When to quit Apple Cider Vinegar

[flygirl1973]

Hello everyone, I can’t seem to find when to quit giving this for my new flock? Tonight is the second night of no pasty butt and they are 8 days old. I’m wondering if I can quit giving it now? Lady at the TSC also told me to supplement with grit after transport just to help. So if I’m not feeding treats, can I quit using that as well? I’ve given only a sprinkling really mixed in their 1 quart container. Thanks everyone!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

They don’t need grit unless they’re getting treats. ACV really doesn’t do anything for the chicks. Sav-a-chick should be used for their first three days.

 

[paneubert]

You should quit the ACV before you started it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello everyone, I can’t seem to find when to quit giving this for my new flock? Tonight is the second night of no pasty butt and they are 8 days old. I’m wondering if I can quit giving it now? Lady at the TSC also told me to supplement with grit after transport just to help. So if I’m not feeding treats, can I quit using that as well? I’ve given only a sprinkling really mixed in their 1 quart container. Thanks everyone!

You can stop the ACV now if you want. Pasty butt is usually from being too hot/cold. Shipped chicks can often have that so if it has resolved that's great.

I would provide fresh clean water and chick starter. Chickens will always need some type of grit to process foods they eat unless you keep them strictly on poultry feed their whole lives.
Put the grit in a separate container, don't mix with feed. They will take what they need.

 

[aart]

Put the grit in a separate container, don't mix with feed. They will take what they need.

I wouldn't even do that as they can gorge on it.
I just sprinkle some on a chunk of sod.

http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf.

I bought about a 2 gallon bag of granite grit from the local mill, they put it in their chicken scratch. Ran it thru a colander with 1/16" holes. Bagged the smaller stuff for the chicks and sprinkle some over a chunk of sod in the brooder during the second week

 

[flygirl1973]

Thanks everyone! I think I misunderstood which chick “crack” she was talking about supplementing with. I thought she was talking about grit which clearly she wasn’t. So I bought a small bag of rocks for my baby chicks. GREAT! I kind of wish she would have asked me about what I was buying since I only bought it and the chick starter. You read, you think you understand, ask questions, think you’re good and then BAM! You realize you were lost in the sauce an hour ago. Nothing beats feeling like an idiot. I did correlate the temperature of the coop with pasty butt. I felt as if I needed to add the light so they could get warm enough to come out and get their food and water. Thankfully the temps are up a bit now and I can remove that except for maybe during the morning since I have the brood heater. Unless, I missed something there too!

 

[aart]

I felt as if I needed to add the light so they could get warm enough to come out and get their food and water. Thankfully the temps are up a bit now and I can remove that except for maybe during the morning since I have the brood heater.

I do this too, low wattage heat light over feed/water station, for the first couple days after hatch....make sure everyone is eating drinking and moving ok.

Live and learn...chickens have a huge learning curve,
like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose....your face will get wet, but a towel will take care of that.

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'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. 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

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks everyone! I think I misunderstood which chick “crack” she was talking about supplementing with. I thought she was talking about grit which clearly she wasn’t. So I bought a small bag of rocks for my baby chicks. GREAT! I kind of wish she would have asked me about what I was buying since I only bought it and the chick starter. You read, you think you understand, ask questions, think you’re good and then BAM! You realize you were lost in the sauce an hour ago. Nothing beats feeling like an idiot. I did correlate the temperature of the coop with pasty butt. I felt as if I needed to add the light so they could get warm enough to come out and get their food and water. Thankfully the temps are up a bit now and I can remove that except for maybe during the morning since I have the brood heater. Unless, I missed something there too!

Sounds like you have it going right!
I do offer my chicks grit first thing, you did get the right thing in my book.

 

[flygirl1973]

Apparently I didn’t hit “post”. Hey @A_Fowl_Guy, I don’t believe she even mentioned that, it was another type of crumble she said they would eat loads of. I just looked save a chick up on TSC and yep, I don’t think she mentioned that. I read earlier this week someone had given their chicks electrolytes and it caught my eye because I hadn’t heard about it. Well, I guess my chicks are survivors. Score 1 for them, -1 for me!

 

[flygirl1973]

Thanks again everyone! It seemed to me like the chicks were comfy, I had the heat plate available and the heat lamp-fairly high since I had the wire on top the crate. There were some under the plate and some lying around in pairs or individually in the light and around it. I asked on the heat plate thread when I’m supposed to raise it but it seems we’ve turned to that here. I’ve now quit the ACV and the grit. No heat lamp today and won’t be any tonight. They are a bit more under the heat lamp but they come out when something peaks their interest. And thank you @Wyorp Rock for telling me you do the same.