Newbie

[Weezul98]

Hi there,
Super new to chickens and back yard chicken site. We just picked up 6 americauna chicks this morning. I have read several websites on "chicks 101". I sure hope I do not do anything wrong. My kids would be devastated! Lol. I did warn them that not all chicks survive and that we are new to raising chickens. My husband and I have three children. Two boys and one girl. The kids were thrilled with our little surprise when they came home from school! Is there such a thing as holding them too much? I let them hold them for a while then put them back into our home made brooder to see if they want to warm up. We have the light set up on one side and the food and water on the other so they can go back and forth if they feel hot or cold. Anyway, if there is some sort of advice that most forget to mention, I would appreciate your shout out.
Thanks, the nervous newbie LOL

 

[Chicks Galore3]

First Time Chicken Keep Questions and Anwers Is an article you can check out for more info on chicks. I wrote it through my experience with chicks. Congrats on the chicks! They are such awesome little creatures.

 

[GAchickennewbie]

Welcome to BYC! There is a lot of info here and many helpful members!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Congratulations on your new chicks! You should have some colorful eggs when they start to lay. Chicks Galore3 gave you her nice article to read. And with new babies we like to give them a couple of days to settle in and make sure they are all doing well... then as long as chicks are eating, drinking and sleeping, and have plenty of time to do it, holding them a lot is fine. We like to hold them often but in short sessions when they are tiny, it sure does seem to help them become tamer as adults. Not sure if you have seen them but there are a couple of articles inthe Learning Center on taming chicks https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-socialize-baby-chickens and https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-a-chicken-as-a-family-pet

Don't forget to check out the BYC Learning Center in general for all kinds of good chicken keeping articles https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

 

[drumstick diva]

I think it's good to hold the chicks if they don't fight it but, to sit on the ground with them. Chicks are fast and unpredictable, you never know when one will jump out of your hands and land badly. They are also peck at shiny things like eyes - so it's best if children don't hold them up to their faces unless they are wearing googles. Birds don't have hands so they explore everything by pecking. Ouch !

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

Children need to be supervised and chicks need to be handled
as little as possible a screen on top of the brooder or something
you can see through and observation is best just like watching
bugs in a jar ....

Children need to wash hands before and after handling the chicks
and the baby's need to be warm all the time ...

You need to get some niacin into your chicks and the best
way to do this is a bard boiled egg one egg per 10 chicks
a day for five days ...

Boil egg then remove the shell and mash egg real good
then serve and if any egg is left over after 15 minutes you
need to remove it and dis card never save till later .....

gander007

 

[Duckopolis]

Good luck with your poultry raising adventures,and I hope you find everything you need to know. Don't forget to take a look at BYC's very useful learning center (If you haven't already)! The learning center as well as the forum should answer your questions! Glad to have you here! You can't hold them too much...you can, however, handle them roughly and damage them.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Congrats on the new babies! Looks like every one has given you some great advice here on taking care of your new babies. It is normal to be a nervous mommy. Even after all these years of hatching and brooding, I still get up at midnight to check on my babies. Every noise and sound has me on edge. LOL You never get used to it . At least I never do..

So glad you could join and enjoy your new babies! If you have any other questions, that is what we are here for!

 

[Weezul98]

Thanks for all of the warm welcomes and great info. I will be spending lots of time on this site!