HELPFUL TIPS FROM THE HOMESTEAD
BROODER SPACE / HEAT
Chicks need to stay on heat until they are fully feathered from head to tail.
Maintain your brooder space at 95F until the chicks are about 10 days in age. After that- adjust the heat source each week so that the brooder temp decreases by 5 degrees each time. This will slowly wean your chick off of heat.
Heat Lamps are not the enemy if used responsibly! The Happy Homestead uses heat lamps for the first 2 weeks after a chick is hatched. Using a radiant source of heat is imperative to keeping your chicks strong and healthy (as long as the heat lamp is not too close to the chicks). Heat Plates don’t typically give off enough heat for the chicks during their first 10 days.
Keep in mind – if you’ve purchased both bantam chicks and standard chicks – there will be a size difference, and that size difference can be deadly for the bantams. Chicks have very minimal spatial awareness and will step on or smother the baby bantams. Bantam chicks should be housed in a separate brooder.
NUTRITION
Chicks may need some extra help to land with both feet on the ground!
All Chicks should have mash for their first few days (luckily for you, we’ve done this for you – because they should be at least a week old when they go home with you). The next step from that is chick crumble!
It is up to you whether you want to use medicated or non medicated feed for your chicks. The Happy Homestead uses Medicated Chick Starter Crumble for their standard breeds, Non-Medicated for any silkies (Silkies CANNOT have medicated feed), and Game Starter Crumble for Polish and Bantams. Keep in mind that the smaller the breed (full grown) the smaller their throats are as chicks – your chick crumble, may not be crumbled enough. Use a blender or grind bowl to break down the crumble even more.
The Happy Homestead likes to use daily vitamins in our chicks water. This just helps them stay hydrated as they figure out the world. There are many different types of vitamins and electrolytes available for use, but our favorite is Prairie Pride Vitamins & Electrolytes that we get at Tractor Supply. If you opt to use this, please note that each packet is for 110 gallons of water. We typically mix ½ a tsp to 32 oz of water. If you opt for another supplement, we highly recommend anything with Niacin in it – as that calms the chicks digestive system down and reduces pasty butt!
Chicks need access to clean water all of the time. This does not mean use the biggest bowl you can find. Chicks can, and will, drown themselves in their water. Chicks are very sleepy little babies and will fall asleep while drinking water. This doesn’t mean they are lethargic- it just means they are still powering up! Use chick specific waterers, or add pebbles/rocks to your waterers. This will prevent their nostrils from going underwater.
BEDDING
Chicks aren’t very picky when it comes to what bedding you use. There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding what to use. Somethings to consider are:
Cost – chicks soil bedding a lot. You will need to change their brooder often to prevent the spread of disease or parasites.
Dust – generally speaking, less dust is better; However, if you are using a heat lamp – you are going to want a LOW DUST option to prevent accidental fires. If you are past the heat lamp stage, or are opting not to use one – pine shavings are fine!
Ease of Cleaning – What type of brooder you have, and how easy it is to clean plays a huge role in what bedding you are willing to use.
Odor- Some materials are better at absorbing waste than others. The higher the absorption the better the odor control.
Keep in mind that chicks explore and will likely try to eat almost anything you put in their brooder. Keep toxins like cedar shavings and some scented paper beddings in mind when choosing a bedding. Some less than optimal choices for chick bedding include cat litter, and some hamster paper beddings (used as sole bedding).
We typically recommend waiting a few weeks before using a coop refresher or nesting herbs mixed in with your choice of bedding.
The Happy Homestead uses lavender scented puppy pads as a base layer (lavender helps keep them calm), and then uses fine pine shavings on top. After 2 weeks, we begin mixing in coop refresher and dried nesting herbs to the bedding. This allows for easy clean up, and easy vacuuming of the space.
COOP READY?
So you’ve been decreasing your heat each week, and now its safe to say they are “off heat” – which means they no longer need a heat source in their Brooder. Congrats! You are one step closer to a coop ready chick. However, just because they are off heat, does NOT mean they are ready to go out to the coop.
Some chicks develop feathers faster than others. If your chick is off heat, but it’s not fully feathered yet- do not put that chick outside in the coop.
If the ambient temperature of your house is significantly different (more than 15-20F degrees) from the ambient temperature outside – do not put that chick outside in the coop. (Ex, If you keep your house at 68, but the low is 40 for the night).
If the outside temperature is similar to the temperature inside – but it drops significantly overnight (typical in the spring / fall)- do not keep the chicks outside without an additional heat source, until they have had time to adjust. This means you will have to wean them off of that heat source as well.
If you move the chicks out to the coop, and they curl up in a corner, fluff up, or become sluggish – move them back inside, and put them under heat. Then, start the process over again.
FIRST AID / HEALTH CONCERNS
As we now know – chicks are fragile, and may need some additional care or first aid as they investigate. Its important to preface this section by saying that on some occasions – you will lose a chick simply due to natural selection / development issues / internal issues that you cant foresee.
Fortunately, there are some common things that we can treat for! There isn’t enough room to discuss in detail every little thing you may encounter, but lets go over some common things you may see and how to treat them. Feel free to do some more research if needed!
Dehydration : Symptoms include panting, lethargy, weakness, diarrhea : Administer Nutri- Drench or Some other type of electrolyte solution. First, See if the chick will drink themselves. If they wont, carefully drop the mixture onto the side of their beak. Be careful not to force the chick to drink, as they can close off their throats and you can actually drown them.
Pasty Butt : This is when droppings / stool stick to the down feathers surrounding a chicks vent, and crust up- blocking the chicks vent and preventing defecation. (Don’t confuse the vent with the belly button; the vent is closest to the chicks back!) : Take warm water on a damp cloth and gentle work the area to remove loose stools. In extreme cases, very gently take small scissors and trim the down feathers. Use caution not to cut the skin. Do not tear the droppings or down feathers away as this can be very painful, and can tear the vent or skin.
Splay Leg : This is when a chicks legs go out to the side rather than instead of underneath them or infront of them. Spraddle leg makes walking very difficult (or nearly impossible) for the chick : First & Foremost – don’t use slippery bedding as it can lead to a leg injury and therefore spraddle leg. Once you discover Splay Leg – the legs should be taped together, or a leg band should be put on the chicks legs. Another method you can try if you do not have medical tape or splay leg bands- is placing them in a coffee mug, forcing them to use their legs and build muscle.
Coccidiosis (Internal Parasites) : Symptoms include diarrhea, blood or mucus in droppings, lethargy, loss of appetite, delayed growth. : Cocci is one of the most common reasons a baby chick will die. Prevention is the most important method to dealing with Cocci. Brooders should be kept clean, and as dry as possible. Keep water clean, free from droppings and bedding. Keep in mind that Cocci spreads very quickly through the dropping of chicks (think of how often baby chicks poop).
If one bird has Cocci – the entire flock / brooder should be treated. Mix 9.5cc of Corid per gallon of water for 4 days. Wait 2 weeks, and then treat again.