Chick tips

There's plenty of great info out there about raising chicks, we highly recommend doing your research on chickens before embarking on your chick endeavors. As seasoned farmers, we do have our own list of tips and tricks to help your babies get off to a great start.

TIPS:

- When you pick up your chicks from us or the post office, check on them, but keep them in their box if you are travelling. This box is designed to keep them nice and warm, snuggled together and has good ventilation. Be sure not to put them in direct heat or direct cold. In your car you want to maintain a nice room temperature, between 20-24 degrees. The chicks will be able keep themselves warm if the outside space comfortable. Not too hot, not too cold is key here. It is important not to put them in direct line of heating vents. This will rapidly overheat them in the box and cause losses in travel. 

-If they are chirping loudly and cuddling very tight they are likely too cold. If they are lethargic and panting, they may be too hot. The behavior and sounds of the chicks will indicate their comfort level. Comfortable birds will form a circle under the lamp, and make soft "cheeping" noises; cold birds will huddle and pile, and make sharp noises.

-Warm the area for AT LEAST 24 Hours before the arrival of your chicks. This will ensure that your bedding is warm and dry and allows you to accurately. Your brooder area should be 85ºF for chickens or 95ºF-100ºF for turkeys. For small flocks, the most common source of heat is a heat lamp. These lamps accommodate a 250-watt red or clear bulb. When suspended 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24") off the floor, they provide enough heat to brood up to 100 chicks for a single-light.

-The chicks generally arrive quite hungry and thirsty as they are not permitted food for their travels since this puts their digestion in gear and can actually put them at higher risk. We recommend that the drinking water is cooler than the air temp., for the following reasons: If the water is very warm the birds may not realize they are wet and can stand in it and get soaked, this can lead to disastrous problems. Ensuring the chicks are temperature regulated before feeding is usually the best solution as they cannot digest properly when they are too hot or cold. Monitor the birds closely. It takes 2-3 hours for the birds to adjust to the brooder house temperature. How they appear when you first set them out may change drastically in this time period.

-To prevent them from drinking too fast it can be helpful to put rocks in their dish. This prevents them from getting wet or drowning in the first couple days. You can help them out by showing them where the water is.

-Chicks also benefit greatly from raw yolk immediately when they arrive. This gives them a huge boost as yolk is like milk to chicks. It is what feeds them as they develop in the egg.

-You can also put electrolytes in their water if you prefer and especially if it is hot weather or they overheated during travel can prevent unnecessary deaths due to electrolyte imbalances in the first couple days.

-Don’t forget to add chick grit to help aid in their digestion. This can be added to food, put in a separate dish or just thrown on the ground for them to scratch at. This helps prevent pasty butt, a normal problem that can happen to chicks due to digestion troubles and inconsistent temperatures.

-Turkeys poults are very sensitive to chilling, this shows up in their leg and toe joints. They do well when placed with chicks initially, who help them learn to eat, drink, and stay warm.