What's up with my chicks?

[Lubz]

how old are they?!

They're a little over a month old

 

[MAchicken105]

They will die without proper nutrition and need a complete feed like chick starter, it is going to be literally your only option. Unless it's a balmy 80 degrees out morning and night they need to have a heat lamp unless they have all their feathers in.

You can tell if they have their feather by looking to see if all their baby fluff "down" is gone and larger more defined adult feathers have grown in its place.

If they are still alive you're running the risk of them not developing properly and all your hard work of feeding them and taking care of them will be for nothing when your chicks develop serious health issues and die later on.

Sorry to be such a downer but they are live animals that have specific needs especially in their first stages of life.

They're a little over a month old

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of your chicks and how you are housing them (coop/run)?
Where are you located - this helps us when you have questions.

Do you have a feed or pet store that carries feed for chicks? Chick Starter or a Flock Raiser feed.

 

[Hybridchucks]

2x great posts!!!!

 

[Lubz]

They will die without proper nutrition and need a complete feed like chick starter, it is going to be literally your only option. Unless it's a balmy 80 degrees out morning and night they need to have a heat lamp unless they have all their feathers in.

You can tell if they have their feather by looking to see if all their baby fluff "down" is gone and larger more defined adult feathers have grown in its place.

If they are still alive you're running the risk of them not developing properly and all your hard work of feeding them and taking care of them will be for nothing when your chicks develop serious health issues and die later on.

Sorry to be such a downer but they are live animals that have specific needs especially in their first stages of life.

They all have their feathers (excluding the little fluff Nibbles has on his head) so I'm not sure whether they need a heat lamp.

Thank you for your help. I'm really new to raising chicks so thanks again for telling me what things to do. I'll try to get some grit for them soon. Probably tomorrow.

 

[MAchicken105]

Awesome plan! Get the chick grit, it's a bit smaller then the regular grit. Once they are big enough they can have regular grit. Chickens need access to grit their entire lives, it's how they grind their food. Without it they become impacted and will die. Unfortunately chickens tend to be on the fragile side of your normal pet. If you have a tractor supply nearby that would be the best place to get everything you need in one place.

 

[wvchics]

Being so young you'll need to use sand or chic grit. Being that it's summer time and they have all their feathers they shouldn't need a lamp unless it gets cold. However, they do need some type of chic starter. That should be their main diet, available to them always. Then you can give them oats and vegetables as treats. Just be careful not to give them too much. If they fill up on treats they won't get the proper nutrition they need from the feed. It is very important to pay close attention to their diet, because it will effect their production in the future. Also, if it's getting extremely hot during the day you may want to offer them ice water or a small portion of cold fruits. It is very hard for chickens to cool themselves down in high humidity because the moisture doesn't evaporate from their lungs as easily when they pant.

 

[Lubz]

Can you post some photos of your chicks and how you are housing them (coop/run)?
Where are you located - this helps us when you have questions.

Do you have a feed or pet store that carries feed for chicks? Chick Starter or a Flock Raiser feed.

The chicks currently roam around the the kitchen because we live in a flat and don't have a garden. We take them outside into a field like area now and again, probably 2 times a week.

I am situated in England - West London. I think there is a local pet store that carries feed. We currently don't have any.

 

[Lubz]

Being so young you'll need to use sand or chic grit. Being that it's summer time and they have all their feathers they shouldn't need a lamp unless it gets cold. However, they do need some type of chic starter. That should be their main diet, available to them always. Then you can give them oats and vegetables as treats. Just be careful not to give them too much. If they fill up on treats they won't get the proper nutrition they need from the feed. It is very important to pay close attention to their diet, because it will effect their production in the future. Also, if it's getting extremely hot during the day you may want to offer them ice water or a small portion of cold fruits. It is very hard for chickens to cool themselves down in high humidity because the moisture doesn't evaporate from their lungs as easily when they pant.

If I can't get any starter soon, are there any alternatives?

 

[wvchics]

Unfortunately, it would be close to impossible to create the right concoction yourself. If you don't have a feed store nearby try ordering online and get it delivered to your flat.