Video of brooder / chicks - Is this right?

[ryan112ryan]

UPDATE BELOW - few posts down

So total newbie here, I have never done this. Tonight I brought them home and placed them in the brooder. I shot this quick video and wanted to get your opinions on this.

One thing I wonder is that I have the light trained on one half the the brooder, this way if it is too hot they can move away. But I am wondering if they could walk away from the light, get cold and not think to move back.... or am I just worrying too much?

The chicks have settled down near or under the light and are asleep, generally pretty quite. 2 chicks sleep next to each other, the rest alone, does this sound about right?

Any other tips are welcome.

My video is posted here: http://www.thetinylife.com/baby-chicks/

 

[TurtleChick]

they're so cute!

light placement - i would say perfect! i've always kept a warm end and a cool end, they'll regulate themselves - don't worry. for temp if you don't have a thermometer just watch your peeps - if they're all clustered together in a ball directly under the lamp, they're too cold. if they're all spread out as far away from lamp as they can get, too hot. if what you have is an ever shifting sometimes pile, sometimes sprawl of peeps spread over the range of the temps you're offering, they're perfect. if you're like me, it's not like you'll stop staring at them any time soon, so you'll begin to get the feel for what is "normal" and what isn't. a range of peeping is normal, but loud non-stop PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP is not. likely they're cold.

for myself, i always put the food and water along one wall, water further away from the light than the food - i didn't want it getting too warm.

the ONLY thing (besides putting some food in there, i didn't see it! lol ) that i would suggest is either getting a chick waterer (quart sized jar - glass or plastic - that attaches to the plastic base) - or putting some rocks or marbles in the water bowl you have. fill it up with enough rocks/marbles that they can just take sips between. they can potentially drown in a bowl of water. they're smart, but not that smart... they tend to pass out where they stand to sleep.... i don't know if that's how they drown or what, but it happens.

wait til you see them "sunbathing" under the heat lamp - all sprawled out! scared the poop out of me the first time i saw it... thought for sure my precious chick was dead! but no, sunbathing... and my grown beauties still do it on my deck in the real sunshine.

enjoy them - they will grow SO fast!

 

[dbcooper02]

They will have no problem finding their way back to the heat level they desire. Please don't trust the clamp on your heat lamp to hold it. Add some baling wire or duct tape or something to really secure it. Heat lamps accidently falling into shavings can and will start a fire.

 

[Kittymomma]

Looks like they're pretty comfy. I keep food out for mine 24/7 and I think you'll find that they'll fill the water up with shavings pretty quick. I put the waterer on top of some bricks or scrap wood to slow the process down. I also like to switch from shavings to pine pellets (horse stall pellets) at about 1-week because I think they aren't as messy and help to keep the smell down. Enjoy your new little ones!

 

[ryan112ryan]

So this morning I woke up, went to check and I notice the chicks were walking all over one. I brushed them aside and found a very weak chick. It is alive, but woln't walk, just every now and then try to stand up, but can't. I tried helping it to water and feed, no luck. Any ideas? Could this happened because of the stress bringing them home? Did I do something wrong?

on a side note I picked up a real feeder and waterer to replace my jury-rigged ones, they took to them nicely.

 

[ryan112ryan]

Update: chick is dead

Any insights why?

You can see them live here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-tiny-life

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Perhaps it never drank or ate well. You'll probably never know, but for the remaining chicks...be sure to keep a check on their behinds and if any poop gets stuck and plastered on there, be sure to get it off with warm water and put some vaseline on their butt to keep the poop from sticking.

It's called "pasty butt" and can kill chicks.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For whatever reason, sometimes they just die. Checking for pasty butt is a good idea, but if the others are healthy and active, I doubt you did anything wrong. Some just never learn to eat or drink, even if you dip their beaks in the water to show them where it is. They should learn to eat by watching the others.

Good luck with the rest!