Need help asap

[Mandy0922]

Hello my names Mandy I just got 10 baby chickens for my daughter on Saturday and the nights have been pretty warm up until tonight its only in the low 60s high 50s but it feels freezing out. I just went to check on them and they're all shivering badly they're in an enclosed coop but the floor is wire and the winds blowing up through it. I have a heat lamp in there but its not a really strong one .Is it ok if I put a towel in there for them to lay on just for the next 3 hours until the sun comes up and I can fix the problem .

 

[Shezadandy]

If they're shivering you must get them warmed up RIGHT NOW. If you have a box, can you bring them in the house until you can rectify the situation? You're going to need to put something more solid on the floor. They need to be in a DRAFT FREE situation. That means no air blowing up from below- it's robbing them of any heat they're getting from your lamp.

 

[Mandy0922]

I have them inside my house now and I'm gonna set them up a place in my bathtub with some food and water while I run to the store to get some things to make their house more chick friendly because tonight it's going to be in the 30s

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Did you ever say how old the chicks are? If they were day olds when you got them, they are way too young to be in a building with a wire floor that allows the wind to blow in. They need some bedding. You could keep them in the coop but cover the wire floor with wood that you can put bedding on and won't allow their body heat to be wicked away. They need cool space but they definitely need a warm spot tis at least 90F so they can find their comfort zone.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think someone recommended the wire floor to rid the coop of feces but I'm not a big fan. Birds raised on wire and no outdoor access won't get worms or coccidiosis but that isn't really natural. Scratching and dust bathing is the good thing about having chickens outdoors.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice I ended up placing plywood down to cover the wire floor and put bedding all inside the coop and got a heavy duty heat lamp and even wrapped plastic around the bottom of the coop to make sure no draft comes up from below. I'd lovvve to be able to keep them indoors but me my husband and our 4 year old daughter live with his parents and his mom absolutely will not let me keep them indoors so I have them set up in their coop and I'm gonna be looking for someone that lives near us that also has chicks to see if we can keep ours with theirs until ours are old enough the be in the outdoor coop

They're better off outside as long as you've made sure they have a warm spot.
Be very cautious of putting your chicks with someone else's. Bio-security is very important as is quarantine. You don't want your birds to contract any disease or parasites from other birds. I don't even let anyone that has been around other chickens on my property without a boot wash, disposable booties and coveralls.

not everyone agrees with you https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/do-chicks-need-grit-if-fed-treats-and-worms.640821/ They might need grit for grass which has a lot of indigestible stuff in it (cows need special bacteria to digest grass) but I doubt they need it for salad type greens. However I think they need dirt to be healthy, grit or no grit, and any chick not raised on the ground should get a bowl of dirt to eat and play in. So whatever you are feeding your chicks give them some dirt. If they need grit for anything they are eating they will get it. If raised in a dirt floor pen where the dirt is compacted, turn the dirt or add nice fresh dirt from outside.

All birds have gizzards but not all birds need grit because of what they eat. However all galliformes can benefit from grit at all ages regardless of what they are fed. Grit helps to develop the gizzard so later in life they will better be able to complete digestion.
For a chicken not to have grit is akin to us swallowing all our food whole without chewing. You will get digestion but not as completely. Grit affords better feed conversion and prevents digestive blockage.

 

[Kat C]

Oh god no we could never kill her I'll do some research on it thanks

Sometimes keeping a deformed bird alive causes more suffering than a quick kill. Every bird (and living creature) is going to die eventually anyway. Birds don't have any idea of how long they might live so they are not sitting around wishing a long life. I don't find keeping a suffering animal alive to be a kindness at all. If the bird fails starts to suffer I hope you will reconsider.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sometimes keeping a deformed bird alive causes more suffering than a quick kill. Every bird (and living creature) is going to die eventually anyway. Birds don't have any idea of how long they might live so they are not sitting around wishing a long life. I don't find keeping a suffering animal alive to be a kindness at all. If the bird fails starts to suffer I hope you will reconsider.

X2
Each situation is different and I'm not passing judgement on this case, but when we decide to keep livestock, we accept the responsibility to do the right thing as good animal husbandrymen. It is a difficult thing to do. I once hatched a chick with 3 legs. It appeared robust but couldn't walk and never would have so I put it down.
A lot more human infants would die without millions of dollars of medical equipment and lots of expertly trained staff in neo natal wards.
Survival of the fittest makes for vigorous generations to follow.
Frederick Painter Jeffrey, professor of poultry science at both Rutgers University and University of Massachusetts, Dean of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, author of many poultry books including 'Chicken Diseases' advocated the "rigid culling of all snifflers, droopers, feather rufflers, poor eaters and pale-headed birds to be sure they don't reproduce their kind."
Keeping birds with genetic defects will reproduce birds with genetic defects.

 

[Shezadandy]

If you can bring them inside to warm up, they can't just be left with the heating lamp blaring down on the box - that will turn into an overheat situation (also deadly) unless it's a VERY big box. Have you got a heating pad - one that does NOT have Auto-Shut-Off, i.e. it needs to be on (and stay on) all night. You could make a "Momma Heating Pad" which is basically a cave with a heating pad on top to mimic being under the hen.

 

[Shezadandy]

If you have a heating pad, anything to make a little cave will serve them well. Think kitchen items- do you have a turkey roaster rack? One of those temporary kitchen shelves that could be bent to the right position? The main requirements are that one side must slope to the ground - this works because they press their back against the heating pad just as they would a hen. Here's the main thread. And I attached pictures of what we did for ours. You'll have to place the chicks under it the first time. It will warm them up quickly as long as there's no draft and as long as the box allows them to step out of the cave.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/