Topic of the Week - Raising Chicks

[sumi]

I'm new here! Hello everyone. So we went and got some straight run chicks and I've had them for 2 days. I feel like we already have a dominant rooster. He is larger than the rest of the birds and he will peck at you if you try to put your hands in the cage. He also will give the chicks I put back in the cage a little peck once they are returned. Does any bird do this or is this most likely a roo?

Sometimes chicks do this because simply because they are a bit more dominant or curious by nature. I've had the most timid chicks turn out to be roosters and the most adventurous turn out to be hens. This one does sound like it may be a male though.

 

[igorsMistress]

This is our current setup. We moved to this from a big plastic bin after two weeks because we have 7 chicks and needed more room.
The first four chicks were an impulse buy tbh. We were still in the planning process but we can't run power outside for now. Since we have to keep them indoors anyway we decided to get started.
I have an old glass pan in there with sandy soil they like to bathe in and pick through. There's a 1x2 across the back for a perch and a piece of tree limb from our mesquite tree.
We used to have a lot of wasted food because the RIRs fling it around. We cut a plastic milk jug down so that it's just a bit taller than the edge of the feeder and this catches most of the food. Much less waste.
We cut down an old coffee can to put under their water to raise it a bit. Their water doesn't get nearly as dirty now.
The only thing I would change is having the coop built first and way to run power out to it at least for short term. I would use one of those heaters that mimic a mother hen instead of a light and I would move the whole production outside.

 

[Beekissed]

With Spring only a few weeks away many chicken owners are thinking about hatching or buying chicks to raise during the warmer months. I would like to hear you all's thoughts and tips on buying and raising chicks. Specifically:

- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks?
- Tell me about your brooder(s); Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors?
- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc)

Anything you'd like to add?


For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Nowadays I only use broody mamas, which pretty much takes care of getting them started right in all ways, but before that and when I had chicks to brood without a mama, I did the following:

I brood the chicks right in the coop and right on the same deep litter my flock has been using.





I integrate them with the flock at 2 wks if they don't have a mama and at one week if they do have a mama. I get them out on range at that same age...the quicker they are exposed to the flock's pathogens and the soil's pathogens, the stronger their immune system.




I use a hay bale brooder setup, which makes it highly adjustable for number of chicks, for when they grow and for ambient temps. These chicks are being brooded in an open air hoop coop in 30-40 daytime temps and 20s at night....






I use fermented feed from day one also.




I no longer place ACV in the water as the FF has all they'll need in the way of dietary acid and probiotics. I use nipple buckets for broodies and chicks, as they are just cleaner and puts less moisture into the bedding. With broodies and chicks I use the bucket below...it has vertical nipples on the bottom for chicks and a side cup nipple for the hen...as you can see, I use bricks under it for the chicks to stand on so I can keep the bucket high enough to escape the scratching of the bedding by the hen. If I don't do that the nipple cup will soon fill with kicked up bedding.






I don't use a heat lamp any longer...I use a heating pad brooder setup so they are warmed as much as possible as they would if they were under a broody mama. They adjust to cooler temps faster, they don't develop pasty butt, they feather out faster and they get darkness for sleeping...this increases their melatonin uptake, which is an important chemical for the immune system function(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3645767/).





When I did use a heat lamp, I made sure to keep the brooder size big enough for the chicks to escape the heat of the lamp by providing a cool side and a warm side....water is kept on the cool side and the feed kept half way between the heat and the cool. When using a heat lamp, I always make sure to secure that lamp in three ways so that if the clamp fails, I still have two secure points insuring the lamp cannot come in contact with the brooder walls, bedding or anything else. This can be done with simple zip ties and baling twine on the lamp head and also the lamp wire. Always secure that lamp...can't stress that enough. Check the bulb for a secure screw in and for dust...keep it clean.






Preparations before a broody hatch include preparing individual nesting sites on the ground level for the broodies in the maternity ward. Then moving them and their eggs, under cover of darkness, to their nests. A cardboard box upturned over the nest or closing off the front of the nest box for the next day usually keeps the hen settled on the new nest site. Then it's just feed and water and let the broodies do all the work.









These two wanted to share a brood and that went very well....I'm not always successful at keeping them apart.



Then out on range after the first week and they go off into the wild green yonder. After that the broody decides when to integrate them with the flock, shows them when and how to roost, and weans them when they are ready...average is about 2 mo.

 

[Fangthewolve]

I have a broody mother who is sitting on eggs but she is not eating at all or drinking, I know that this is normal behavior buy i am afraid that she wiplayed die, she is getting very skinny. Does anyone know a treat or food that a chicken loves to eat or some way for her to eat a bit of food?

 

[Ridgerunner]

- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks?

1. Check to see if it is legal to have chickens where you are. What legal restrictions might you have?
2. Decide on your goals. Why do you want chickens? It’s hard to get what you want if you don’t know what you want.
3. Decide what chicks you want. One breed, a variety of breeds, or mixed breeds. Egg layers, meat birds, dual purpose, bantams, or decorative. Show chickens, hatchery quality, or from neighbors. Decide on a source, hatchery, feed store, breeders, or neighbors.
4. Read. Check out the Learning Center at the top of this page. Read different posts in this forum. Ask questions if you don’t understand something. Most hatcheries have good articles online.
5. I think it is important to understand there is no one right way for any of this. We are all unique in so many ways there can be no one way that is right for everyone where every other way is wrong. There is a world of difference in how someone might keep four hens in a small backyard in suburbia versus someone with a flock of multiple roosters and hens in a rural area, let alone differences in northern Australia versus northern Canada. Try to understand if what someone says has any meaning for your circumstances.
6. Have the coop ready. It’s amazing how fast they grow and life often gets in the way of plans and schedules.
7. Have your brooder ready before the chicks come, including bedding, food, and water.

- Tell me about your brooder(s); Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors?
1. There are a few basics for a brooder. It needs food, water, protection from the environment, and protection from predators. It needs to stay dry, a wet brooder is a dangerous brooder. You need one area that is warm enough and one area that is cool enough no matter the outside temperature.

2. There are a lot of different ways to provide heat in a brooder and ways to set them up: heat lamps, heating pads, emitters, hovers, commercial things like the EcoGlow, and so many others. They all come with benefits and disadvantages or limitations. Whichever method you decide to use, be careful running electricity to the device.

3. Other than keeping it dry, to me the most important thing about a brooder is temperature control. Too much heat is just as dangerous as too little. You need to set up the brooder so one area is warm enough in the coolest temperatures while another area is cool enough in the warmest temperatures. Inside a climate controlled area that isn’t that hard to do but if you brood where you have temperature swings it can be a lot more challenging. I’ve had chicks in my brooder in the coop since the end of January. One morning last week it was 18 degrees F. Two days later my high was 81F. My chicks were fine in both extremes.

4.

My 3’ x 6’ brooder is in the coop, the top is a droppings board. I use heat lamps on one end to keep one area warm enough. I have good ventilation up high in that “chimney” off to the left where I keep one heat lamp so I can raise or lower it. No matter the outside temperature my chicks find a comfortable area. Many people would be surprised at how much time they spend in the cooler areas, especially when they get a little older.

In colder temperatures I use two heat lamps in case one fails. I throw away the clamps that come with the heat lamps as I consider them dangerous. Instead I wire the lamps so neither I nor the chickens can knock them down. I have 250 watt bulbs in them right now. In warmer times I may use only one heat lamp and the bulb might be 125 or 75 watts. During the day right now I often unplug one lamp, they don’t need it.

- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc)

1. A wet brooder is a dangerous brooder, so it is important to keep the brooder dry. My brooder has a ½” hardware cloth bottom so the poop falls on through. It’s collected in plastic bins underneath. Most people can’t do that, especially if they brood in the house. Wet can come from two places. If the poop gets thick enough it won’t dry out. Or a waterer may leak or spill.
2. The drinking water needs to stay clean. There are all kinds of different types of waterers. If the chicks can poop in it or scratch trash in it, you need to totally empty that waterer at least every two days to interrupt the life cycle of the bug that can cause Cocci. Every day is better. There is another issue too, other than cocci or them pooping in the water that applies if the brooder is where mosquitoes have access. This applies to adult chickens in the coop or outside in the run. Mosquitoes breed in standing water. Even if you use nipples or some watering method the chickens cannot poop in, you need to screen the water reservoir or empty the waterer every couple of days to stop it from becoming a mosquito breeding ground. In addition to the human problems with a lot of mosquitoes around, they can spread fowl pox to your chickens.
3. I feed regular Chick Starter (20% protein) to my chicks for the first month or so, then cut back on the protein to more of a Grower. I do not feed any sort of medicated feed. I just have not had the need to feed anything else.
4. I only feed one supplement to my chicks, dirt from the run. I believe in building up their immune system so they can live a healthy life. By feeding dirt from the run, they get grit into their gizzard, they get any probiotics the adults have, plus they get exposed to whatever the flock has so they can start building up their flock immunities. By the time my chicks leave the brooder and hit the ground, their immune systems are able to keep them healthy.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm new here! Hello everyone. So we went and got some straight run chicks and I've had them for 2 days. I feel like we already have a dominant rooster. He is larger than the rest of the birds and he will peck at you if you try to put your hands in the cage. He also will give the chicks I put back in the cage a little peck once they are returned. Does any bird do this or is this most likely a roo?

Could be a roo. Regardless, he/she needs some lessons in manners. First lesson being: do not peck the human. While it may be cute, when he is small, cute little chicks grow up to be big chickens, with a peck that is capable of causing some serious injury. When he pecks you, peck him back with your finger. Or, pick him up and then use your index finger on the other hand to push his head down below chest level. Repeat till he willingly keeps his head down when you remove the finger.

This is my first time ever having chicks and I'm a nervous wreck! Can't seem to get the temperature right. Is it normal for them to kind of pile just outside the main lamp space to sleep? Kept thinking it's too hot but it's lower than suggested and they were happy when awake.

I would reduce the temp under the lamp until they go under it for heat. I know that this goes a bit contrary to "heat lamp 101". But, in a small area like this it is so very easy to overheat chicks. You can raise the lamp, decrease to a lower watt bulb, or put a dimmer switch on it. Many of us have ceased using heat lamps altogether, and now use a heating pad to give a much more natural and safer brooding experience. I also don't see how you have that heat lamp secured. IMO it should have 2 methods of securing it so it can't fall or get knocked out of position and cause a fire. It should not be close enough to any surface that ithe surface gets hot to the touch.


- What preparations do you make before hatching/buying chicks? Take the incubator for a test drive: set it up in the room that it will be used in, put some sealed water bottles in it to approximate the liquid volume of the eggs being set. Calibrate thermometers, and hygrometer. Check bator for warm/cold spots and install air baffles to correct, or make note so eggs can be positioned accordingly (I have 2 home made bators.) Read "Hatching Eggs 101" in the learning center. I've hatched eggs for the past 4 years, and ALWAYS read this article before plugging my bator in every spring.

Get your brooder set up. If using MHP, get the frame(s) set up with the heating pad(s) and the covering material. Be sure to secure covering in such a way chicks can't get caught in the material or in any tape or other materials used. Be sure the heating pad(s) work. Start some FF for the chicks, if the adult flock is not already eating the same feed the chicks will be getting.

- Tell me about your brooder(s) For the first couple of days, I brood in my basement/garage in either an appliance box (with a cover) or bring in my 3' x 6' tractor. Shower curtain or tarp on the floor, a nice thick layer of shavings, (and paper towels for the first 2 days). Be sure feeders and waterers are clean and ready to use. Purchase starter crumble if not already using it for the adult flock. When chicks are eating well, I remove the paper towels, and complete the conversion to feeding only from the chick feeders. For the first couple of days, I supply both dry crumble and fermented feed. Then, I remove the dry crumble and switch them to 100% FF.

Also, do you brood indoors or outdoors? They stay inside (basement or garage) for the first couple of days, until they are all eating and using their heating pad brooder appropriately. Then, they are moved out into my spare coop where they are in a 4 x 8 loft for a couple of weeks before being allowed to have the lower 8 x 12 deep litter run area as well. By the time they are 3 weeks old, they are flitting around in that whole loft/run like a bunch of parakeets.

- How to raise healthy, strong chicks. (Supplements/Feed/Heat management, etc) If hatching eggs, see to it that your flock is in prime condition to be supplying the healthiest eggs possible: My flock gets fermented feed. I let them out to range when I can be available to deal with any predators that show up. We have big issue with hawk predation. I also provide supplemental vitamins, which make a decided difference in shell quality and egg size. If greens not available in my yard, the flock gets sprouted grains.

I have Poultry Nutri-Drench available and use it every other day for the first week or so. If I have stressed chicks (more often with shipped chicks) I might mix up some electrolytes for them.

Healthy guts = healthy immune systems. Chicks are hatched with immunity received from their mothers. This lasts about 2 weeks. That gives you a 2 week window to build a healthy immunity in your chicks. Fermented feed is loaded with probiotics to jump start their gut flora. It also has some extra vitamins that are manufactured by the yeast in the FF. And the anti-nutrients are broken down, so the FF is easier to digest than dry feed. A plug of sod from your yard will give them: beneficial bacteria and fungi to further supply their guts with good flora. It will also give them their first exposure to the pathogens (including cocci) that are in all soils. DON"T PANIC! Cocci are in all soils, and are a natural flora in a chicken's gut. It's only when the bad guys outnumber the good guys that a chicken will get sick. That plug of sod will also give your chicks: their first grit, some minerals, their first greens, their first insects, and perhaps some worms. Their first dust bath, and an opportunity to play king of the hill. They will have infinite play opportunities with it. When they wear that clump out, go get them an other one!

Brooder: Make it big enough. Chicks need room to play. By the time you have their heat source, their feeder, and their waterer in there, there is often little room left for the chicks to move around. The brooder needs to be big enough that the chicks can be under their heat source to warm up, but able to move away from that heat to get to an area that is room temperature. I cringe when I see chicks confined to little boxes or rubbermaid tubs, with a heat lamp shining down on them. It's so very easy to over heat those chicks. If you ever see chicks laying down with wings spread or panting, they are too warm. That is an emergency situation IMO. I like to hang my waterer. It makes it super easy to adjust the height and keep them from kicking bedding into it. A wet brooder is an invite to illness.

Stress reduction: Give them a minimum of 1 s.f./chick for the first couple of weeks. After 2 - 3 weeks, I like to see them have 2 s.f./chick. Crowded birds of any age will engage in destructive behavior. Give them the opportunity to engage in normal chicken behavior, and they will be too busy to feather pick, or engage in cannibalism. IMO the best possible brooding is accomplished with a heating pad cave for a heat source. It more closely mimics the heat provided by a broody hen. MHP chicks will sing themselves to sleep. I've never heard that contented trill from a heat lamp chick. MHP chicks are already adjusted to natural day/night cycles. Not so with heat lamp chicks. They often go into total panic when they experience dark! MHP chicks all go to bed together, and get up together. This encourages normal social and flock structure. Heat lamp chicks are up all hours of the day and night. When one chick does manage to fall asleep, he often gets trampled by the ones who are participating in the "all night jammie party". MHP chicks are very easily brooded outdoors. It's a bit more difficult to brood heat lamp chicks outdoors.

Anything you'd like to add? Don't hatch chicks unless you have an exit plan for the roos, and any chicks that have developmental or genetic abnormalities.

 

[Molpet]

I have a broody mother who is sitting on eggs but she is not eating at all or drinking, I know that this is normal behavior buy i am afraid that she wiplayed die, she is getting very skinny. Does anyone know a treat or food that a chicken loves to eat or some way for her to eat a bit of food?

one of mine gets off the nest every 3 days, and if it wasn't for the poop and the food disturbed I would never know it... I just leave them alone, they have been raising young before people were keeping them..

 

[sumi]

I have a broody mother who is sitting on eggs but she is not eating at all or drinking, I know that this is normal behavior buy i am afraid that she wiplayed die, she is getting very skinny. Does anyone know a treat or food that a chicken loves to eat or some way for her to eat a bit of food?

Just make sure there is a good quality food available for her every time she decides to get up for a break. Broodies lose quite a lot of weight when sitting, but they recover within weeks afterwards. Avoid feeding her on the nest as this may encourage her to "go" on the nest and trust me a big broody bomb is the last thing you'd want to clean up off those eggs!

 

[Beekissed]

I have a broody mother who is sitting on eggs but she is not eating at all or drinking, I know that this is normal behavior buy i am afraid that she wiplayed die, she is getting very skinny. Does anyone know a treat or food that a chicken loves to eat or some way for her to eat a bit of food?

Try to resist the temptation to make her leave the nest. She knows when she needs to do so and her metabolism has slowed down for brooding, so they don't need to eat or drink as often as regularly. As Molpet has stated, chickens have been doing this since the beginning of time without our intervention and they just don't need it...not only that, it can harm the success of her hatch if you try to make her leave the nest in the first part of the brood and during the last part. Just place food and water in the brood area and leave her alone to do her job and everything will be just fine.

 

[Teila]

I have a broody mother who is sitting on eggs but she is not eating at all or drinking, I know that this is normal behavior buy i am afraid that she wiplayed die, she is getting very skinny. Does anyone know a treat or food that a chicken loves to eat or some way for her to eat a bit of food?

Howdy Fanthewolve

While broody hens usually get off the nest once or twice a day to stretch their legs, have something to drink and eat and deposit a humungous broody poop, some did not get that memo

I have a broody hen who gets so deep into the zone, she does not take a break.

She is the only one of my broodys who does not move so I do move her once a day and due to our climate, ensure that I take her frequent drinks during the day in a very small cup. I think she likes being waited on