JUST GOT 7 DAY OLD CHICKS. NEED ADVICE

[Sharylva]

HELLO FELLOW CHICKEN LOVERS. I NEED A LITTLE ADVICE. I Just bought two 7 day old chicks and I have not had chicks this young before.I'm worried about making sure I keep them warm enough and any other advice regarding getting them a good start. I do have chick starter for them. Have them in a basket in the house tonight. Keeping them in the house is not a problem but I'm not sure what temperature is best for them. The new girls are a Speckled Sussex ( to replace my beloved Speckles that I lost a couple of months ago) and a Silician Buttercup. Any advice would be appreciated. I have a Americana that is a little over a year old, a Barred Rocks that is 4 1/2 mths old and a silver laced wyandotte and a golden sex link that are 4 mths old. I know it will be awhile before I can put them all together, but hold old do you think the new girls need to be before I try to mix them? Thanks for any and all help! Have a great evening! Sharyl

 

[Rasuka]

Hello! I bet you're excited about those babies huh?
Well! Since they are 7 days old a good temperature for them would be from 85-90*f~
I have heard people start moving the newbies in with the others around 30days old.

 

[Happy Chooks]

They're stronger than you think. Just watch them and they will tell you if they are too cold or too warm. Piled and peeping loudly, they are cold. Separate, holding wings out and panting, they are way too hot. Most people keep chicks warmer than they need to be.

As for integrating the new chicks with the rest of your flock, you will want to wait until they are roughly the same size. (about 12-13 weeks) Then put them together at night and watch them closely for the next week. There will be some pecking/bullying as they adjust to the new pecking order, but unless there is blood, let them work it out. Make sure they have plenty of space to adjust to each other. It should settle down in 2 weeks.

 

[Fred's Hens]

They're stronger than you think. Just watch them and they will tell you if they are too cold or too warm. Piled and peeping loudly, they are cold. Separate, holding wings out and panting, they are way too hot. Most people keep chicks warmer than they need to be.

As for integrating the new chicks with the rest of your flock, you will want to wait until they are roughly the same size. (about 12-13 weeks) Then put them together at night and watch them closely for the next week. There will be some pecking/bullying as they adjust to the new pecking order, but unless there is blood, let them work it out. Make sure they have plenty of space to adjust to each other. It should settle down in 2 weeks.

That.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They're stronger than you think.  Just watch them and they will tell you if they are too cold or too warm.  Piled and peeping loudly, they are cold.  Separate, holding wings out and panting, they are way too hot.  Most people keep chicks warmer than they need to be.

As for integrating the new chicks with the rest of your flock, you will want to wait until they are roughly the same size. (about 12-13 weeks)  Then put them together at night and watch them closely for the next week.  There will be some pecking/bullying as they adjust to the new pecking order, but unless there is blood, let them work it out.  Make sure they have plenty of space to adjust to each other.  It should settle down in 2 weeks.

I pretty much agree. Them just sleeping together does not mean they are cold. It means they like company. The peeping you listen for is a loud plaintive peep. It's not the normal peeping. It's easy to recognize something is wrong when you hear it.

I provide a fair amount of space in the brooder and just heat one small area. Don't try to keep the whole thing at one specific temperature. Give them a choice of where they want to be. They might surprise you with their choices.

I start integration about a month earlier but I have a tremendous amount of space. I think that is the key. The more space you can give them the easier it will probably be. And I don't put them together at night. I just open the gates and let them all free range together during the day, and let them go to their separate sleeping quarters at night. We all have different set-ups and circumstances. Just because we do things differently does not mean one way is right and the other way is wrong. It just means different things work.

 

[Sharylva]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Hope everyone has a terrific day!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Congratulations on your new chicks! I wrote a little article on keeping chicks at the right temperature a couple of years ago that might be helpful. You can access it at: http://www.backyardhencam.com/keeping-chicks-at-the-right-temperature/ or go to the Backyard Hencam (below) and search "chicks". There is other information there that might help you. Wishing you the best of luck!