How to build up chicks resistance to diseases from their day of hatching

[GaryDean26]

I will be getting my eggs at the start of next week, I have the incubator set up in my room, my dog is here most of the time and she barks quite a bit will that affect the eggs at all?

Nope....

 

[Sire12]

Oh ok great thanks I wasn't sure if during the later stages of development they might be able to hear the barking and it would stress then, ik obviously when they hatch to keep noise at a minimum before they're ready to be transferred over to the brooder

 

[lazy gardener]

Perfect thanks for all the info! I wasn't sure about the soil so now I know

Oh ok I can do that no problem I ferment my hens mixed grain in used coffee jars, I wasn't sure though if it was safe for chicks, I've only ever fermented wheat and grain since pellets turned into mush, should I ferment their starter crumbs? Or should I maybe just give them a small spoonful of the hens fermented grain each day? Thx

It doesn't matter that the feed turns to mush when you ferment it. simply keep it on the dry side, like thick cooked oatmeal. Unless your grains are very fine, I'd not give them the fermented grains until they are 3 weeks old. Some chicks have issues with impaction if they try to eat grains that are too big for them. You can ferment your layer pellets and will be amazed at how it improves your flock, as well as cuts down your feed bill.

Oh ok great thanks I wasn't sure if during the later stages of development they might be able to hear the barking and it would stress then, ik obviously when they hatch to keep noise at a minimum before they're ready to be transferred over to the brooder

Yes, chicks can hear sounds while they are in the egg. IMO, it's not a bad thing for the chicks to be exposed to the sounds they will be hearing during their incubation and after hatch. Some folks play tapes of chicks chirping and it speeds their hatch. FYI, human babies can hear quite well while in utero. They respond to mother's voice, and even to father's voice. Parental arguments cause the baby's HR and B/P to go up! Babys that are exposed to classical music in utero have better math skills when they enter school.

 

[Beekissed]

Nowadays I only use broody mamas, which pretty much takes care of getting them started right in all ways, but before that and when I had chicks to brood without a mama, I did the following:

I brood the chicks right in the coop and right on the same deep litter my flock has been using. I integrate them with the flock at 2 wks if they don't have a mama and at one week if they do have a mama. I get them out on range at that same age...the quicker they are exposed to the flock's pathogens and the soil's pathogens, the stronger their immune system.

I use fermented feed from day one also.

I no longer place ACV in the water as the FF has all they'll need in the way of dietary acid and probiotics.

I don't use a heat lamp any longer...I use a heating pad brooder setup so they are warmed as much as possible as they would if they were under a broody mama. They adjust to cooler temps faster, they don't develop pasty butt, they feather out faster and they get darkness for sleeping...this increases their melatonin uptake, which is an important chemical for the immune system function(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3645767/).

After that, the building of the immune system never stops...clean soils, huge ventilation in the coop in all weathers, low stocking rates, judicious culling of nonlayers and extra stock, natural diets, free range on good pasture and woodland, low stress environment, a cultivated deep litter system all year round in the coop, clean dusting in natural soils, and usually a yearly exposure to chickens from outside the flock....no quarantine measures taken. Can't raise the flock in a bubble and expect their immune systems to become strong.

I never vaccinate, I never use meds of any kind and I do give garlic or ginger twice a year, spring and fall. They also get a chance to feed on pumpkins fall and winter. No supplemental lighting in the winter months.

All of this works and it works VERY well.

 

[drumstick diva]

a good broody knows best

 

[Sire12]

Perfect all the info I needed! Thank you very much sir

 

[Sire12]

Oh ok il start adding their layers to the ferment, and great that's good to know I thought something like that may have been the case, my guinea pigs had babies lately and I know that they can hear alot of household noises in the womb which gets them used to it at an early age, thanks

 

[lazy gardener]

Oh ok il start adding their layers to the ferment, and great that's good to know

I thought something like that may have been the case, my guinea pigs had babies lately and I know that they can hear alot of household noises in the womb which gets them used to it at an early age, thanks

I just love guinea pigs. When I was a girl, I had a guinea pig. I bribed, black mailed, begged my dad, and he brought home a male to go with my female. It blows my mind how awesome those babies are! Look just like adults in miniature, and they slide out of the chute on the run! I had one little pig that was born with intact amnion. My first midwife experience, and he lived!

 

[Sire12]

Aww yeah they are adorable, they were very much unexpected too since all 3 of my piggies were SUPPOSED to be female so I had 5 surprise pups! And I'm pretty sure one of the mother's is pregnant again since she was in with the father a few hours before I separated them, I would never have guessed they can pregnant again within a few hours, oh well I learned the hard way lol

 

[lazy gardener]

AWWW!!! I want to hug them and squeeze them, and call them George.