Tips and handy tricks!

[chickenmad129]

Please post any tips you have about keeping chickens and poultry.

My tip: If your chicken isn't eating but is drinking, try putting sugar in warm water so that the chicken will gain energy. I have just used sugar water to save my bantam orpington who was close to death!

I look forward to seeing all your tips and remember to give a thumbs up to any suggestions you like!

 

[Cknldy]

A butterfly net from Dollar Tree to catch chicks in the far corners of a large brooder! It works great, especially in the coop when broodies hatch chicks. I just put the net over top of them and 'walk' the chick to me. Less traumatic than swooping them into it like an insect.

 

[lazy gardener]

I use a cat carrier to train chicks. Helped immensely when training my 22 chicks to go from the floor to the loft of their 4 x 8 coop. Use the butterfly net to herd them into the carrier, lift them up to the loft, and then let them out in the loft. They now put themselves to bed at night, but a few still run into the cat carrier, looking for that elevator ride!

Plug of soil or sod from the yard within the first 2 weeks of hatching to build natural immunity and gut flora.

Sponge in the incubator for controlling humidity. The most important factor, (often missed) in ensuring a good hatch is having thermometers calibrated to 100*. Without an accurate thermometer, nothing else matters. Also, check for hot/cool spots, even with a forced air bator. Keep the humidity 30-40% until lock down, then increase to 65-75%.

Fermented feed: Saves a lot on the feed bill, and I can attest to the incredible nutritional boost it gives in comparison to dry feed.

 

[Mrs. K]

Place a wide board up at roost level or across the roosts when a broody hen's chicks are 3-4 weeks old. With in week, she will have them up there roosting with the flock. The urge to roost is a strong one, and a broody hen will often lose interest in her chicks and roost with the flock, but with the board, she will roost up there, and her chicks will follow her, and she will still cuddle them, my rooster has even helped cuddle with them on the board.