Tips
What You Need:
- Brooder: A place for your chicks to live. Tub, trough, brooding box, etc.
- Heat: Radiant brooding heater or heat lamp
- Feed: Chick starter crumbles - medicated (recommended) or unmedicated.
- Feeder
- Water Supply
- Pine shavings - to cover the base of your brooder.
Tips:
- Handling: Before you hold your chicks, always wash & dry your hands.
- Cleanliness: Keep your chicks brooder, food, and water supply clean. Dirty spaces can lead to sickness or death.
- Heat Lamps: If you use a heat lamp, heat part of the coop but leave an unheated area so the chicks can regulate their temp. The heat lamp should be from 18 to 20 inches above the birds in a cold area and 24 to 27 inches in a warmer area.
Common Problems:
- Pasty Butt - waste build up on the chicks vent. Can lead to death.
- Coccidiosis - Most common death of chicks. This is an intestinal disease caused by parasites that thrive in wet, warm conditions in the brooder. It is transmitted in droppings. This is why it is so important to keep the brooder clean & dry.
- Inadequate Temperature - heat lamp too close or too far. Placing heat too close or covering the chicks entire brooder can dehydrate them. Not enough heat is also detrimental to your chick.
- Dehydration/Starvation - Chicks can get too hot & get dehydrated. They also may not know WHAT water or food is or WHERE to get it. Teach chicks where food/water is by holding them & dipping their beaks in each a couple times.
- Pets - If you other have pets, make to secure the chicks habitat. Slowly introduce pets to your chicks (do not leave chicks unsupervised & use extreme caution).