Love it, Hate it...My Two Cent

[Blooie]

The way I raise chicks is meant to duplicate a broody hen as closely as possible. That means no lights of any kind...ever...except the sun. That means brooding in a warm, dark, soft cave outdoors in a wire brooder inside the run, in full sight of the adults at all times. That means totally letting them regulate their own comfort from the start. Heat from from Mama Heating Pad is turned way down, starting in the third week, which is also when they start integrating with the adults. They are off all heat by 4 weeks, fully integrated with the flock at the end of that 4 weeks, and at that time the brooder is completely torn down and removed from the run. That also means letting them explore, eat bugs and dirt, and learn to be chickens from other chickens. Spring chick season temps here are still in the 20s, dropping into the teens at times, and we are still getting snow. One year our last snowfall was in June.

While I will use a little Nutri-Drench for chicks showing obvious shipping or hatching stress, I don’t fill their waterers with every additive known to man and dose the entire bunch....just the one or two that might need it for a day or so. If chicks are healthy and doing well, then obviously their developing little systems are within balance and exactly where they should be, so I don’t see any point in throwing that balance off and tampering. Whether a couple of little ones get Nutri-Drench or not, fresh clean water is always available to them and the rest of the chicks, although if they want to drink out a mud puddle while they are outside I have no problem with that either.

Every single chick I’ve raised this way - copying a mother hen in almost every way - has feathered quickly, adapted well to the environment, and has been strong and confident. I figure if a 2 pound hen can do it, I can do it, but only if I don’t try to force the chicks to live any other way than they are wired to live. It’s not for everyone, I get that. But it has proven its worth to me over and over again. Just about the only thing Mama Hearing Pad doesn’t do is wander around and expect the chicks to go to her for a quick warm-up.

So I while guess I don’t think chickens are the brightest crayons in the box, they kinda adapt to behave as the books say they should, not as Mom lets them be. This is a really interesting thread! I’m glad you started it.

 

[The Moonshiner]

"Don't have a square brooder they'll get stuck."

I have never hear the thing about square brooders. Too funny.

This is a very true reality if you raise large numbers of chicks.
I often have 50 plus chicks in any one brooder and this is why I don't do bigger brooders with higher numbers. With corners its not uncommon to get them piling and you can lose chicks or get injuries really quick.
Usually it happens when they get spooked. They'll end up in the corner and everyone will pile in and on.
It doesn't take much to smash, smother or overheat any on bottom.
I haven't had a square corner in a brooder in many years.
Of course its not much of an issue when raising a hand full of chicks at a time.

 

[BantyChooks]

This is a very true reality if you raise large numbers of chicks.
I often have 50 plus chicks in any one brooder and this is why I don't do bigger brooders with higher numbers. With corners its not uncommon to get them piling and you can lose chicks or get injuries really quick.
Usually it happens when they get spooked. They'll end up in the corner and everyone will pile in and on.
It doesn't take much to smash, smother or overheat any on bottom.
I haven't had a square corner in a brooder in many years.
Of course its not much of an issue when raising a hand full of chicks at a time.

Piling I've heard of, but I thought it sounded like the OP meant something different.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Well I think the OP probably heard about not using square brooders because piling can be an issue in corners.
Agree OP made it sound like someone was referring to chicks being so dumb that they'd walk into a corner and be so stupid they weren't smart enough to turn around and walk out of it.
I've seen chickens do somethings that surprised me how smart they are but also seen some really stupid things out of them also.
Had one yesterday that needed to walk along fence a few feet and then through doorway. It spent half an hour pacing the fence and just couldn't figure it out. Sometimes it walked right past the door way turned around walked back past it then tried to ram through the fence.
Just like us they're not necessarily stupid but can sometimes amaze you with some of the stupid things they do.
Original post seemed a bit exaggerated. I've blown many a bulbs in brooders and had temps drop drastically myself but never came back to find chicks with accelerated feather growth within 24 hours.

 

[BantyChooks]

Well I think the OP probably heard about not using square brooders because piling can be an issue in corners.
Agree OP made it sound like someone was referring to chicks being so dumb that they'd walk into a corner and be so stupid they weren't smart enough to turn around and walk out of it.
I've seen chickens do somethings that surprised me how smart they are but also seen some really stupid things out of them also.
Had one yesterday that needed to walk along fence a few feet and then through doorway. It spent half an hour pacing the fence and just couldn't figure it out. Sometimes it walked right past the door way turned around walked back past it then tried to ram through the fence.
Just like us they're not necessarily stupid but can sometimes amaze you with some of the stupid things they do.

Chickens seem to grasp the concept of fences really poorly, lol. Even the very same birds that pick up on things like following a pointing finger to find food have a hard time figuring it out. Wonder if it's a vision thing? Or just mental?
Blooie has an even funnier story about birds and fences.

Guineas are even worse with that. My birds couldn't judge the distance enough to fly over a 4ft fence.... so they flew over the coop, which is 12ft high easy, maybe more.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Oh I've got guineas also.
Mine can't even get the "buckwheat" call right.
Mine run around screaming "butt crack, butt crack, butt crack"

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh I've got guineas also.
Mine can't even get the "buckwheat" call right.
Mine run around screaming "butt crack, butt crack, butt crack"

Too funny. Guineas definitely got the short end of the intelligence stick.

They say you either love 'em or hate 'em—I am on the hate side. I sold out of them 2 years ago... or more accurately, I drove a half hour to give them away for free, because I detested them just that much. They make crested breeds look like they have IQs of 170.

I got them for eating ticks so I could keep my more valuable birds in the run. Guess what, the brats were terrified of the outdoors unless said valuable birds were out with them. I must have done something wrong raising them but I don't really fancy trying them again. I'll stick with the poultry I know & love. Maybe if I liked them for even a single other reason I'd be more inclined to put some effort into learning their body language/habits... but, like you said, all they're good for other than eating ticks is making noise... if you like having 'butt crack' screamed across your whole property all day long.