Question about one day old chicks.

[chickencrazyinHT]

We have ten white leghorn chicks that hatched yesterday from the incubator. We just transported them to the brooder and some have a string hanging from their bottom and we were wondering if this is normal? I gently tried to pull a little but it seemed stuck so I stopped. I had read about chicks getting pasted up and was making sure this wasn't a sign of that. I know that sexing chicks is hard but was wondering if anyone had information on how to tell which chicks will be future roosters or hens? We have the brooder lined with some pine shavings and they are pecking at them trying to eat a little. Will it hurt them if they do eat some? We have had chickens for a little while but these are our first hatch of chicks. Thanks for any information you may have.


Our chickens are:
3 Buff Orpingtons which are our favorites!
7 Rhode Island reds
2 old english splash bantams
10 white leg horn chicks

 

[Judy]

A lot of people put paper towels over the pine shavings for 2 or 3 days because of their eating them. They'll be OK if they don't eat too many and if theyu figure out what is food pretty quickly. I suspect the string is the umbilical cord; I'd leave it alone at any rate. No you can't tell roos from hens at this age unless you are a professional chicken sexer, and even they only get it right 90% of the time.

Be the mama and show them the water and the food (tap the feeder) til they get the hang of it; shouldn't take long.

 

[Judy]

In a couple of weeks you'll probably see some with more feathers and some with less; the ones that are slower to feather are more likely to be roos.

 

[chillmiller]

Quote:
oh no

i got st run from murry mcmurry 3 weeks ago and alot of my australops still look like 2 week olds O.O i dun want that many roos

well i just went out there and looked at my little bunch-o-chicks and actually im not in bad standings if this is true as 5 out of the 22 chicks id have are slower to feather