I do not know their age and they are still with their mother . Do I need to separate them I could really use some feed back.
As long as mama is taking care of them, keep the chicks with mama. If not, then take them away and put them in a brooder with a heat source. That chick looks to be almost 5 or 6 days old. Needs food, water and warmth (mama or a heat lamp)
Quote:You don't LOL.. They do tend to get the water messy whether raised alone in a brooder, or with mom. All you can do is change water as often as you can. I tried putting the waterer up on a log, so they had to jump on the log to reach the water- and it still filled with shavings. I hatched out maybe 20 chicks in incubator in 3 hatches. Those chicks were on paper towels for a few weeks, then shavings. Heat lamp, marbles in the waterer so they wouldnt drown. The whole "paranoid human" thing. Then in May and July, my girls had 2 hatches. I was paranoid of leaving them in the coop with the others, but I figured I would just let nature take its course. The moms had them outside at 1 day old. They learned to follow the moms into the coop after a day or 2. They didnt drown in the waterer. It was so amazing how well the moms took care of them. It really was fun to watch. Very stress free way to raise chicks ( Except the fact they were bantams, and kept squeezing through the chicken wire and out of the run). Sit back and enjoy!!
If you use bowls for food and water, it's hard to keep it clean. I use rabbit water bottles for my baby chicks in brooders, when you put them in, press their beaks against the spout to show them how to get the water. You may need to show them a few times during the first couple of days, but they catch on fast, especially if it drips a little.
Would revcommend the rabbit bottles... the rabbit bottles! All my juveniles drink out of them, usually learning by Day or 2 after I start them with an eyedropper, moving it closer & closer to the bottle nipple each time they drink. The water bottle needs a little cleaning once a week, but no poop or littler gets in it. By 4 months, I use one water bottle per 5 pullets or so, and at 6 months they get the galvanized vacuum waterers.
