new chick mom worried

[mamahen1980]

ok so many questions...... I have 31 chicks ranging from 5 weeks to 2 weeks old and.I'm concerned about doing things right. I use pine shavings have from day one out of incubator they are so darn cute to watch. Not sure if they are eating the shaving but it sure looks like it and i worry about crop impacting. I feel their chest and some are hard, is that normal? And when should i give them grit? They are inside all the time with no dirt or grass as of yet, very soon to be outside in new home. I have no clue if i need to give them medicine on regular basis for unknown reasons to me. I feed them starter feed and make sure they have fresh feed and water as much as possible ( that part is hard with shavings lol) and the shaving get cleaned out twice a week. What more should i be doing? Help a newbie please.....

 

[JanO]

As long as they appear to be pooping fine then they are not impacted. As far as feed is concerned just stick with the chick starter. They don't need anything else until they are 8 weeks old and able to go outside. I don't give my flock any type of medications, ever.

 

[mamahen1980]

thank you for responding. some of them have runny poop but others are normal. coop is going up this weekend and im so excited to see how they will react to the outdoors