Secrets & Tips for mail order chicks

[EggSighted4Life]

I like to add in a handful of alfalfa hay for them to get some green stuff in their diet. You can put it in a bowl or make you a hanging net holder like for horses in miniature. I also put in suet cakes you can find for bird feeders. They come in all sizes and varieties. Mine cost less than $1 each. It's to give them something to pick at. This gives them some added calories and it keeps them busy.

Seems like you should add grit if you are adding all that.

 

[Folly's place]

x2! Mary

 

[FlyWheel]

I have four chicks on order from http://chickensforbackyards.com* and a few questions:

When they say "day old" does that mean they are already 1 day old when they ship out? or do they usually ship the day they hatch?

Re: fermented feed for pro-biotics. Would live culture yogurt work as well? I would think it would be easier for less-than-a-week-old chicks to digest, as they don't have any grit in it's system yet.

Do chicks need grit to properly digest the whites of mashed hard-boiled eggs (I'm assuming they can handle the yolks)?
THX.

*Three EEs and a Cuckoo Marans, just in case anyone's curious.

 

[Ainee]

I show up at the post office with honey water and mashed hard boiled egg. Open the box up, make sure everyone has a good long drink, take the water away, and give them the egg to munch on on the way home. I keep those chemical handwarmers in my van normally, so if they look chilly, a few of those go in the box as well for the drive. In the brooder, I have Mama Heating Pad set up and scootch everyone under it (since they've had a snack). Got Poultry Nutri-drench in the waterer for the first 12-24 hours, then switch to plain water. I feed fermented feed--it is a probiotic, so don't need to add that. I generally only need to check for pasty butt the first few days with this routine because the shipping stress is overcome quickly and heat stress isn't an issue.

I do also start feeding finely minced fresh herbs/greens/veggies with sand grit as treats after their first week, making sure to include hot peppers weekly. Occasional seeds and bugs. It gets them eating a variety of foods from the start (and the capsaicin from the peppers stimulates gut immunity) so they aren't so picky later.

How do you make your honey water? And do you dip their beaks in it straight out of the shipping box? I'm scared to death that somehow I'll do it wrong and they'll get water up in their nostrils.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I have four chicks on order from http://chickensforbackyards.com* and a few questions:

When they say "day old" does that mean they are already 1 day old when they ship out? or do they usually ship the day they hatch?

Re: fermented feed for pro-biotics. Would live culture yogurt work as well? I would think it would be easier for less-than-a-week-old chicks to digest, as they don't have any grit in it's system yet.

Do chicks need grit to properly digest the whites of mashed hard-boiled eggs (I'm assuming they can handle the yolks)?
THX. 


*Three EEs and a Cuckoo Marans, just in case anyone's curious. 

I think they are approximately a day old? They have to give everyone in the same hatcher a certain number of hours to complete the hatch, then off to sex, sort into orders, vaccinate if desired, package up, and get on the truck. As I understand it, they have to be a day old (or a smidge less) to qualify for the special hatchery postage rate.

Live yogurt cultures, unless you're making them yourself and can control how long they ferment, do have some beneficial bacteria in them but not very much. So, better than nothing but a commercial probiotic should have much higher CFU (colony forming unit) counts and thus be more effective. Probiotic supplements are unregulated, so quality varies tremendously.

Grit is the substitute for teeth in a chicken. If you could gum it yourself, then the chick shouldn't need grit to digest it. Cooked egg whites are fine without grit. I mash up whole hard-boiled eggs as a traveling snack for the drive home for shipped chicks and do not start feeding grit until they are about a week old or so.

 

[Jensownzoo]

How do you make your honey water? And do you dip their beaks in it straight out of the shipping box? I'm scared to death that somehow I'll do it wrong and they'll get water up in their nostrils.

I just put a squirt of honey or other sugary product (I've used agave syrup, karo syrup, etc.) into some water and mix. No measuring, just enough to make it a little sweet to boost their blood sugar to give them energy to start eating.

I do dip a few chicks beaks in the water. Usually they get the idea immediately and start drinking on their own...which catches the attention of the other chicks who come over to check it out. The nostrils drain to the back of the throat, so when they tilt their heads up to swallow, the nostrils should clear even if you manage to dunk them...just don't hold their beaks under the water. A quick dip is enough for the water to wick into their beaks via capillary action.

 

[Ainee]

I just put a squirt of honey or other sugary product (I've used agave syrup, karo syrup, etc.) into some water and mix. No measuring, just enough to make it a little sweet to boost their blood sugar to give them energy to start eating.

I do dip a few chicks beaks in the water. Usually they get the idea immediately and start drinking on their own...which catches the attention of the other chicks who come over to check it out. The nostrils drain to the back of the throat, so when they tilt their heads up to swallow, the nostrils should clear even if you manage to dunk them...just don't hold their beaks under the water. A quick dip is enough for the water to wick into their beaks via capillary action.

Thank you for the information! That's great to know!