Welcome!
Let me pass on some very important information that will save you loads of angst:
Chicks sleep a LOT. And they fall asleep in the middle of eating, peeping, pooping, walking, sitting, drinking, any activity at all. They just fall over asleep. And into the oddest positions. You WILL look in the brooder and see at least one, if not all of them, looking dead. Before you panic, tap the side of the brooder. They will wake up. This happens to everybody.
That is not a seizure you see, when a chick is on its side, kicking and flapping. That is a dust bath. It may not matter that there is no "dust" in which to bathe, they do it in their bedding. They will do this at a surprisingly young age.
When they lay sorta katty-wumpas and stretch out a wing, they are enjoying warmth and/or the sun, or the heat lamp. This is sun-bathing. They will even roll over and stretch out the other wing to warm the other side, too.
When you get around to giving them treats, they may very likely run away screaming in terror from the Killer Peas or Marauding Chopped Boiled Egg Bits. Leave it for them - eventually one brave chick will peck at a bit of the treat, and then it will be a free-for-all as they swarm for the goodies. They will also chase each other to try to get the prize away from another chick, even when there is a full dish of the same thing.
They will do the same thing with a piece of pine shaving, by the way. Do not be dismayed by this odd behavior. A prize is a prize, edible or not.
Now, for something more serious: they poop an amazing amount. Sometimes chicks have poopy bottoms, what we call "pasty butt." It sticks to their vents (the opening from which poop emerges) and sometimes to the feathers, and can build up and block the vent. This can kill them. Check each chick at least twice a day for pasty butt, and remove any stuck poop. They won't like it, but it has to be done. This usually stops occurring by the time they are two weeks old.
Enjoy your chicks! And do not be surprised at the amount of love you develop for them and how much affection you can feel for chickens. They each develop their own personalities.
Let me pass on some very important information that will save you loads of angst:
Chicks sleep a LOT. And they fall asleep in the middle of eating, peeping, pooping, walking, sitting, drinking, any activity at all. They just fall over asleep. And into the oddest positions. You WILL look in the brooder and see at least one, if not all of them, looking dead. Before you panic, tap the side of the brooder. They will wake up. This happens to everybody.
That is not a seizure you see, when a chick is on its side, kicking and flapping. That is a dust bath. It may not matter that there is no "dust" in which to bathe, they do it in their bedding. They will do this at a surprisingly young age.
When they lay sorta katty-wumpas and stretch out a wing, they are enjoying warmth and/or the sun, or the heat lamp. This is sun-bathing. They will even roll over and stretch out the other wing to warm the other side, too.
When you get around to giving them treats, they may very likely run away screaming in terror from the Killer Peas or Marauding Chopped Boiled Egg Bits. Leave it for them - eventually one brave chick will peck at a bit of the treat, and then it will be a free-for-all as they swarm for the goodies. They will also chase each other to try to get the prize away from another chick, even when there is a full dish of the same thing.
They will do the same thing with a piece of pine shaving, by the way. Do not be dismayed by this odd behavior. A prize is a prize, edible or not.
Now, for something more serious: they poop an amazing amount. Sometimes chicks have poopy bottoms, what we call "pasty butt." It sticks to their vents (the opening from which poop emerges) and sometimes to the feathers, and can build up and block the vent. This can kill them. Check each chick at least twice a day for pasty butt, and remove any stuck poop. They won't like it, but it has to be done. This usually stops occurring by the time they are two weeks old.
Enjoy your chicks! And do not be surprised at the amount of love you develop for them and how much affection you can feel for chickens. They each develop their own personalities.
