HELP, CHICKS ARE HERE!

[Atzerii]

So Silver my hen has been sitting on some eggs, and as of today the chicks have started hatching. I'm a newbie when it come so chickens I've only had Silver for about an year and I'm naive when it comes to raising baby chicks. Silver will be raising them, but besides food, water, and shelter is there anything else I could do to assist Silver , and is there things I should avoid when it comes to raising baby chicks. Please be specific . Anything advice helps!

 

[JessicaDotta]

I’ve raised chicks in a brooder. I would be prepared to prove them to a brooder, in case the mom becomes uninterested. I suppose in a pinch you could use some kind of a box and a lightbulb to keep them warm. Or Maybe a heating pad.

Baby chicks need to be 95° for the first week. I’ll give mine chick food which I get from tractor supply. If they are outside I would supply chick grit.

That’s pretty much the basics I know. Warmth. Food. Water. (Make sure they can’t fall into water.)

got pictures.

 

[DobieLover]

So Silver my hen has been sitting on some eggs, and as of today the chicks have started hatching. I'm a newbie when it come so chickens I've only had Silver for about an year and I'm naive when it comes to raising baby chicks. Silver will be raising them, but besides food, water, and shelter is there anything else I could do to assist Silver , and is there things I should avoid when it comes to raising baby chicks. Please be specific . Anything advice helps!

If you haven't already done so, switch the flock over to Flock Raiser, All Flock or chick starter. Put out oyster shell for the active layers.
Make sure the waterer is chick proof so none of them accidentally drown.
Mom will need access to a clean space on the floor of the coop with nice bedding so she can nest down with the chicks at night.
She needs space to work. She will only allow flock members that she trusts near her chicks. Others will be driven off.
How large is your coop? And run?

 

[daisyterp]

I have a White Rock who hatched out 4 chicks today, I thought tomorrow was going to be hatch day, then this morning I found 2 fluffy but chilled and lethargic chicks who had fallen out of the plastic litter box that was her nest box (coop has double wide nest boxes on the lower level.) I revived those chicks & put them in a brooder ASAP. Set them up with water and ran and got chick starter and another set of chick sized feeder and waterers. Oh also I snatched one of the other hatched chicks from under her and put it in the brooder, dipped their beaks in the water. Towards evening I went out and removed the plastic litter box and basically set up the full extra wide nesting box as her area- she got off the eggs for 2 minutes and drank from the chick waterer. I am hoping that once all of the eggs are hatched I can return the 3 chicks to the nest so she can care for them all but who knows... Glad I had my brooder stuff basically ready to go.

 

[Atzerii]

I’ve raised chicks in a brooder. I would be prepared to prove them to a brooder, in case the mom becomes uninterested. I suppose in a pinch you could use some kind of a box and a lightbulb to keep them warm. Or Maybe a heating pad.

Baby chicks need to be 95° for the first week. I’ll give mine chick food which I get from tractor supply. If they are outside I would supply chick grit.

That’s pretty much the basics I know. Warmth. Food. Water. (Make sure they can’t fall into water.)

got pictures.

Thank You so much for the advice, I will provide pictures once they've all hatch. 4/5 Chicks Hatch.

 

[Atzerii]

If you haven't already done so, switch the flock over to Flock Raiser, All Flock or chick starter. Put out oyster shell for the active layers.
Make sure the waterer is chick proof so none of them accidentally drown.
Mom will need access to a clean space on the floor of the coop with nice bedding so she can nest down with the chicks at night.
She needs space to work. She will only allow flock members that she trusts near her chicks. Others will be driven off.
How large is your coop? And run?

I only have one hen, and the cop is 53x25x28. She is mostly free-range and only sleeps in it at night.

 

[Atzerii]

I have a White Rock who hatched out 4 chicks today, I thought tomorrow was going to be hatch day, then this morning I found 2 fluffy but chilled and lethargic chicks who had fallen out of the plastic litter box that was her nest box (coop has double wide nest boxes on the lower level.) I revived those chicks & put them in a brooder ASAP. Set them up with water and ran and got chick starter and another set of chick sized feeder and waterers. Oh also I snatched one of the other hatched chicks from under her and put it in the brooder, dipped their beaks in the water. Towards evening I went out and removed the plastic litter box and basically set up the full extra wide nesting box as her area- she got off the eggs for 2 minutes and drank from the chick waterer. I am hoping that once all of the eggs are hatched I can return the 3 chicks to the nest so she can care for them all but who knows... Glad I had my brooder stuff basically ready to go.

That's nice to know, and congratulations.

 

[DobieLover]

I only have one hen, and the cop is 53x25x28. She is mostly free-range and only sleeps in it at night.

Are those dimensions in inches?

 

[CluckerFamily]

Switch mom and babies to chick starter for food.
Depending on how many chicks hatch, you will need to expand your coop and run.
In the back of your mind, do you have a plan for if you hatch too many roosters?

 

[Atzerii]

Are those dimensions on inches?

Yes, my bad. It's quite small but then again she's mostly free range