Raising friendly chickens

[chickens456789]

I was wondering if you guys have any tips for raising friendly chickens. Also is it ok for one of my chick's droppings to be a little runny?

 

[SIMZ]

The key for friendly chickens? FOOD!

Really. They love treats and learn quick!

It's probably ok for your chick to have slightly runny droppings. If you notice anything unusual - like blood or strange colors - it could be a problem. Somewhere on here is a chart of chicken droppings. Gross as it sounds, it is a great tool for comparison!

 

[TwoCrows]

Start out with chicks for sure as you can bond with them early on. Move slow around them, food is always a good incentive for trust and over time they realize you are not out to eat them. As chicks, get them out on the living room floor for some quality time, handle them daily. By the time you get them outside, you can go sit with them in the run with a bag of goodies. They will be all over you like bees on honey. Turns them in to real lap babies. My girls just wont' leave me alone for a nice lap to sit on. I have to be willing to stay for 20 mins or so every time I go out to see my birds because many of them beg for me to sit down so they can snuggle on my lap. They would stay there all day if I didn't urge them to get off. LOL

As for the runny poop. Chicks can sometimes have loose stool. Depends on the color of it and the frequency of the loose poop. If the poop turns dark, reddish black, then there could be blood in the poop from cocci. Cocci is a parasite issue that all chicks carry within their intestines. If they get overwhelmed with it in the brooder, it can make them sick or kill them. If you see chicks with this dark runny stool, fluffed up in the corners, not eating or even dying, then get some Corid from the feed store and use it for 5 full days.

Clear white runny poop can be from not eating enough. Make sure all the chicks have access to the food. If these are very young babies, lay done paper towels and sprinkle feed all around the floor by the feeder so they can find the feed and know where it is stored.

If the poop is of a light brown, but just a bit wet, then you might add some probiotics to the water for better digestion. A human grade probiotic will work just fine. Empty a powdered capsule in one quart waterer and stir well. Change it daily.

Enjoy your new babies and welcome to BYC!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You got some good advice above, there are also several articles in the Learning Center on socializing and raising chicks as pets https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks

 

[Ren2014]

Hello and welcome to BYC. Here's a link to a poop chart
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

Good luck to you.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Food is the great motivator for chickens. Move slowly and deliberately around them and get them to associate you with feed. It's really pretty easy.

 

[gander007]

 

[gander007]

 

[gander007]