New chicks- what now

[Jaimes09]

Yup too late for the quarantine I originally recommended. For future reference, it is a good idea when bringing new birds in to keep them separated from your current flock to ensure they don’t bring any contagious diseases or problems like lice or mites.
I agree with the previous poster about not giving them a bath. It will be stressful. They can “bathe” if you provide a diet bath (container of dirt) in their brooder or when they have access to outside at any point as they get older.

Got it, and for the baths you mentioned is it true i can use like ash for them to remove mites and stuff if I don’t have store bought dirt?

I also got a hen with 6 chicks, you think i should go ahead separate her or no? She for sure hasn’t been near mine yet.

 

[NatJ]

Got it, and for the baths you mentioned is it true i can use like ash for them to remove mites and stuff if I don’t have store bought dirt?

You don't need to buy dirt from the store. Just take a shovel outside and dig up a bit.

I also got a hen with 6 chicks, you think i should go ahead separate her or no? She for sure hasn’t been near mine yet.

If she came from the same place as the other new chickens, she probably has the same germs/pests/parasites, so it is probably not worth trying to quarantine her either.

Whether to put her with the rest, or keep her in a separate pen, would depend on how they act. I am guessing a pen next to the other chickens, so they can see and interact but not hurt each other, would be a good way to start.

 

[Jaimes09]

You don't need to buy dirt from the store. Just take a shovel outside and dig up a bit.


If she came from the same place as the other new chickens, she probably has the same germs/pests/parasites, so it is probably not worth trying to quarantine her either.

Whether to put her with the rest, or keep her in a separate pen, would depend on how they act. I am guessing a pen next to the other chickens, so they can see and interact but not hurt each other, would be a good way to start.

Got yeah they got some pot hole type things around my moms gardenbut i just wanted to add on something that may help with fleas and mites, etc. I have her like this right now. I have separated new ones from mine just cause they weren’t comfortable eating with mine but yeah i got them slightly separated. Not to much though since they were already sort of together.

 

[NatJ]

Got yeah they got some pot hole type things around my moms gardenbut i just wanted to add on something that may help with fleas and mites, etc. I have her like this right now. I have separated new ones from mine just cause they weren’t comfortable eating with mine but yeah i got them slightly separated. Not to much though since they were already sort of together.

That sounds good

For adding things to the dust bath: some people say wood ashes or DE help, and other people say those things do not help and are bad for chickens to breathe. Also, if wood ashes get wet, they can produce lye, which is dangerous on the skin of people or animals (including chickens).

Personally, I would not add anything to the dirt.

If you find fleas or mites, buy a product that is known to kill them, and apply it directly to the chickens. But if you cannot find any parasites, do not treat for them.

 

[Jaimes09]

So aside from healthy what can i do to have them stick together without fighting? When they recently got put together my 2 chicks would peck at them and have them running around, i put them on the roost last night and after a good bit they stopped pecking but this morning they went back to the same routine of pecking. I know one is way smaller but he’s to big to try putting him under the broody hen

 

[NatJ]

So aside from healthy what can i do to have them stick together without fighting? When they recently got put together my 2 chicks would peck at them and have them running around, i put them on the roost last night and after a good bit they stopped pecking but this morning they went back to the same routine of pecking. I know one is way smaller but he’s to big to try putting him under the broody hen

It definitely takes time for them to work out the new pecking order.

Having places to get out of sight may help, even if that just means several cardboard boxes with holes in them. You don't want any chicken getting trapped in a corner, so think tunnels (multiple entrances) rather than caves.

Having multiple feeders and waterers helps, especially if some are out of sight of others-- that way the underlings can eat without being interrupted too much.

Having raised perches to sit on can help too, because it gives them another way to be "away" from each other.

Having them live in side-by-side pens sometimes helps too, but at some point they just have to go in the same pen and work it out.

 

[Jaimes09]

It definitely takes time for them to work out the new pecking order.

Having places to get out of sight may help, even if that just means several cardboard boxes with holes in them. You don't want any chicken getting trapped in a corner, so think tunnels (multiple entrances) rather than caves.

Having multiple feeders and waterers helps, especially if some are out of sight of others-- that way the underlings can eat without being interrupted too much.

Having raised perches to sit on can help too, because it gives them another way to be "away" from each other.

Having them live in side-by-side pens sometimes helps too, but at some point they just have to go in the same pen and work it out.

One of my chicks seemed to have accepted them having her peck at them once in awhile for space but my other chick that’s a rooster still at it. Put him in a cage in the middle of the pen and let him loose after an hour and seemed to have helped but still pecking at them constantly when they try eating and chases them. I haven’t done it how you mentioned because of space and the lack of pen material i have. So just have to work with what i have now. If anything though i think i might place the small chick under a broody hen that has some chicks hatching right now.

 

[Ebony Rose]

If anything though i think i might place the small chick under a broody hen that has some chicks hatching right now.

Keep a very close eye on that, if the broody hen elects to reject the chick the consequences could be fatal to the chick.

 

[Ebony Rose]

If and when you get these birds into a cohesive flock, you'll remember these little missteps and avoid them.

Learning the hard way always works best for me, as I don't tend to make the same mistakes twice. I don't know what I don't know, until it becomes painfully obvious that I don't know.