what to do with week old chicks?

[novascotiachick]

hi there, i am a newbie that needs a little advice. First i should say i love this site and have found so much great advice here. My 4 chicks - "brown layers" from the feed store - are a week and half old. i am keeping their box clean (although they need to move out soon and in to a bigger home), i make sure their food (medicated chick starter) is clean and full and clean and fill their water (plain tap) a few time a day. They have wood (pine) shavings for bedding and a red heat lamp i am gradually moving farther and farther away. I have noticed a lot more "racket" coming from their box. i think they are just getting overcrowded and hope i will have a bigger cage by tomorrow for them. Is there anything else i should be doing? - any other reason they may be upset? oh - we also put a little roost in there for them which i occasionally see one of them up on. Any advice is appreciated.
Also - do you know what kind of chicken a "brown layer" is??

 

[ReikiStar]

My two cents on calm chicks: A view. We noticed when the chicks could see out they were calmer and just seemed happier. What we ended up doing was adding mesh covered boards inserted into our cardboard brooder so they could see out. We placed the mesh boards in areas where any air movement or draft would be minimal but still allowing them to see feet, or dogs or things moving about. Made a big difference in our chicks' behaviors. I would think large tanks or clear tubs would have the same effect.

 

[lavenderlakefarm]

They probally want a little more room. Do you have a large plastic container you can put them in? Just be sure to have the heat lamp high enough so it doesn't melt the container or find a larger box from your grocery store. You can start to handle them too at this age, I pick mine up daily when they are young.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

There are many breeds that lay brown eggs. If you want, you can post a pic once you have enough post's and we could proble help you figure out what breeds you have. Congrats on the chicks!

 

[donrae]

Chicks are just noisy. It's what they do, run around and peep and play with each other. All day. All night. They fight over a piece of food. They battle each other. They fall asleep standing up. They peck at each other. It's all normal.

 

[stormylady]

Make sure you don't move the heat lamp too fast, they will be very noisy if they get alittle too cool! A week and A half isn't very old and they still need alot of heat right now, you can put them in a larger box/brooder but make sure that you still have a well heated area for them, but enough room to move away if they get to warm.

 

[Nicole01]

I have my 5 of my chicks in the house ranging 4 weeks-9 weeks. They are in a extra large wire dog kennel and are very quiet. The only time I hear them is once in a very great while if they ran out of food(happened 2 times now). I feed them wet starter mash along with dry starter. I keep a perch in there for them to roost. They would be much noisier if they had less room. I'm starting the integrating process this weekend with the older chicks(11/12 weeks old) in the coop.

They might be crowded and need more room. We put our heat lamp in the corner of the kennel, the other end is very cool and they have a choice of heat or coolness.

 

[novascotiachick]

thanks for the replies!
i should specify that my "box" is a clear rubbermaid tub and that i keep an eye on their behaviour when i move their lamp. they have never snuggled up together right underneath so i take this to mean they are warm enough? i am hoping to get a large rabbit cage tomorrow. i think they are definitely getting overcrowded. can i put them outside for a little visit / play time if it is nice and warm out? supervised of course! any advice on this??

 

[Nicole01]

They will grow out of the rabbit cage quickly. I had my first set in one, but not for long at all. I wouldn't go out and spend money on one just for the chicks. Some people use the largest rubbermaid bin or a large box. I like the wire dog kennel, I hang the lamp inside. I see people use their bathtubs also. Good luck!