New at raising chicks and I have a couple of questions

[Sharon Bee]

I am getting my new babies next week. I have my brooder all ready to go in our garage with heat lamp as our nights are still chilly. My questions are: should I add ACV to the water when they first arrive or should I add it at a later time? I don't have the raw ACV so will ordinary ACV do? Thanks for any advice.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I don't use ACV at all.

Make sure your brooder heat lamp has a ceramic socket, not plastic. Make sure it is hung at least two ways not including the clamp. Your chicks will start flying out of the brooder if there is no metal fencing over it very quickly.

Just tips for you if you need them! I thought I would at least give some tips about something!

 

[teafreak35]

I don't use ACV either. Mine are a week old. Hatched them out of our own eggs. They are doing great with plain water and starter/grower. I change bedding everyday. Make sure you regulate your heat in the brooder. It is possible to get it too hot.

 

[Sharon Bee]

I don't use ACV at all. 


Make sure your brooder heat lamp has a ceramic socket, not plastic. Make sure it is hung at least two ways not including the clamp. Your chicks will start flying out of the brooder if there is no metal fencing over it very quickly.  


Just tips for you if you need them! I thought I would at least give some tips about something! 

Thank you. I didn't hear about this before regarding the heat lamp. I have read a lot about the health benefits of ACV.

 

[ozarkmomma]

if you do use ACV, you need the kind with the "mother" in it, that is the cloudy, thick 'stuff" in the bottom of the bottle. The clear stuff you buy at the store isn't the same and doesn't really have the same benefits to it.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The whole vinegar thing is murky without a lot of solid evidence either way. I do use it myself, but it's not organic and it doesn't have the "mother" in it.

As ChickensAreSweet noted make sure your heat lamp cannot fall into the bedding, most especially if you are using one of the big 250w bulbs.

Brooding chicks isn't rocket science. You don't have to control the temperature to the degree, just get it close. The chicks will tell you if they are too hot or cold. This is what you should be looking for:

Do keep the water clean and fresh. Make sure they always have feed available, a fresh, quality chick starter. Put a cover over the top of the brooder because they'll soon be able to fly to the top.

Enjoy your birds!

 

[cmom]

The whole vinegar thing is murky without a lot of solid evidence either way. I do use it myself, but it's not organic and it doesn't have the "mother" in it.

As ChickensAreSweet noted make sure your heat lamp cannot fall into the bedding, most especially if you are using one of the big 250w bulbs.

Brooding chicks isn't rocket science. You don't have to control the temperature to the degree, just get it close. The chicks will tell you if they are too hot or cold. This is what you should be looking for:



Do keep the water clean and fresh. Make sure they always have feed available, a fresh, quality chick starter. Put a cover over the top of the brooder because they'll soon be able to fly to the top.

Enjoy your birds!

I agree.
Raising chicks isn't rocket science. The little buggers are quite resilient. They will find their comfort zone.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Thank you for the advice. I guess I won't use the ACV right away. I'm in Ontario and I not sure where to get it.

 

[cmom]

Thank you for the advice. I guess I won't use the ACV right away. I'm in Ontario and I not sure where to get it.

Most grocery stores carry the apple cider vinegar with the distilled white vinegar.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Most grocery stores carry the apple cider vinegar with the distilled white vinegar.

I have read here that the store kind isn't what to use. We are to use raw organic ACV. Correct? I have the kind of course you can buy in a store.