I've explained our chick situation before in other posts, but I'll have to again here so it will all make sense:
The third grade at the school where I teach hatched some chicks this spring. On the day that the chicks were to be removed from the classroom (where they had becaome a MAJOR distraction) one child was quite anxious to take "his" chick home, but nobody had spoken to his parents about it. The teacher told him he could take 2 chicks home over the long weekend, but not keep them. A week later, I was given the five remaining chicks, only 2 of which I really wanted. The "long weekend" turned into 2 weeks and I finally got the other 2 yesterday. The 3 I didn't want went to a new home today. So now I have 4 chicks, separated in 2 boxes. I've been advised in a previous post to keep them separate for a couple weeks in case the new ones have picked up any diseases, and then introduce them gradually since they will have forgotten each other by now, so that's what I'm doing.
My questions are about the new chicks. This child had mentioned to me earlier that he wanted to keep some chicks, and I asked what his parents thought about it. He said it was OK with them as long as it was his responsibility. This raised a major red flag for me, but it was not my decision wether or not he could have them. So yesterday I got them back and found out he had run out of food early on and had been giving them quick-cooking rolled oats instead. Nothing else, and no grit. They seem OK so far, but aren't quite as active as my other chicks. If they do have any ill effects, how will I be able to tell? Is there anything special I should do for them?
The third grade at the school where I teach hatched some chicks this spring. On the day that the chicks were to be removed from the classroom (where they had becaome a MAJOR distraction) one child was quite anxious to take "his" chick home, but nobody had spoken to his parents about it. The teacher told him he could take 2 chicks home over the long weekend, but not keep them. A week later, I was given the five remaining chicks, only 2 of which I really wanted. The "long weekend" turned into 2 weeks and I finally got the other 2 yesterday. The 3 I didn't want went to a new home today. So now I have 4 chicks, separated in 2 boxes. I've been advised in a previous post to keep them separate for a couple weeks in case the new ones have picked up any diseases, and then introduce them gradually since they will have forgotten each other by now, so that's what I'm doing.
My questions are about the new chicks. This child had mentioned to me earlier that he wanted to keep some chicks, and I asked what his parents thought about it. He said it was OK with them as long as it was his responsibility. This raised a major red flag for me, but it was not my decision wether or not he could have them. So yesterday I got them back and found out he had run out of food early on and had been giving them quick-cooking rolled oats instead. Nothing else, and no grit. They seem OK so far, but aren't quite as active as my other chicks. If they do have any ill effects, how will I be able to tell? Is there anything special I should do for them?
