Week olds...dust baths, heat and bedding

[RubelliteRose]

Thanks! I'll start doing a small bowl of grit. Or I assume I can mix it into the chick starter?
I love the idea of a patch of grass! Its just starting to grow here. I wonder if they can dust bath in good old regular yard dirt at this age.

I know some people mix it with the food, but I prefer to have it on the side so they can just eat what they need.

 

[Boppo]

Use the search feature at the top of your menu to look for articles or further discussions about any sort of questions you have, as well as just asking. The Forums, also at the top menu, offer lots of sub menus to browse through. But as another new chick owner, I really like the Raising Baby Chicks one.

Also, everybody here is very helpful, but some folks know a lot more than others. Look at the tags below the person's name. Some folks will have tags that say EDUCATOR, or SPIRIT, and those folks tend to have shown and share more knowledge. Others, like me, are newbies. We might be friendly, and some others might even have lots of experience, but look for that seal of approval when you are deciding whose advice to follow.

 

[RoyalChick]

With a heat plate they will be fine in quite cold temperatures (mine was going to 38-40s at night but others have gone colder with no problems).
In terms of grit, I gave mine a bowl of grit which they of course bathed in. One got to bathe while the others at bits of grit flying around.
Normally I would have given them a bowl of dirt and grass but the weather was so awful when they arrived that I didn't do that and improvised with the grit.
I also put a pinch of grit in the feeder when I refill it - they don't need much really.

 

[-Isla June-]

awesome! Don’t dress it, you’re chickens sound healthy and happy!

Stress* not dress

 

[azygous]

Kentucky is a rather moist state, right? There is a small risk using your local soil in the brooder for dirt bathing. If you are feeding medicated feed, it should be okay. Spring is a time when coccidia are sometimes present in large numbers in the soil, but the first two weeks in chicks' lives is a period when they build immunities and resistance to pathogens so this is an opportunity to build resistance to coccida.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Dust bath at this age can be almost anything. I don't provide chicks with a dust bath but they'll roll around in the bedding anyhow.

As far as heat, you can raise the plate a bit as they get bigger, and also lower the temps in your house down (or crack open a window if it's not too cold outside).

With grit, I am one of those folks that sprinkles a bit onto their food, as this prevents them from making a mess of a grit dish and also prevents overeating of grit. A tiny pinch every few days seems to be plenty to me, and yes mine do nibble their bedding and I haven't had issues with that.

 

[Ccort]

Kentucky is a rather moist state, right? There is a small risk using your local soil in the brooder for dirt bathing. If you are feeding medicated feed, it should be okay. Spring is a time when coccidia are sometimes present in large numbers in the soil, but the first two weeks in chicks' lives is a period when they build immunities and resistance to pathogens so this is an opportunity to build resistance to coccida.

Coccidia is common here. I foster cats and kittens and most have coccidia.

 

[azygous]

Chickens have their very own dedicated coccidia, nine different strains that only love chicken guts. But exposing them to a small amount of the local soil should help them get resistance to your local strains.

 

[bruceha2000]

I was afraid my house might be too chilly as well while they explore around.

I've had 4 day old chicks running around in 50°F temps, they don't mind it at all as long as they can get back to their heat source (hen or Mama Heating Pad, or in your case, heat plate) when they start to get cold.

i recommend using a heat lamp and placing it three feet from bottom.

From the bottom of what? And, IMHO, NO on the heat lamp. They have their heat plate, chicks don't need the "standard" ambient temps of 95° the first week dropping by 5°F weekly until they are feathered.

That might be necessary for large scale farm raised chicks but they typically use hover brooders which are similar to a heat plate with an AREA of the brooder space being heated higher than ambient. They aren't going to heat an entire barn to 95°F

What chicks need is a proper heat source they can go to when they get cold.

I think making it a tiny bit cooler at day would be a good option!

Don't bother. As with a MHP, watch the chicks. If they won't come out from under the heat plate it is too cool, if they won't go in it is too hot. If they come and go, sleeping under it, the plate temp is fine. You will need to raise it as the chicks grow (which is FAST!)

I'll start doing a small bowl of grit. Or I assume I can mix it into the chick starter?

I've never done chick grit. They don't need it if they ONLY get chick starter. Mine have always been on dirt (barn alley and outdoors) where they seem to find plenty of "grit". Now if yours are in a "clean" environment and they are getting eating some things that is not commercial chicken food, I think having it separate would make it so they eat as much as they need. But it may not matter if it is mixed in with the food, they'll pick out what they want. I have oyster shell on the side for my layers.

 

[-Isla June-]

I've had 4 day old chicks running around in 50°F temps, they don't mind it at all as long as they can get back to their heat source (hen or Mama Heating Pad, or in your case, heat plate) when they start to get cold.


From the bottom of what? And, IMHO, NO on the heat lamp. They have their heat plate, chicks don't need the "standard" ambient temps of 95° the first week dropping by 5°F weekly until they are feathered.

That might be necessary for large scale farm raised chicks but they typically use hover brooders which are similar to a heat plate with an AREA of the brooder space being heated higher than ambient. They aren't going to heat an entire barn to 95°F

What chicks need is a proper heat source they can go to when they get cold.


Don't bother. As with a MHP, watch the chicks. If they won't come out from under the heat plate it is too cool, if they won't go in it is too hot. If they come and go, sleeping under it, the plate temp is fine. You will need to raise it as the chicks grow (which is FAST!)


I've never done chick grit. They don't need it if they ONLY get chick starter. Mine have always been on dirt (barn alley and outdoors) where they seem to find plenty of "grit". Now if yours are in a "clean" environment and they are getting eating some things that is not commercial chicken food, I think having it separate would make it so they eat as much as they need. But it may not matter if it is mixed in with the food, they'll pick out what they want. I have oyster shell on the side for my layers.

WOW haha, you are TOTALLY a chicken expert. *laughs* Thank you for correcting me, and I hope that you have an amazing day correcting people! John 3:16. JESUS LOVES YOU!