silkie chicks

[yolka doodle]

Hi all, i bought three chicks a week ago they are about two weeks old. they are growing so quick. The larger one of the three is dusting but i have them on wood shavings. is there anything i put in there so they can dust properly? they are so lively especially at night. I have them indoors in an indoor rabbit cage. They are on chick crumb are they allowed anything else at this age. thank you

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

They like a pan of sand to dust in. Also you can give them very short grass clippings now, say 1/2 inch long if you are offering grit (sand for tiny chicks, and sharp gravel for older chickens or access to soil with some small gravel bits in it). They need grit to digest the treats or grass. (Chickens eat a LOT of grass. It provides them with vitamins.)

You can give them other tiny pieces of scrambled egg, bits of fruit and other things too- but my 2 week olds never are interested in anything but maybe some grass clippings. My chicks aren't too interested in kitchen scraps until they are around a month old- don't know why. You can offer them anything safe in tiny amounts and make sure it is small enough for them.

They are still too small for black oil sun. seeds and whole wheat berries and the like.

 

[yolka doodle]

Thank you so much! as you can tell its my first time with chicks. I got them for Mothers Day from my boyfriend. I have 7 hens as well had them a year now. I will get some sand for them and some grass. they are funny little things i have not handled them yet i am trying to get them to trust me by sitting next to the cage and talking to them, i will try and handle them this weekend and give them a check over.
thank you again great help

 

[yolka doodle]

Hi All. i am sooooo confused now, my chicks are on wood shavings and they are shaking their heads, i have read it can be the shavings or AE. as they do not do it while sleeping i think that rules out AE. Lots of people have advised pine shavings but i have now read under "Managing your flock" there is a thread stating Pine and Cedar shavings are dangerous especially to chicks. might do half paper towel half Alpha hay?

Also one of my chicks is opening its mouth like its reaching, i kno win older chickens this can be a sign of worms. At what age do you worm chickens for the first time? A you can see i have a lot to learn

 

[NemerLuvPoultry]

Hi yolka doodle! I'm sure you will love your new chicks! We keep ours on newspaper and a little bit of straw/hay. You want to make sure they are drinking plenty of water. You may want to add some electrolytes to there water a very little amount.

 

[Hennyhandler]

Do not put them on cedar shavings. Pine is fine. I would not do alfalfa hay. You could do paper towels when they are younger but as they age they will tend to start eating it. A chick should not have worms as they not been exposed to any at this age. Sometimes chicks and chickens will make this motion. Sometimes they are yawning. Is it doing it repeatedly? Listen to the crop and see if you can hear any popping or crackling noise. If not, I wouldn't really worry about it. Chicks can be so funny sometimes.

 

[yolka doodle]

Hi thank you for your replies, she only gaps now and then. I think the shavings are irritating them so i will use paper towel for a little while to see if that makes a difference. i will also add a small amount of electrolytes if she continues. I love them to bits only had them 1.5 weeks. I do have 7 older chickens but when i see the chicks i could not resist. Thank you agian for your help

bed now for me now zzzzzzzzz

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

They do "yawn" as they adjust their crops after eating.

But they shouldn't do it a lot.

Pine shavings are OK. Some use those, some use other bedding or sand. I use sand now with paper towels for the first couple days with food sprinkled down over it. Then I put lots of food on the sand and they eat it up. It has worked well- just switched to that recently. I also provide a feed dish.

If you are talking loudly to them they shake their heads- don't know why, at least mine do.

 

[yolka doodle]

They do "yawn" as they adjust their crops after eating.

But they shouldn't do it a lot.

Pine shavings are OK. Some use those, some use other bedding or sand. I use sand now with paper towels for the first couple days with food sprinkled down over it. Then I put lots of food on the sand and they eat it up. It has worked well- just switched to that recently. I also provide a feed dish.

If you are talking loudly to them they shake their heads- don't know why, at least mine do.

Hi
they do not do it all the time so i guess they are yawning. i have moved them to a different room away from the computer and fish tank and they stopped shaking their heads straight away. it must have been the noise from the computer.

thank you so much for your help

 

[yolka doodle]

ps, i went to a pet store and asked if they have pine shavings, they looked at me like i was mad, maybe you can not get them in england, because if anyone would have them they would, they supply all animal food and bedding. Can i please ask another question, at waht age do they no longer need a lamp, im being lazy i could find it on here somewhere sorry.

thank you in advance