What to do with chicks

[Daniel-ir-74]

Hello Everybody
.....
This is my first hatch and I am Both nervous and Confused.
.....
I have a few question:

1. After coming out of eggs how long do I need to keep them in the incubator?

2.when keeping Newly hatch chicks in the incubator, do I need to set a different temperature and humidity?

3.After moving chicks to a brooder do I need to set an incandescent lamp...and if I do 100W or 200W?( the temperature in here during day is 20/25 Celsius and 15/17 Celsius during night)

4.If set an incandescent lamp do I need to keep that on day and night? and for how long?(a day or a week)

5.In my town there is not a lot of stuff for chicken....and I didn't find any chick starter feed ...all I could find was regular small size pellets? what do you think? is it okay? do I need to crush them?

6. can I feed them Crushed wheat?

Thank You Guys

 

[chickenmeadow]

Question #3: Chicks will need to quite warm in a brooder. I & others often keep a heat lamp with a red heat bulb on one side of the brooder (so they can cool off at the other side if needed) this heat lamp fixture has a clamp sometimes & I attach it to the tote, then the wire top goes under the light so it doesn't all fall in, keep this on 24 hrs til they don't need it anymore; in my case its a clear plastic tote with a wire mesh top.
Question #5 Chicks don't do well being raised on layer food because of too much calcium. What they really need is higher protein than layer, the starter is 18% (non-medicated). Have read good things on BYC here about chicks doing even better on 20% (22% ?) from a Flock Raiser type chicken feed.

Have fun with your new babies. Gotta go to sleep now.

Hope this site below will help, I found it by clicking on the above Forums tab.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...gs-important-topic-index-please-review.48726/

 

[featheredplanets]

They only need to stay in the incubator until they’ve fluffed up, you can lower the humidity if everyone has hatched. A 200W lamp will likely be too hot, I’ve used a 60W when brooding inside. But, there’s other brooding options too, I use an electric plate but lots of other BYCs successfully use a Mama Heating Pad, you have to make it yourself but it’s more natural and they don’t have a light on them 24/7. But if you do use a lamp, watch their behaviour, if they’re huddled up under it, they’re too cold, if they’re huddled away from it, they’re too hot, they need a warm and cool side of the brooder. Make sure your heat lamp is properly secured. They need a chick feed or growers feed, you can find this online and have it shipped to you inexpensively.

 

[Daniel-ir-74]

They only need to stay in the incubator until they’ve fluffed up, you can lower the humidity if everyone has hatched. A 200W lamp will likely be too hot, I’ve used a 60W when brooding inside. But, there’s other brooding options too, I use an electric plate but lots of other BYCs successfully use a Mama Heating Pad, you have to make it yourself but it’s more natural and they don’t have a light on them 24/7. But if you do use a lamp, watch their behaviour, if they’re huddled up under it, they’re too cold, if they’re huddled away from it, they’re too hot, they need a warm and cool side of the brooder. Make sure your heat lamp is properly secured. They need a chick feed or growers feed, you can find this online and have it shipped to you inexpensively.

Thank You.
I live in Iran. I don't think There would be any Even online. Can I feed them crushed wheat?

 

[featheredplanets]

Thank You.
I live in Iran. I don't think There would be any Even online. Can I feed them crushed wheat?

They need around 18% protein, I think wheat has 12% protein. But chick crumbs contain other things that the chicks need, it’d be hard to mix your own. I’d recommend trying to find a chick crumb or grower feed, even if you have to travel a few hours to pick up a few bags. There’s a whole list of grains, seeds and herbs that contain a lot of what chickens need but I wouldn’t advise them for chicks unless they have a proper formulated feed alongside it to ensure they’re getting everything

 

[Daniel-ir-74]

I just want to make sure that everything is ready when the chicks arrive...

I don't have a red heat lap..I just have a 100W incandescent lamp..If I turn the lamp on for 2-4 days can day sleep with the lamp on? or I need to cover the lamp to prevent the light ?

 

[featheredplanets]

They can sleep with it on, they'll need it on 24/7 for the first two weeks, maybe three, then you can start to turn it off throughout the day. Just observe their behaviour

 

[aart]

They really do best with some feed with vitamins/minerals/amino acids.
What feeds do you have available?
Do you have other chickens?
Do other people near you keep chickens?


Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[Rachael<3Chickies]

Not sure what food you have available but as noted chick starter or chick grower is desired. Layer pellets can really hurt them. I did a 100 W red bulb and adjusted the height depending on how they acted in terms of activity and huddling. As others have noted, huddled together inactive means too cold, going to the sides consistently means too hot. I don't know about feeding wheat but I would consider this a last resort. Also you can look up the appropriate temps by week online. They will knock over their food and water and poop in it so make sure you have feeder/waterer for chicks. They don't necessarily need grit until off starter but otherwise they do. Watch their butt for "pasty butt" and look up and treat if discovered. If lethargic or start dying look up "coci" and dose them with "corrid". I say that just incase not that I expected it to happen.

 

[Daniel-ir-74]

it's day 21 and two of my eggs has piped......

this is my brooder....I'm trying to maintain the temperature to 34 Celsius
First I just used one lamp then the temperature didn't raise much and I added one more lamp.....
Hope everything goes as planed....