my new chicks need help
- Thread starter rubyjane
- Start date
First, Welcome to the world of chickens! I'm guessing they are being shipped? Make sure your brooder is setup, ready for them. Have a bedding such as woodchips, not newspaper. Heat lamp. Chick starter and Water. Good idea to have sugar added to water and dip each chick's beak into water so they know where to find it. Also, good tip i've learned from BYC is to have marbles in the waterer so the chicks don't fall asleep in the water and drowned themselves. OH, enjoy your chicks. They are alot of fun.
ETA: if your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis do not feed mediacated feed.
ETA: if your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis do not feed mediacated feed.
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- Thread starter
- #3
They said it all! Have enough room for the chicks to move away from the heat if they get hot! Good luck and Welcome!!
- Thread starter
- #5
yep, get a brooder set up and sugar water ready. not too sugary, just enough to give them the energy they need. the brooder should be 90 degrees F at the floor so that they don't get too cold. you can adjust the temperature by putting the lamp closer or further away.
if they were vaccinated they won't need medicated feed. if you do have a few losses, even just one, you should call the hatchery and let them know. that sort of information is important to them because it lets them know which breeds are not making the trip so that they can improve their stock.
i've never had babies fall asleep in the water dish, but i still recommend putting marbles in there for them. they really are cute little things.
there are a few problems that i've had with hatchery chicks that are easily fixable. here are the problems with the solutions.
weak, tiny chicks with no energy - pedialyte, it will give them the electrolytes they need to perk up a bit. keep them warm and be sure they are not being trampled by their brood mates. you can get a little piece of cardboard or something and cut it 2 inches by 6 inches and wedge it in a corner of the brooder to make a little "safe place" for them make sure it has water at all times.
chicks can't stand up, legs are widely apart - this is known as spraddled leg or splay leg. you can take a band-aid and put it over the chick's legs so that their legs are held together as they should be, just like this
they might need a little help learning how to walk, so take a section of carpet and try to get them to walk a few times a day. once they start walking on their own you can let them chill out in the brooder and when you think they will be fine without the band-aid just take it off. if they still don't stand up, just make a new one.
chick has a curled up foot and can't stand on it very well. the foot is swollen and immobile - i've had to deal with this recently, and the chick is now just as happy and active as the others! i can't even tell him apart! in most cases, what you do is make a little splint or boot for the chick. you can cut out a piece of thin cardboard like from the box that comes with a case of beer or soda. cut it in the shape of a duckling's foot and place the chick's foot on it, flattening it so that the toes spread out on it. tape the chicks foot down and viola! it stands!
curled toes, chick walks a little silly - this can develop into a bad problem. in some cases the toes will continue curling as the chick grows, but it is easy to fix. do what would be done for the curled up foot but use a piece of tape or band-aid on the bottom instead of cardborad. change it every day and take a look at it to see if the chick's toes are going back to normal. if done right she should be fine
if they were vaccinated they won't need medicated feed. if you do have a few losses, even just one, you should call the hatchery and let them know. that sort of information is important to them because it lets them know which breeds are not making the trip so that they can improve their stock.
i've never had babies fall asleep in the water dish, but i still recommend putting marbles in there for them. they really are cute little things.
there are a few problems that i've had with hatchery chicks that are easily fixable. here are the problems with the solutions.
weak, tiny chicks with no energy - pedialyte, it will give them the electrolytes they need to perk up a bit. keep them warm and be sure they are not being trampled by their brood mates. you can get a little piece of cardboard or something and cut it 2 inches by 6 inches and wedge it in a corner of the brooder to make a little "safe place" for them make sure it has water at all times.
chicks can't stand up, legs are widely apart - this is known as spraddled leg or splay leg. you can take a band-aid and put it over the chick's legs so that their legs are held together as they should be, just like this
they might need a little help learning how to walk, so take a section of carpet and try to get them to walk a few times a day. once they start walking on their own you can let them chill out in the brooder and when you think they will be fine without the band-aid just take it off. if they still don't stand up, just make a new one.
chick has a curled up foot and can't stand on it very well. the foot is swollen and immobile - i've had to deal with this recently, and the chick is now just as happy and active as the others! i can't even tell him apart! in most cases, what you do is make a little splint or boot for the chick. you can cut out a piece of thin cardboard like from the box that comes with a case of beer or soda. cut it in the shape of a duckling's foot and place the chick's foot on it, flattening it so that the toes spread out on it. tape the chicks foot down and viola! it stands!
curled toes, chick walks a little silly - this can develop into a bad problem. in some cases the toes will continue curling as the chick grows, but it is easy to fix. do what would be done for the curled up foot but use a piece of tape or band-aid on the bottom instead of cardborad. change it every day and take a look at it to see if the chick's toes are going back to normal. if done right she should be fine
oh- i forgot
from Dillingham, Alaska!
- Thread starter
- #8
- Thread starter
- #9
okay, okay... it get's as cold as 30 BELOW zero here. they have a heat lamp in there during the winter and a handful of scratch every day. they also aren't allowed in the run for the winter, so they get a LOT of treats. even fragile breeds do okay in my coop.
Barred Rocks do AMAZING in the winter! they can take good care of themselves and handle confinement just champs. if they end up getting frostbite on their combs you might want to get them dubbed. i don't know a whole lot about dubbing, but i've never had to do it so i think you're in the clear as of now.
ETA: for a nice well-mannered calm roo you might want a Buff Orprington. Wellsummers can also be pretty nice boys, too and i've always admired the way they look. Barred Rock roosters can be really mean, my uncle has one named Dr. Satan because he is the devil himself. but one of my aunts has a Barred Rock that was tame as a kitten. although different breeds have different general personalities i think that just like people, you can get a mean roo or a nice one. if you are wanting fertile eggs to hatch yourself or sell you might want one rooster for every 5 hens so that the fertility rate is higher.
Barred Rocks do AMAZING in the winter! they can take good care of themselves and handle confinement just champs. if they end up getting frostbite on their combs you might want to get them dubbed. i don't know a whole lot about dubbing, but i've never had to do it so i think you're in the clear as of now.
ETA: for a nice well-mannered calm roo you might want a Buff Orprington. Wellsummers can also be pretty nice boys, too and i've always admired the way they look. Barred Rock roosters can be really mean, my uncle has one named Dr. Satan because he is the devil himself. but one of my aunts has a Barred Rock that was tame as a kitten. although different breeds have different general personalities i think that just like people, you can get a mean roo or a nice one. if you are wanting fertile eggs to hatch yourself or sell you might want one rooster for every 5 hens so that the fertility rate is higher.
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