medicated chick starter feed, NOT organic or non-medicated. I suggest the brands specifically for egg laying, not meat birds. At 8 weeks old, switch them to developer feed until they lay their first egg then transfer them to adult feed.

- Chicks need a special 250 watt heat bulb, an a special lamp to fit the bulb to keep them warm. There are specific temps to keep the chicks' brooder at, (brooder- place where you keep the chicks.,,, maybe a dog crate?) but I find it easiest to just look at the chicks' behavior to see if you should make it warmer or colder in their brooder. if they are all huddled under the heat lamp, they're cold and you should turn up the heat! if they are all spread out, avoiding the heat as much as possible, they're hot and you should cool it down. they are at the perfect temp if they are happily exploring every corner and nook in the brooder, under the lamp AND away from the lamp.

-at 2 weeks, take them out for a short time a day to play in their coop where they will be kept as adults. at 3 weeks, take them out every day to play in the coop AND run for a longer amount of time. at 4 weeks, let them explore all over their turf for an even longer amount of time. (maybe 1-2 hours at this point?) and finally, at 5 weeks (or when you think they are ready) you can bring them outside permanently! for the first couple of days, keep them locked up in the coop. then, start letting them out in the run daily. when they get a little older, you can let them free range all over the yard. but make sure they are old enough, or they wont know where their home is and may wonder off from the coop/run or yard.

-when your chicks arrive, place them IMMEDIATELY in their brooder with the heat, food, and water already set up. If some of them look hungry or dehydrated, try to how them where the food and water is by dipping their beaks in it. (not all the way, just the tip! you could drown them if you put their nose, which is on their beak, in the water or food.) If they still look in bad shape and are refusing to eat or drink, try dipping YOUR finger in the water and dropping a droplet onto their beak. also offer them a little food by putting it up to their beak.

-things to look for in chicks! checK ALL you chicks when they arrive for these things. also check each one daily for these symptoms! If you see a chick and it has poo blocking its vent partially or fully, then take a warm wet cloth and get it off! this can cause droppings from being unable to come out, and the chick can die from this. also check for chicks that look weak and/or arent standing or opening eyes. look for dehydrated chicks, hungry chicks, or chicks who cant find food!




I hope all this helped, and i definitely suggest going to that link i posted. read ALL of that! those are just some of my own little notes.

 

[sixlittlechicks09]

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. Just get on BYC everyday(ish) and READ READ READ! Everyday I try to read new threads with interesting sounding topics on all the different boards, and if I don't know what a certain term means I look it up in the BYC glossary!

It doesn't seem like you can ever learn enough then one day you're over at a neighbors house and they're talking about having to butcher one of their best layers because she's got a "weird brown scabby thing on her foot and she can't walk" and the next thing you know you're telling them all the specifics of bumblefoot and how to treat it! (true story

they ended up fixing up her foot and she's still giving them two eggs a day!)

 

[crawfordmama]

You'll know when they're cold, because they cheep, cheep, cheep away!

Their poops are all kinds of nasty, depending on what number poop it is (for instance, approximately every 10th poop is very runny and goopy). Plus, the poops just keep getting bigger and bigger, to point where you start wondering how something that large came out of something so small!

I first got nervous when one started laying on her side with her leg out. Turns out she was just soaking up the sun.

They're going to go through the I Hate Mommy Phase. They still love you, they just don't want to snuggle with you until it's time for bed. When my girls were tired they'd nap on my shoulders while I worked on the computer.

They can fly! I'm 5'6" and just a week ago one of my pullets flew from the ground up into my arms. She didn't want to spend her first night in her new coop.

When they get a little older they'll remind you of dinosaurs!

Watching chicks play is one of the cutest and funniest things you'll ever see. They've got loads of personality.

Hope this helps!

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Thanks to all of you!! I read that book and it was very helpful! I will continue to read i feel i have a lot of knowledge but still not fully prepared... what do you guys recommend for a chick first aid kit? And i will be making a checklist for my family on a whiteboard and hanging it above the brooder.. what should i put on there form them to do to care for them while im at my dads? They are unexperienced and dont have the slightest clue so what will be short but very straightforward to write on there?

 

[crawfordmama]

Here's a great link to get started: http://www.broodyhen.co.uk/ket/fowlnotfoul/1staid.htm

 

[barred-rocks-rock]

You'll need a brooder for the chicks with pine shavings (not cedar). They need a light above the brooder , and the temperature in the brooder should be about 90-100 degrees for the first week, then 80-90, 75-80, so on. They need chick feed (it is ok to give them the medicated kind) in a feeder. They also need water, but give it to them in a chicken waterer because if you just give them a bowl they can drown in it. The shavings should be changed evrey day or two, depending on how much poop there is. Make sure other pets or small children cant get to them. When they are about 12-14 weeks you can give them layer feed and chicken scratch. make sure they have a secure coop and run. use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, racoons and other predators can tear through chicken wire. They should have laying boxes in the coop, and to encourage them you can put wooden eggs or golf balls in the box. You can give them scraps like corn, lettuce, greens.tomatoes, or any fruit or vegetable you have left over. Every once in a while check them for injury. Good Luck!

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Thanks guys! Great advice! And that is a good link.. what a HUGE list though!