Raising tips?

[Animal-lover339]

Good evening my chicken loving people,I wanted to know some tips on raising chicks since I am very very bad or unlucky at it so recently me and my best friend had this crazy idea to join our forces to breed kikirikis again for those now knowing kikirikis are a miniature chicken now I also breed game birds but no matter what I do I never seem to be able to get my chicks to survive now I take most measures that are well I suppose basic food and water everyday alot do they always have available now sometimes I leave them with the hen and then I have more luck especially when they are free ranging but they can't die and chickens are expensive now I've tried boxes,coolers even cages with lightbulbs yet none of them survive now I wonder why and if anyone might have a tip for me thank you in advance sorry for making this so long

 

[CloneFly]

Do you have a proper brooder set up? Do the chicks have easy access to fresh food and water? Are they kept indoors for the first few weeks? Normal chicks are fairly easy to raise, same with quail. Not too sure how diffrent the smaller game birds would be though

 

[Animal-lover339]

Do you have a proper brooder set up? Do the chicks have easy access to fresh food and water? Are they kept indoors for the first few weeks? Normal chicks are fairly easy to raise, same with quail. Not too sure how diffrent the smaller game birds would be though

No I don't have a brooder but yes I try to give them almost 24 hour access to food and water and yes I keep them indoors almost till there 3 months old

 

[SourRoses]

The first step would be to design a sufficient brooder.
Most important is that it's longer than it is wide, so there is a cool end and a warm end for the chicks to choose the temperature.
Many materials can work. From xxl plastic totes, metal troughs, or wooden / wire hutch designs. Even old furniture can be repurposed.

For the cold times and young chicks, I have a tent inside in a spare room that is working well (it's 4ft by 8ft and made for gardening, so it has good support for the light and such).

On the back porch we have homemade wooden brooders with hardware cloth. 2x4 in size. The lower level is actually a sturdy fish tank stand my mom built some years ago, we used dog exercise pen panels covered in hw cloth to close in the underside, and built a matching brooder on top.
The lower level has a 4x5 "run" on the side made of dog exercise pen panels (including the top) with plastic mesh to keep the chicks in. It is meant for daytime semi-supervised play, if we're going to leave the house we send them into the brooder.

What I'm trying to explain the long way is, you can get creative!
As long as the space provides chicks most basic need of temperature self-regulation and fresh air exchange.

- A proper heat lamp and fixture is needed. I really don't think regular light bulbs do the trick.
A lot of people swear by the DIY Mama heating pads, you might want to look into that, but I personally have not been able to make chicks happy with that setup, despite a lot of effort.

- Amprolium, in the form of medicated feed or Corrid added to the water, is a staple necessity.

- Stress reduction: Try to locate chicks where they won't be constantly stressed by factors such as other pets, loud human noise, entertainment devices and so on.
Try not to handle chicks excessively or in traumatic ways (block their view of the ground falling away, keep things calm and gentle, and leave them to their own devices most of the day).

If you don't have the resources necessary to begin with, just be patient and wait while you gather what you need as circumstances allow.

 

[Animal-lover339]

The first step would be to design a sufficient brooder.
Most important is that it's longer than it is wide, so there is a cool end and a warm end for the chicks to choose the temperature.
Many materials can work. From xxl plastic totes, metal troughs, or wooden / wire hutch designs. Even old furniture can be repurposed.

For the cold times and young chicks, I have a tent inside in a spare room that is working well (it's 4ft by 8ft and made for gardening, so it has good support for the light and such).

On the back porch we have homemade wooden brooders with hardware cloth. 2x4 in size. The lower level is actually a sturdy fish tank stand my mom built some years ago, we used dog exercise pen panels covered in hw cloth to close in the underside, and built a matching brooder on top.
The lower level has a 4x5 "run" on the side made of dog exercise pen panels (including the top) with plastic mesh to keep the chicks in. It is meant for daytime semi-supervised play, if we're going to leave the house we send them into the brooder.

What I'm trying to explain the long way is, you can get creative!
As long as the space provides chicks most basic need of temperature self-regulation and fresh air exchange.

- A proper heat lamp and fixture is needed. I really don't think regular light bulbs do the trick.
A lot of people swear by the DIY Mama heating pads, you might want to look into that, but I personally have not been able to make chicks happy with that setup, despite a lot of effort.

- Amprolium, in the form of medicated feed or Corrid added to the water, is a staple necessity.

- Stress reduction: Try to locate chicks where they won't be constantly stressed by factors such as other pets, loud human noise, entertainment devices and so on.
Try not to handle chicks excessively or in traumatic ways (block their view of the ground falling away, keep things calm and gentle, and leave them to their own devices most of the day).

If you don't have the resources necessary to begin with, just be patient and wait while you gather what you need as circumstances allow.

I see be creative thank you so much I might have an idea now hopefully and longer by wide no wonder my chicks could thrive in small but long cages yet the very wide ones were a no-go but again thank you so much for sharing !

 

[Ridgerunner]

The best way to solve a problem is to figure out what is going on. In your case, why are those chicks dying?

When you let a broody hen try to raise them while free ranging, can you describe how those chicks die? Do they act sick before they die or do they just fall over dead? Is something killing them? Do you see wounds on the bodies or do they just disappear? How old are they when they die? Do they all die at the same time or is it spread out? How many times has this happened where they all died? Broody hens have been successfully raising chicks while free ranging for thousands of years with no help from humans. Predators are always a risk for any chicken when you free range, whether they are baby chicks or fully grown so that is a possibility but could it be something else?

Could you please answer the same questions about how they die for when you try to raise them yourself? It sounds like you are not using a brooder. Could you describe how you manage them? Do you let them free range? How do you provide food and water? What temperatures are you seeing when they die and what ages are they?

The requirements for a brooder are pretty basic. They need food and water. Water needs to be clean. Provide protection from predators and the weather. The brooder needs to stay dry. I envision Puerto Rico as wet and warm though I know it doesn't rain all of the time and it could get too cool for baby chicks. Protection from weather means they stay dry, they can get out of a direct breeze, and they have a spot warm enough in the coolest temperatures and cool enough in the warmest temperatures. The chicks do not care what the heat source is as long as it is warm enough when they need it and is they have a spot cool enough to go too if it gets too hot.

Dad successfully raised a dozen chicks in a cardboard box on the back porch using an incandescent light bulb for heat. Many people on this forum would be horrified if they saw that and I don't suggest it as ideal, but it met the basic requirements and it worked. Raising chicks is something you can do but I need a lot of help from you to figure out what is going on so you can fix the problem.

 

[Animal-lover339]

The best way to solve a problem is to figure out what is going on. In your case, why are those chicks dying?

When you let a broody hen try to raise them while free ranging, can you describe how those chicks die? Do they act sick before they die or do they just fall over dead? Is something killing them? Do you see wounds on the bodies or do they just disappear? How old are they when they die? Do they all die at the same time or is it spread out? How many times has this happened where they all died? Broody hens have been successfully raising chicks while free ranging for thousands of years with no help from humans. Predators are always a risk for any chicken when you free range, whether they are baby chicks or fully grown so that is a possibility but could it be something else?

Could you please answer the same questions about how they die for when you try to raise them yourself? It sounds like you are not using a brooder. Could you describe how you manage them? Do you let them free range? How do you provide food and water? What temperatures are you seeing when they die and what ages are they?

The requirements for a brooder are pretty basic. They need food and water. Water needs to be clean. Provide protection from predators and the weather. The brooder needs to stay dry. I envision Puerto Rico as wet and warm though I know it doesn't rain all of the time and it could get too cool for baby chicks. Protection from weather means they stay dry, they can get out of a direct breeze, and they have a spot warm enough in the coolest temperatures and cool enough in the warmest temperatures. The chicks do not care what the heat source is as long as it is warm enough when they need it and is they have a spot cool enough to go too if it gets too hot.

Dad successfully raised a dozen chicks in a cardboard box on the back porch using an incandescent light bulb for heat. Many people on this forum would be horrified if they saw that and I don't suggest it as ideal, but it met the basic requirements and it worked. Raising chicks is something you can do but I need a lot of help from you to figure out what is going on so you can fix the problem.

Well when I let the free range with the hen I literally almost always have a 80% rate of being successful now sometimes what I would do is take a cage with no bottom put it on the ground and they would almost all live ofc I'd move them so they wouldn't touch their feces or old food now when I would raise them on my own I almost have a high mortality rate and not as newborns mostly they die after 3 weeks maybe even 2 months they usually seem like their sleepy and eventually die I always give them access to food and water now I usually us a light bulb as a heat source but sometimes they just die I've only had luck breeding now pure bred animals actually tbh when I find random chicks i raise them and it's 100% now when I breed myself they end up dying

 

[Ridgerunner]

Well when I let the free range with the hen I literally almost always have a 80% rate of being successful

Did you find the bodies or did the 20% just disappear? If you find the bodies are there any marks on them? Sounds like it might be predators.

now sometimes what I would do is take a cage with no bottom put it on the ground and they would almost all live ofc I'd move them so they wouldn't touch their feces or old food now when I would raise them on my own I almost have a high mortality rate and not as newborns mostly they die after 3 weeks maybe even 2 months they usually seem like their sleepy and eventually die

This sounds like it could be Coccidiosis. Are they lethargic, just sitting around all fluffed up and not eating or drinking? If you see symptoms like this treat with Corid. Try to keep them on dry ground. Wet ground makes Coccidiosis much more likely.

I always give them access to food and water now I usually us a light bulb as a heat source but sometimes they just die I've only had luck breeding now pure bred animals actually tbh when I find random chicks i raise them and it's 100% now when I breed myself they end up dying

Could you post some photos of what you are doing, that might give some clues.

 

[Animal-lover339]

Did you find the bodies or did the 20% just disappear? If you find the bodies are there any marks on them? Sounds like it might be predators.


This sounds like it could be Coccidiosis. Are they lethargic, just sitting around all fluffed up and not eating or drinking? If you see symptoms like this treat with Corid. Try to keep them on dry ground. Wet ground makes Coccidiosis much more likely.


Could you post some photos of what you are doing, that might give some clues.

I usually do find bodies with no marking I see they just usually die

And yes some have those symptoms others just kind look tired and die or they are just fine and then die I usually have them in a wire cage about 2 feet from the floor with a wood plank so they can be comfortable


And at the moment I don't have anything setup since I moved but I'm working on a gray box witch hopefully I'll be able to have with a brooding light and some wood chips