Taking Care of Chicks

[drewanderson1]

Hi, I just got new chicks, and I have some quick questions:

What temperature range should I keep the brooder at?
When do i need to clip my chickens' wings?
Do I need a dust bath or is it optional?
When can they go in the outdoor coop?

 

[100chicklover]

About Around 95 fod the temp.

 

[Ashdoes]

We don't use the red light heater anymore, got one of those heater plates for the babies to go under, I just worried too much about burning down the house, garage or the barn.
You don't need to clip the wings at all, we've had hundreds of chickens and have never clipped wings or beaks. As long as you have enough room, everyone will be happy. Even our Swedish Flower Hens never flew over the five foot fence, and they really loved to travel.
We tried giving chicks a dust bath area in the brooder, but unless they're outside, it's just a mess maker. You can give them one once they're outside, save your sanity. But, they usually dig down to the dirt in the barn, and once they find it, they know how to use it.
On age to move outside, someone else will have to answer that...we just moved ours to the barn brooder at 17 days, with their heater still of course.

 

[RevaT1987]

I kept my chicks at 90 degrees the 1st week, then lowered the temp 5 degrees every week until they were fully feathered.

I have never clipped my chicks wings, they are about 8 weeks old and don't jump/fly over my 4 ft. Chain link fence so I haven't needed to, I would assume you should wait till they are older.

I don't give my chicks a dust bath, I start putting them outside during the day when they are about 2-3 weeks old. We live in Florida so its very warm during the day.

 

[100chicklover]

They can probably go in the coop around 3months but you still need a brooder for a little while in the coop

 

[100chicklover]

You dont need to clip there wings

 

[drumstick diva]

If you clip their wings they lose the chance to fly away from predators.

 

[BantamLover21]

Hi, I just got new chicks, and I have some quick questions:

What temperature range should I keep the brooder at?
When do i need to clip my chickens' wings?
Do I need a dust bath or is it optional?
When can they go in the outdoor coop?

I would recommend posting in the Raising chicks forum section. However, I'll answer your questions here.

1. Start with a brooder temperature of approx. 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower the temperature by about 5 degrees each week until the chicks are fairly well feathered or you reach room temperature. Then remove the heat.
2. You don't need to ever clip their wings if you have a covered run or high fence. Otherwise, though, don't clip the wings until all of their wing feathers are grown in, usually around 16-18 weeks old.
3. If they have access to the outside and dirt patches to dust bathe in, you don't need to create a dust bath yourself (they'll create their own "natural" dust baths).
4. It depends on the temperature outside. I generally wait to put fully feathered chicks (6-10 weeks old) outside until the low temperature for the day is higher than about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.