What do day old chicks look like

[Weiden Farm]

and preferable an answer different than 'well chicks'

I ordered day old chicks and they get here in two weeks. I need to work so i can't pick them up, but my wife and kids can't wait to get them and open the box. So i'm wondering what they will see when they open the box. Do they have feathers, do they move around - anything that i should warn my wife about.

Pics would be helpful

 

[WestKnollAmy]

There are lots of photos and threads on the hatching and chicks section.

Your chicks will actually be a days old when they arrive. They will be fuzzy and hopefully active. Any chicks coming through the mail are liable to be casualties so warn about dead chicks before she opens the box. I had 3 dead on my last delivery of 75.

You can find more photos and info, on your breeds even, in the Breeders, Show section.

There is a wealth of knowledge here on BYC just at your fingertips. Go exploring!

 

[Ridgerunner]

These are some I hatched, not shipped chicks, but the idea is the same.

They may gave tiny feathers on the wings, but are basically covered with down. They are usually very active and will chirp a lot. Don't worry if they are not moving around much when you open the box. They will get active later. The ones I hatch usually don't move a whole lot the first couple of days, but they do move around. By the third day, they are running everywhere.

The one thing you should be aware of. Sometimes chicks die during shipment. Sometimes some die when you hatch them out at home in an incubator or under a broody. Some are just not meant to live. It is nto that they are mistreated or anything like that. It happens often enough that some hatcheries may include an extra chick or two in the shipment just in case. I've only received one shipment and all 28 were alive, but sometimes it is best not to let young children be the first to look in the box.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Go to the Raising Baby Chicks section of this forum for millions of threads with pics of everyone's day-olds

They will be basically all fluff, with the very first tips of wing feathers just starting to show. Take your own pics right away because the feathers grow in practically "as you watch", they change noticeably just from breakfast to dinner! Wing (flight) feathers come in first, then atop each shoulder and the tail feathers, then the rest. By 7-10 days of age, they look like little sparrows with just "some" areas still fluffy.

When you first get them they will not be able to fly but they can hop off your hand and break their neck in a fall so it is best not to hold them too far up above a surface (floor or table), just kind of 'cup' them in your hand, don't squeeze (bird lungs are different than mammal lungs and extra-easily damaged). After the first few days in the brooder, tho, they will be much stronger and will be pretty fair at hopping, and as soon as the wing feathers start to get of meaningful length they can use them for "assisted hopping" meaning get a lid on that brooder pronto! Remember that even if they cannot clear your brooder walls in one leap, they can often get up to perch on the waterer and from that height go "over the wall" (which is fatal if you don't see it happen, as they will rapidly chill and die, being unable to get back IN the brooder).

They are cute as the dickens. They peep somewhat, although they will let you know if you've unwisely let their food or waterer run out by peeping loudly and insistantly. Often they will fall asleep mid-stride, sprawled face-down on the paper towels in a very unlikely way that makes you sure they're dead, just warning you

Often they'll all be asleep at once. That's ok. Make sure the brooder has both too-hot and too-cool areas, so they can thermoregulate by deciding where to hang out. Keeping an eye on their behavior will tell you how and when to adjust the brooder light (higher up, or dial back the rheostat) as they get older.

Good luck, have fun

,

Pat