New chicks coming...1st timer

[Blooie]

Welcome! Glad to have you here, and I agree with my good friend @lazy gardener congratulating you on being well prepared! Yep, take that food back!

You want the Apple cider vinegar "with the mother", and it will say so right on the bottle. Most people use Braggs, but I think that's because it's the most recognizable! Personally I didn't use it. I didn't use any of the things that we are "supposed" to use for chicks, like probiotics, electrolytes, and other additives, but I did rely on NutriDrench to give a quick boost to stressed chicks. No matter what you choose to do, be sure to have fresh, unaltered clean water available to them as well.

And there is always someone checking on the Mama Heating Pad thread, despite how long it's been running, to help answer questions about MHP and alleviate concerns. We'd love to have you!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

 

[Spartan22]

Take that bag of feed back. That is totally unacceptable. I no longer do business with TSC b/c of their practice of selling rancid feed.

Yup take it back, the last time I was in TSC was over 3yrs ago when they sold me chick starter that has molds in it, when I complained to a manager, they told me to call the feed company instead of replacing it. Needless to say I never set my feet in those store. I found an awesome hardware/feed store with great staff and store the size of a city, wit fresher feeds delivery Every Friday.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yup take it back, the last time I was in TSC was over 3yrs ago when they sold me chick starter that has molds in it, when I complained to a manager, they told me to call the feed company instead of replacing it. Needless to say I never set my feet in those store. I found an awesome hardware/feed store with great staff and store the size of a city, wit fresher feeds delivery Every Friday.

1000 likes. If customers continue to accept crap from feed stores, that is exactly what they will be paying for.

 

[CarrieDee86]

Hey Skip! Welcome! Kudos to you for being prepared and choosing the most natural brooding system for your lucky gals. (Of course a broody hen might be a tad more natural!)

The big issue with chicken feed is that it has about a 6 week stable shelf life before the nutrients oxidize and start to break down. Check the mill date on the tape at the bottom of your bag. If it's old, you might want to return it and get a fresh bag. Don't believe the feed store employees who will tell you that their feed is good for 6 months.

You can easily make your own electrolyte solution. Electrolytes should not be used on a daily basis. Only use them for birds who are stressed from transport, being overheated, or other stressors. I'd return that stuff also. Pretty useless IMO, even though it does have some vitamins.

A better bang for your buck is Poultry Nutri Drench. This is the single most important product in my poultry "wellness" kit. All my chicks get PND for the first 2 weeks, even if they come kicking out of the eggs like little Ninja Warriors.

Probiotics do have their place, but I no longer buy those either. Instead, I rely on fermented feed, and most importantly, give my chicks a plug of sod shortly after they have figured out the feeding routine. I plop it into the brooder, upside down. The sod will provide: first grit, minerals, some seeds, insects, and if they are lucky a worm or two. First greens, first dust bath, lots of chickie games. And most importantly, a good load of beneficial bacteria and fungi to jump start their gut flora and immune systems. The soil should be provided within the first 2 weeks of life, while they still have antibodies received from their mothers. They will also get their first exposure to the pathogens common to YOUR soil. This is not a freak out thing, but a good thing. They need this exposure to build their immune systems. I replenish that sod when ever it looks "worn out".

There is an article re: the how and why of fermented seed in my signature.

@lazygardener When you give them the sod, do you also add Corid to their water? I've read that the chicks can get a parasite that lives in the soil, and Corid keeps them from getting sick? I love the idea of giving my chicks some soil from the backyard, to get used to, like you said...but I'm worried about this parasite? What's your experience with that? TIA!

 

[christwodog]

I do have a small bag of dried mealworms ready for them so I probably should just pick up some grit and some ACV. Sounds like I should probably swap out my bag of food too since I'm there and it's unopened.

Only getting 5 chicks. Trying to keep it small. Just seems like 50 lbs would last forever but what do I know, I've never done this before.

There is the spillage factor that will make you go thru food faster than you thought!
They can really make a mess no matter what you do! I personally use either probiotics or NutriDrench for the first 2 days after I get them, then plain fresh water after that. I have the ACV but haven't tried that yet. Sounds like you have done your research! Best of luck, have fun, they grow quick!

 

[lazy gardener]

No. I do not ever use medicated feed. I never have had an issue with coccidiosis. The very reason to give your chicks soil from YOUR yard is so that you can expose them to the cocci IN YOUR SOIL. Cocci are naturally found in all soils. They are also found in every chicken gut. It's only when they get out of balance that the chicken gets sick.

A chicken with a poorly functioning immune system, is more prone to coccidiosis. A chicken who is stressed due to poor management practices: being kept in a wet, bare soil run, stressed by over crowding, poorly fed, heavy parasite load, will have a compromised immune system.

Mama hen takes her chicks off the nest before they are 3 days old. She has them scratching out in the yard at what ever the ambient temperatures are. Often their very first treats are chicken poop. Many animal species, chickens included populate their guts by eating poop of their own species. This ensures a healthy gut! Gross by human standards. But, believe it or not, the medical community is now taking note of the practice and using infusions from the gut of a healthy person to populate the gut of a sick person with a healthy flora to combat persistent gut infections. If you get grossed out by such things, skip the last 4 paragraphs!

Any how, broody raised chicks seem to NEVER get coccidiosis.

IMO, medicated feed is highly over rated. Yes, some folks have issue with coccidiosis. But, that is the exception in a back yard flock. While Amprolium is technically not an antibiotic, I simply choose not to buy medicated feed and expose my chicks to it. Amprolium is a Thiamine blocker. The cocci protozoan needs Thiamine in order to replicate. Now, I've not read any studies about whether Amprolium blocks Thiamine absorption in the host animal (chicken) but it makes sense to me NOT TO USE a Thiamine blocker if it is not needed. There may come a time when I have a perfect storm of events that all pile up on top of each other, resulting in a case of coccidiosis in my flock. If that ever happens, I will use Corid. But, I trust my animal husbandry methods and my immune system building methods.

Fecal Microbiota Transplant
Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) is a procedure in which fecal matter, or stool, is collected from a tested donor, mixed with a saline or other solution, strained, and placed in a patient, by colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or enema.

The purpose of fecal transplant is to replace good bacteria that has been killed or suppressed, usually by the use of antibiotics, causing bad bacteria, specifically Clostridium difficile, or C. diff., to over-populate the colon. This infection causes a condition called C. diff. colitis, resulting in often debilitating, sometimes fatal diarrhea.



Healing Clostridium difficile Infections (CDI)
C. diff. is a very serious infection, and the incidence is on the rise throughout the world. The CDC reports that approximately 347,000 people in the U.S. alone were diagnosed with this infection in 2012. Of those, at least 14,000 died. Some estimates place that number in the 30,000 to 50,000 range, if the U.S. used the same cause of death reporting methods as most of the rest of the world.

Fecal transplant has also had promising results with many other digestive or auto-immune diseases, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis. It has also been used around the world to treat other conditions, although more research in other areas is needed.

 

[Spartan22]

I 2nd Lazy Gardener, I never given my chicks any meds when exposing to their new homes i.e. soil, flora, grass. Make sure that their getting proper nutrition to fight any diseases and build natural immunity. But its just me, reason I entered into this endeavor to avoid unnecessary medications and hormones since am allergic to store bought eggs otherwise why put this work on my busy scheds already. So far entering 5th year of "chickening" non of my chickens got sick or died of diseases except one being egg bound.