Week Old Chicks - Should I be Doing More?

[Chickmate]

I have never had chicks before so I am completely new to this. I just picked them up from TSC on Mon. and have them in the brooder under a heat light. I bought the chick food they suggested and am giving them water, but that's all. Should I be putting something in the water (vitamins, etc?) and when do I worry about worming and how do I do that? Also, I hear about so many diseases, will I have to give them shots for anything? It sounds like I just decided to pick up chicks without doing any research, but I really have been planning this for a long time. I'm just so nervous about losing them due to missing something I should be doing. They are looking and acting healthy and active right now. Any advice from all of you fantastic chicken people out there? Thanks!

 

[henry19952]

Relax!

Some people make raising chickens way more complicated than it seems. All they need is food (the right kind of course), water (I have never put any vitamins in mine, and they have all survived), warmth, and plenty of space.

And don't worry about diseases... chickens are cheap.

 

[noodleroo]

I know just how you feel; been there. At one week you just want to make sure they have clean food, water and bedding and warmth and love. Make sure they have enough room to get away from the light in case they get too warm. They will self regulate their warmth as long as they have the room. I have some info on my BYC page if you are interested in taming them. So, it sounds good to me. Enjoy your babies! And, lets see some pics!

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

Quote:
Amen to that!!!

My first time of buying chicks from a feed store, I brought them home and stuck the 2 yes only 2 in an aquarium under my carport with a dog kennel on top with a brick so nothing could get into it, I didn't have a light source and just fed them and gave them food everyday. It must of been summer or something because they survived that... I was clueless.

Amazing they survived huh?

 

[write2caroline]

You can try some apple cidar vinagar - about a tsp for a quart of water. Just count your blessings and enjoy - Oh and get snappy on some fotos and post em already! No babies for me this year so I must live vicariously via all the peep keepers here!
Caroline

 

[Chickmate]

Whew! Thanks for the reassurance! I have them in my brand new 12 x 14 very solid insulated chicken coop. Every single crack is caulked and the whole inside has three coats of white paint. Each nest box is painted a different color: lime green, hot pink, lavender, mustard yellow, blue. . . . but I digress. The brooder is a 1 x 4 metal water trough with sawdust, a heat lamp and chicken wire over the top. I have the feeder on one end and the waterer on the other. There are heavy blankets covering each end (not close to the heat lamp!) to help keep the warmth in and hold the chicken wire down and the lamp hanging so it warms the middle area. If they get too warm they can go to either end to get away from the heat a bit. I also have a small ceramic heater on in the coop that keeps the inside temp between 75 - 80 degrees. I know, I know. I wake up almost every hour during the night to see if my chicken coop is on fire! As I said, it's brand new, never had chickens in it yet and the only sawdust is in the brooder, so I feel pretty safe with it.

Another question - when they get too big for the brooder (how old will they be then?) I was planning on putting a temporary wall across the width of the back 1/4 of the coop, putting in a deep layer of sawdust and giving them that large area for their "teen" brooder, keeping the heat lamp up for them and the ceramic heater on. Do you think they will be OK in that large an area when they are that small? There really are no drafts in there at all, it's built tight, but they will still be pretty small. What do ya'll think?

 

[srolle1lsu]

Quote:
do you have any ventilation in there?

 

[chickened]

Good quality feed and clean water and they should do the rest.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
do you have any ventilation in there?

Yes, but after it was finished I thought I should have put in more. There are vents along both side walls that vent out under the eaves, a 2 x 4 window on the east side that opens at the top with hinges at the bottom so it opens into the coop and a small 1 1/2 x 2 window on the south side that slides up to open. Also on the south side is the entrance with an inside "screen" door that has sheet metal with dime sized holes (hundreds of them) instead of screen. NOTHING can get in through that metal door. In the summer I'll leave the outside door open with the "screen" door locked for added ventilation. The windows are all covered with 1/4" hardware cloth.

 

[jenesis536]

It really is like having kids... my first I worried, planned like crazy, worried I wasn't doing enough, doing something wrong...

The 2nd... I relaxed a bit but it had been 6 years so I was 1/2 way like I was the 1st...

3rd - what safety measures? Don't they just figure it out on their own!??!?! I'm kidding... but...

Same thing with my chicks... first batch in Oct... I was watching over them like crazy and doing everything... 2nd batch... relaxed a bit... ok, a LOT... 3rd batch... I got them at 6 days and the heat was at 73 when I got home and they were all running around like they were in Hawaii on Spring Break.

You're being a good chick mama, and God forbid we have any issues, but as long as you are doing your research, watching over them and providing for them, they will all grow up to be great chickens.