You also need to protect them from not only your cats, but many other predators. If you're talking about making your cats live outdoors, that would be fine as long as they are not declawed. Hello , I have six baby chicks and they are growing very fast. My concern is their behavior. They have plenty of food, and water, warmth.
They peep loudly and for long intervals. They are not friendly as my last batch of four. The red heat lamp is on at night and the sunny window during the day.
I don't know what more to do for them. It's a bit hard for me to say since I can't see them, but they could be too warm are they staying away from the heated spot? Different breeds also act differently. They also may just be working out their pecking order--chicks usually do this quite quickly. We have a baby chicken that had fallen out of the nest yesterday.
It was almost dead by the time we got to it. We brought it in the house and placed it under heat lamps all night to get its body temp back up. Today it does seem to be doing better however it is pretty wobbly. It does not move around as well as the other chicks. Can it be returned to its mother today??? Thx so much for your reply. Ya the mother has moved the rest of them. She was not our chicken. Now she has moved on. So looks like we are the parents of a baby chick.
Thx so much. I had 25 four week old chicks. They were overcrowded in the brooder box so we placed them in the coop. No other chickens are in the coop just the baby chicks. I provided heat lamps, water, and a hanging feeder. They mush have discovered the hanging feeder last night. Nine of them were found inside the feeder dead this morning. I will now be placing a lid on the feeder. Did they all kill themselves trying to get out? I have never had this happen before. I'm not sure what kind of feeder you have, but if you had this experience, I would'nt use it with baby chicks anymore.
Baby chicks do sometimes kill each other without meaning to--they pile up on top of each other. So sorry for your loss. Good luck with the rest of them! I'm so sad right now. We are 1st time chicken owners and last night, we had a casualty. We had 5 7-week-old and 1 5-week-old chicks in our backyard coop that were as happy, friendly, and trusting as can be.
We let them out to free range and our neighbor's dog dug under the fence and killed 3 of my girls. This was in the middle of the afternoon!
One of them is injured, one is okay just traumatized and one is still missing. We also have 2 2-week-old baby chicks that we keep indoors for the time being. I am keeping the injured 7-week-old separate until she heals, but I put the other older chick with the babies indoors.
The little 2 week old chicks seem to be pecking at the bigger chick! Not, too badly, I'm keeping an eye on them all. My question is this: What kind of arrangements should I be making? Do I put them all outside in the coop now? I want to go get more chicks, but the ones at the store are 5 days old and would need to be separate, but for how long?
I'm so confused and heartbroken. I don't know where you live, but here in the northeast we keep our chickens in a warm place with a heat lamp until they feather out about four to six weeks. They are also very "flock" oriented with their established pecking order and all. If you need to add new chicks to the established ones, it's best to do it at night. If they all wake up together, it works out better. We also put hardware cloth not a cloth at all on the bottom of our fence about four inches up and out about eighteen inches under a few inches of dirt.
That way, anything that tries to dig under the fence is stopped from doing so. Ask at your local hardwars store what hardware cloth is. Good luck! I can't seem to find anywhere how MUCH to feed baby chicks. I was leaving food and water available for them all the time, but some would get so fat that their legs would splay out and they couldn't walk. Then someone told me that their food supply should be restricted to about an hour a couple of times a day. Baby chicks eat a "starter feed. Some starters will used for 4 weeks before moving onto grower; some combine a starter and grower, so you need to look at the feed information for more details.
First keep in mind that the average chick will consume a total of about 3 pounds of feed from day 1 to the age of 3 weeks. Less at the beginning and more towards the 3rd week. If they are meat birds you will continue a high protein diet until butchering them. As a rule of thumb, if you are raising meet birds, we figure a total of about pounds of feed per bird to get them to butchering weight from day old chicks.
Secondly, some breeds like the ever popular cornish cross types, are bred to have extremely fast growth rates. The birds often have leg issues, heart problems, etc due to their extremely fast growth.
If you choose to raise these types of meat birds, you will need to add a vitamin supplement to the water to help with the freakish growth these bird have. We feed our chicks twice daily and always have fresh water available.
After the first few days, we add a little chick grit to the food which helps with the digestion of the feed. Unfortunately, the fast growing broiler breeds are known to have leg issues, which you may be experiencing if this is the type of bird you have. I recommend slower growing broilers of the various "ranger" varieties. They are usually ready for butchering by weeks versus the weeks that the faster growing breeds are ready.
The will not have as large of a breast, but will be healthier and better tasting in my opinion. We just bought 5 Barred Rock chicks. We have a feeder for them with the chick starter and one for water. W have just left he feeder in the box with them and they seem to eat off and on all the time. After reading this, I am wondering if I should remove the food and only put it in their box twice a day? They are being raised as layers and are not meant birds.
I have three 2-year old chickens and three 3-day old chicks. I have 4 day old chicks and 3 week old chicks together so far no problem in 19 days I am due to receive a few more day old chicks. My brooder is fairly large. Never again will I have chicks shipped!
I had 18 chicks delivered the latter part of May. Silkies and Orpingtons. I have since lost all but 5. This is not my first experience of raising chicks but is my first experience of receiving shipped chicks. Every silkie I had has died and I really have no idea why. I use the Brensea eco brooder so they stay warm. I supply clean water and feed. I am wondering if the chicks could have cocci? I do see some red tinge to their poop. But it is not runny. They have never seemed to be bright eyed and active like all other chicks I have raised.
Any suggestions of anything I could give them to insure the remaining 5 orps survive? I just hatched a batch of bantum chicks, dates ranged from 23 to 25 days. Any suggestions on if I should try to keep it alive and if so, how to treat the wing. Figure about 2 pounds of feed per bird per week. I have a small flock of Rhode Island Reds and have 2 questions about them, 1 How can I remove the spurs from the rooster, he is a year old now, the second is how can I get the hens to set on eggs to hatch them, they lay well then ignore the clutch.
Hi Penny, I don't know the answer to your first question. However, I do know that certain breeds are better for roosting getting the eggs to hatch than others.
Some breeds are more inclined to it than others. With the more egg productive birds, broodiness was a trait that was bred out. In order to remove the spurs take pliers or two fingers and just simpally twist off the spurs. In regard to the hens you cant make them go broody its somthing they do on their own. I used a dremal and the round disk and as gyou are cutting it off it cartarises so that it doesn't bleed.
Takes just a couple of seconds and no mess. Hi Penny. I am also raising road island reds. I have read that they are one of the breeds of chicken that have had the urge to brood almost completely breed out of them. Have no idea how old they are.
Mother was killed last night. She had been scratching for them. Will they eat chick food? I have caught them and penned them. Now what? Hi Yvette, I would wait until the chickens are about 5 months old before giving them "scratch".
Be careful not to give them too much, too, as it will cause their shells to be quite thin if they get too much. Scratch is chicken candy.
A little goes a long way. I usually wait until about 16 weeks to let them get their first taste. At this point, they are going to outgrow their brooder very soon.
When can I move them to a coop? Can I make the move as long as I control the temp properly? I live in the Desert Southwest so it is already in the 90s outside. Thank you. Hi BJW, The important thing with very young chicks is to keep the temperature right. If you can keep them warm at night, I see no problem with moving them. What I can't seem to recall, is how old chicks should be before you can touch them?
Their not afraid to inspect my hand when I re-fill their food. Johnson, I don't think that there is a problem with touching baby chicks. If you want them to be friendly, it might be a good idea to handle them. You could bring some tasty treat like peas or fresh corn out for her. While she is eating you get to touch the babies.
You can touch your chicks at any time! When they are growing in feathers it might hurt them a little bit, but just be gentle. Hello i wanted to no if i can put my baby chicks that my wife recieved from a coworker outside with my other grown chickens.
Will the big chicks hurt the babys. We would advise that you keep them separate until the baby chicks are bigger and less vulnerable. At minimum, separate them for a couple of weeks so they can see each other, but not touch each other.
This is also safe to ensure no sickness passes between them. Some people claim they don't have problems, but it all depends on the breed, age, and other factors, so play it safe. Hi Vercheta, You need to wait until the chicks are about the same size as the grown chickens. Then, the best way to integrate them is to put them in the big coop at night. If they all wake up together, they will be fine.
Otherwise, the big chicks can hurt the babies. It is hard to diagnose without knowing more about their appearance and conditions. Here are a few thoughts: Is it possible that they were not getting enough water and food at the supply store? Is your brooder too hot? The chicks like it less than 90 degrees or you'll see them flatten themselves out. For the weak chick left, try electrolyte water or Pedialyte for a few days.
In terms of the wing feathers turning outward, it might be a 'frizzle' breed and this is normal. We have begun to raise some chick and a few of them seem to be sitting down and not moving. It seems like their legs are out to one side and they are not getting to the food or water! I noticed it with one and now another has started doing it!
I have been using the medicated chick food and cleaning their water trough daily! Getting concerned I will lose them. It's hard for us to diagnose. Some chicks are a bit slow in figure out how to eat and drink.
You could try to separate those chicks--take them out of the brooder with everything they need, of course -- a heat lamp, food on the paper towel no shavings , and water. Make sure they get vitamin drops and a shot of electrolytes. And then put back in the brooder for 15 minutes a few times a day for a few days until they adjust. Its fatal. Hope this helps. I am trying to rase chicks but thay are dying on me.
I keep clean water in there waterer, I keep there heat lamp on 24 7 I feed them the recameded feed but I still lose one about every other day, the only thing I have noticed that is differant from the ones I have rased in the past is that this batch always have poop on stuck to there buts. Hi Tim, This is called "pasty-butt" and it does kill the birds.
We have 16, three-day-old chicks. All seem to be doing great. One has signs of "pasty-butt" should I separate this one from the rest of the group? No, you do not need to separate the chicks if one has pasty-butt. It's mainly dehydrated. Just dip the bottom in water and it will soften and gently clean. Put a little vaseline on. Then, make sure you give it real water. Hold the chick and let water droplets fall off your finger into its beak; try again in an hour.
I have never heard of shavings causing pasty butt. Keep their butts clean and as dry as possible. Give them a little baby chick grit. And do NOT pull anything off their butts -- just gently wash it off. The chicks having dried feces on their butts does happen often, but is not a good thing. Every year I get a few with pasty butt, I always do daily butt checks for the first few weeks.
Try not too pull it as it is often stuck to feathers and can bleed if not careful. The baby chicks need to have their full feathers and the weather needs to be warm. So, this can happen at various ages. I have some 6 week old baby chicks and they love to peck each others feathers and eat them. What is wrong, do they need something special that they may not be getting in the complete grower feed.
They should be getting all they need from their feed. It's normal for them to find something and run around with it. It's even normal for them to eat whatever they pick up. Skip to main content. You are here Raising Chickens. By The Editors. March 17, About This Blog. Tags Chickens Raising Chickens What do you want to read next? Common Chicken Health Problems. Raising Chickens Collecting, Glossary of Chicken Terms. Chicken Behaviors: Dust Bathing, Raising Chickens When Raising Chickens How to Get Raising Ducks for Eggs.
Raising Chickens Choosing the Tips for Raising Baby Chicks. Backyard Chicken Basics. Raising Chickens How to Build Protecting Chickens From Predators. How can I stop the sleeping over each other of the chicks. How do I take care of this chick? I would like to have a very small flock. Will 2 or 3 chickens work?
Hope this is helpful! You could try isolating it for a while and see if it gets better. Some times they do. It is 90 degrees outside today, so I took them outside for a little "fieldtrip". Don't kill it, better yet give it away or seperate it. Please can you tell me how to raise a chick I have no idea whatsoever? So were they males bumping chests?!?!? All I know is your supposed to dip the beack in the water and let it up.
Thanks for posting this please how do we make the feeds? How long do I have to wait to take chicks Away from hen. The good thing is if they do not make it they make good soup even one or two day old chicks! Chicks peck when over crowded, and they'll peck at anything red. Thank you, Coraline. She might be splay legged. Look that up on the internet and treat accordingly.
Yes, as long as there is room for all of them together without crowding. Hi Judy, You can't put baby chicks in with pullets until they are the same size. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Most hens make excellent mothers but not all and for those that are it is an instinctive behaviour. A good broody hen will teach her chicks how to eat, drink and scratch for food, call them under her wings when danger approaches, and provide warmth by brooding them at regular intervals during the day and all night and generally give her chicks the best start in life.
However hard I try to organise them, I have several hens that disappear into the undergrowth every spring and then emerge 3 weeks later with a brood in tow. Chicks will stay under their mother all night and for various periods of time during the day.
Initially the chicks will spend as much as half of their time under the mother hen keeping warm. The hens are more than capable of raising her brood without any human help, but little chicks are very vulnerable to both predators and disease so a little human intervention can go a long way. A broody is a hen that has decided the time is right to raise a family by sitting on a nest of eggs and hatching them out.
A broody hen is determined and protective of her nest and chicks. It is perfectly natural behaviour brought on by a hormonal change which can be difficult to break. The dangers are great and many in number when you are so small, other adult hens may kill them by treading on them of tapping on their little heads, although there are several of the more docile breeds you could keep to minimise the chances of injury. Try never to startle or bother the mother hen, if the chicks see her warning you off or getting flustered by your presence it will make the job of taming them more difficult.
Broody hens are easy to spot but here is a list of broody behaviours which can help identify one. Here are 11 signs to look out for in a suspect hen:. A broody hen will stop laying eggs. She may lay for 3 days or so after becoming broody but will cease after that. Broodies won't normally go back to laying eggs until her chicks are at least 6 weeks old.
Yes, you should always separate a broody hen from the flock. They sometimes sit randomly in nests in the coop causing all sorts of flock problems and fighting not to mention randomly starting to incubate the eggs. Below: 2 hens tolerating each other when broody is very rare. Often they fight badly. If you are going to break a broody she needs to be separated from the rest of the chickens and if she is to be allowed to raise a clutch she will need her own quarters away from the flock for a few weeks.
When chicks first hatch under a broody hen you should leave her well alone for the first 24 to 48 hours, other than providing fresh water and chick crumb. Interfering with a newly hatched brood can end in abandonment.
It will take 24 to 36 hours for all the chicks to hatch and dry underneath her and in my experience the mother hen usually sits fast and will not budge during this time. You can begin to interact with your new family when the hen has decided it is the right time to get off the nest and begin to move around with her brood.
Don't get too close unless the hen is fine with it and don't make sharp or jerky movements which scare her or the chicks.
Broodiness in chickens is a hormonal change that happens spontaneously when the conditions are right. To successfully get broody hens you need:. This is a hangover from their days as wild birds. Conditions need to be certain for raising chicks and this happens in spring as foods are more plentiful, the days are longer and the weather warmer. Broody hens will sit on the eggs for 21 days and stay with her chicks for 6 to 8 weeks after that.
Once they are 8 weeks old she will begin to abandon them and return to her old life in the coop. If the weather is bad it may be a week or two longer ans some chicks grow more slowly than others. With Silkies expect a hen to brood her young for 8 weeks at least. Your browser does not support the video tag. Broody hens will begin to roost again after they have had their chicks for 6 weeks or so.
They should begin to follow her up to the perches. You can separate a broody hen from her chicks at 8 weeks of age if they are fully feathered and the weather is mild. As long as she and her chicks have food, water and shelter away from danger the broody hen will be fine.
She can eat the chick crumb, it will help her get back into condition. In my experience broody hens need little extra help and will quite happily get on with looking after their babies. A month later, none of their eggs had hatched. After a trip to the post office to fetch a box of day-old chicks, I got the little peep-peepers settled in an indoor brooder with heat lamp. All of the chicks looked healthy and active. That night, when all was dark and quiet at the chicken coop, my hubby Jim and I put two chicks under each broody hen.
We checked back and forth for a while and all seemed well—mamas clucking softly, babies snuggled underneath the hens. So that night, we put the rest of the chicks in with the mothers.
Over the next several days we watched as the hens capably cared for their chicks. Four weeks later, it appears that our foster adoption worked like a charm. The hens have been contented, nurturing mamas; the chicks are healthy and strong. So what are some secrets to successful adoption? Make sure the hens are actually broody, having sat devotedly on eggs for at least a couple of weeks. Most hens—even experienced mothers—will have no interest in raising chicks unless they are already broody.
On the other hand, there are exceptions—some hens will readily adopt chicks anytime! Be prepared to get the chicks started in a brooder and to brood them completely if necessary.
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