New baby chicks

[Laurie Nordstrom]

Hi, I lost my entire flock of 14 hens this spring to coyotes. Not happening again. Lots of reinforcements done. My question is do I add anything to their water like electrolytes? They are to arrive this Wednesday. I’m keeping them in a baby pool in my garage with lamps til old enough to go to our outside pen but not to the coop for a few months. Any words of advice? Never done baby chicks before always purchased established hens.

 

[WallyG74]

I’m new to chicks myself. I’ve seen people recommend electrolytes but I just made sure they could drink water and they were fine. Almost 2 weeks old now and thriving. Once they all showed me they knew where water was and they could drink, I introduced crumbles.

 

[HenneryTheEighth]

I gave mine electrolytes. I wanted all the help I could get at the beginning and I figured that it wouldn't hurt and might actually help.

 

[rosemarythyme]

This last round I did Poultry Nutri Drench mixed into the water for about 6 days. Powdered mixes with vitamins, electrolytes, and/or probiotics would serve a similar purpose. You don't NEED them however if there are some chicks that are weaker or more stressed than others, it can help.