Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[dawnd13]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

@DonnaFreak, I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

[DonnaFreak]

Thank you everyone for your kind words regarding my sister. Her name was Georgie Lee, so I've decided to name one of the chicks LeeLee in her honor, since she was so excited about them.

I do have a question about one of my chicks. When they got here today and I first opened the box, they all seemed healthy except for one tiny one. It was frantically turning and pecking at it's backside, and would fall over. It was hard for this first-time chick Mama to tell if it was falling over because it was weak, or if it was dizzy because of the spinning to try to reach its bottom. As I was taking them out of the box and checking them, I saw that it was the only one of the 8 that had a pasty butt. It took quite a bit of warm water to loosen it up to get it clean, but as soon as its vent came open it shot out 2 separate BIG poops one right after the other. I then tucked it under the MHP. It hasnt come out with the others to eat and drink, but it did move from one side of the MHP to the other. They arrived around 4:30 this afternoon, and all had been checked, given a drink, and tucked under the MHP an hour later. They are all settled in for the night, so I don't want to disturb them if I don't have to. But is there anything else I should do for the little one now? Or should I just wait and see how it's doing in the morning? I'd sure appreciate some advice!

Donna

 

[Blooie]

Donna, shipping is just plain hard on chicks, and the littlest ones seem to have the roughest time of it. If you have any Nutri-drench on hand, you can try giving her a bit of that - and a bit in their waterer for the first day or so would help all of them. I'm not one for supplements - sometimes I see posts where folks have Nutri-drench, apple cider vinegar, probiotics and electrolytes all in the same waterer, and wonder why the chicks have diarrhea. But each person has their own ways, I guess. Me, I'd rather give them a boost and then plain, clear, fresh water.

You could also try giving her a little sugar water if you don't have Nutri-drench. Sometimes getting that blood sugar up gives them just the nudge they need. Her pasty butt will likely come back a few times, so good for you getting it cleaned up right away! If you have to do it again, or clean up any of the others, you can dab the area around the vent with a little Coconut oil or olive oil...even vaseline will work in a pinch. That sometimes helps keep more poo from sticking to that down as badly.

And, as much as I hate to repeat myself, sometimes chicks die. It stinks. But it happens. I lost 10 out of the 17 I got in the mail, and I was sick. Losing chicks is something I'm just not used to, and I think I'd gotten a bit cocky with my successes. It bit me in the hiney. You know what they say about pride.......

Keep her warm, try to keep her hydrated, and try to get her energy level up a bit. Good luck...keep us posted.

 

[DonnaFreak]

Donna, shipping is just  plain hard on chicks, and the littlest ones seem to have the roughest time of it.  If you have any Nutri-drench on hand, you can try giving her a bit of that - and a bit in their waterer for the first day or so would help all of them.  I'm not one for supplements - sometimes I see posts where folks have Nutri-drench, apple cider vinegar, probiotics and electrolytes all in the same waterer, and wonder why the chicks have diarrhea.  But each person has their own ways, I guess.  Me, I'd rather give them a boost and then plain, clear, fresh water.  

You could also try giving her a little sugar water if you don't have Nutri-drench.  Sometimes getting that blood sugar up gives them just the nudge they need.  Her pasty butt will likely come back a few times, so good for you getting it cleaned up right away!  If you have to do it again, or clean up any of the others, you can dab the area around the vent with a little Coconut oil or olive oil...even vaseline will work in a pinch.  That sometimes helps keep more poo from sticking to that down as badly.

And, as much as I hate to repeat myself, sometimes chicks die.  It stinks.  But it happens.  I lost 10 out of the 17 I got in the mail, and I was sick.  Losing chicks is something I'm just not used to, and I think I'd gotten a bit cocky with my successes.  It bit me in the hiney.  You know what they say about pride.......

Keep her warm, try to keep her hydrated, and try to get her energy level up a bit.  Good luck...keep us posted.

Thanks Blooie. I don't have any Nutri-Drench, but their waterer is filled with plain, unflavored Pedialite. I honestly don't know what the sugar content of it is, but I do know that it has electrolytes in it. I had planned to give it to the chicks for 2 days, then giving them fresh water. Will that help?

Donna

 

[3riverschick]

Blooie is right. Only one thing im The water. Give the other supplements on the side. put your Nutri drench *or* your apple cider vinegar ...one or the other... in the water. then give the birds a treat of some yogurt. leave it in no longer than 10 minutes so it doesn't spoil under the hot light. that will give them their probiotics and it's very natural . I like Okios triple zero vanilla yogurt. It is very pure for babies.
Karen

 

[Blooie]

I'd be lying if I said I could answer that - I don't know anything about using Pedialyte for chicks. Maybe someone will chime in. I always hate when I can't answer a question, but I'd 10 times rather admit it than give bad advice. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[MichelleT]

Hello! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea and even went ahead and bought the heating pad that you suggested @Blooie ! My husband is in the process of building a bigger and better coop and we're anxiously awaiting the day it's finished (maybe next week... woohoo!) so we can get our new babies.

That said, I read about the first 5 pages of this thread (no time to read the rest) so I'm hoping you'll forgive me if some other newbie asked these questions already.

The four hens we have now we adopted as adults, so we're new to baby chicks!

We're hoping to build the tunnel/cave in the coop, separated from the big girls so that they'll get to know each other earlier. I'm not exactly sure what age they'll be yet, but it will be less than 2 weeks.

How long will they need to be in the coop with their cave? When can we start letting them outdoors (separated from the adults)? Should we maybe have 2 "caves" (one outdoors and one in)? Although I'd love to have separate door and run for the littlies, it's just not feasible. We can keep them separated, though. We'll have to move them in and out ourselves, so when should that start?

And at what age can we integrate them with the rest of the "flock".

It's been super warm here (and everywhere?) so I'm thinking outdoors from the get-go would be the easiest route.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[azygous]

Michelle, if you read my article on brooding outdoors, linked below in my signature line, it will answer a lot of your questions.

Is there any way you can set up your brooding safe pen in your run? That's what I do. My run is covered and I have panels that shelter from cold drafts. Even though spring temperatures where I live are quite cool, chicks do splendidly. The run is where the adult flock spends most of their time, so chicks brooded in the run get maximum exposure to the flock which expedites integration.

Since I brood the chicks in my run from day one, the chicks are ready to start mingling with the adults as early as two weeks old. The secret is the "panic room". There are pictures in my article, but it involves little portals that open into the main run from the chick pen. The chicks find a safe haven inside the panic room when the adults get too much for them.

By age five weeks, the chicks are done with the MHP and move into the coop with the adults. This method is practically fool proof and very safe for the chicks. The article explains why it works so well and the chicks are able to integrate at such an early age when everyone else is insisting you need to wait until chicks are nearly full grown before you put them in with the adults.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

@Blooie. Thank you again for this excellent suggestion with lots of pictures! I just set it up and my chicks learned right away where to go and I haven't heard a discontented peep since! These at meat chickens, but I have a couple others who will added soon. It's amazing!