What age can you handle chicks?

[Foreverblessed2013]

Hi everyone! We just hatched our first chick and are super excited! I was wondering at what age you start handling them and for how long at a time so they don’t get stressed out?

 

[FC16]

Hi everyone! We just hatched our first chick and are super excited! I was wondering at what age you start handling them and for how long at a time so they don’t get stressed out?

Are you hatching with a broody or an incubator? Also, how old are the chicks? If they’re freshly hatched you should only really be handling moving them from the incubator to their brooder once they’ve dried off. Once they’re settled into their brooder and dry you can handle them but only for short periods, you don’t want to risk them getting too cold, they’ll let you know if they’re cold by huddling together + loud chirping. In my experience freshly hatched ones usually find the human hand absolutely terrifying at first so just be calm and gentle around them, as they get older they learn humans = treats so they tend to become more friendly.

 

[Foreverblessed2013]

Are you hatching with a broody or an incubator? Also, how old are the chicks? If they’re freshly hatched you should only really be handling moving them from the incubator to their brooder once they’ve dried off. Once they’re settled into their brooder and dry you can handle them but only for short periods, you don’t want to risk them getting too cold, they’ll let you know if they’re cold by huddling together + loud chirping. In my experience freshly hatched ones usually find the human hand absolutely terrifying at first so just be calm and gentle around them, as they get older they learn humans = treats so they tend to become more friendly.

Thank you! It hatched this morning and is in his brooder and dry now. Only one hatched from the eggs that I had. 2 stopped developing and 1 was not fertilized. My kids have been watching the little guy all day and are anxious to hold him but I was afraid of letting them hold him too soon.

 

[Henschickspups]

Definitely locate more chicks. Single chicks don't do well, they need friends.

As for ages. I pretty much let my 12 year old go with minimal supervision. My 6 year old does well with a towel on her lap. I've been making her wait until chicks are a few days old. My 1.5 year old... he likes to chase them, so he does not get to handle them.

 

[sdm111]

I handle them before dry. You'll be fine just don't drop any

 

[Foreverblessed2013]

Definitely locate more chicks. Single chicks don't do well, they need friends.

As for ages. I pretty much let my 12 year old go with minimal supervision. My 6 year old does well with a towel on her lap. I've been making her wait until chicks are a few days old. My 1.5 year old... he likes to chase them, so he does not get to handle so

Do you think that he will be ok for a couple of weeks until I can get another chick about the same age? How do I find a chick young enough to put with him?

 

[Henschickspups]

A couple weeks, probably not.

My singleton is named Lucky. At 3 days old, the reason for the name changed from "only one that hatched" to "lucky i don't put him in a room with my pit bull and walk away". He was extremely stressed and frantic if he wasn't in my collar by 2 days old.

I would check farm stores like tractor supply, rural king, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist. Farm stores have a minimum, but with chicks it really is the more the merrier.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Do you think that he will be ok for a couple of weeks until I can get another chick about the same age? How do I find a chick young enough to put with him?

Hi there! So you have a local TSC or other farm supply store? They often carry chicks

 

[Henschickspups]

A few days to a week's difference won't matter that much. There's 4 days difference between Lucky and the next set that I hatched - the first day he had company was kind of iffy, but by the second day he realized that they are chickens too, and all was calm.

 

[Foreverblessed2013]

A few days to a week's difference won't matter that much. There's 4 days difference between Lucky and the next set that I hatched - the first day he had company was kind of iffy, but by the second day he realized that they are chickens too, and all was calm.

Is it ok to put them together this soon if I run and grab one tonight from tractor supply?