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| Toppie hen and babies |
They're not as fragile as they look. Those little fellers are tough and don't let them make you think different! Baby chicks are very self sufficient and as long as you provide the food, water, heat, and shelter they can practically raise themselves. They learn quickly and before you know it they are out of that incubator and eating, drinking, and scratching like they've been doing it forever. Nobody teaches them to scratch, they just know how. It's fascinating. Nobody teaches them to dust bath either, but once they start getting feathers provide them with a place to dust bath and they'll do it like pros. It's instinct and somehow they just know all they need to know to survive. Well that goes for most breeds anyway.
I have turned week old babies out of a brooder during nice weather to let them scratch in the yard (under supervision of course) and when something startles them or a bird flies overhead, they instinctively run and duck in taller grass to hide. And contrary to some beliefs, game chickens are not "taught" or "trained" to fight, they just fight. It's an instinct and there's nothing you can do about it aside from separating the roosters and making sure they can't get to each other once they reach sexual maturity. Baby game chickens start play fighting at just a week or so of age and do it almost daily throughout their adolescence. We have had to separate 8 week old roosters before because they were fighting to the point of blood and exhaustion. But that's me getting off topic. Sorry.. lol.
Brooding Baby Chickens
Things you will need...
- A brooder - A simple cardboard box will do, but plastic totes and tubs work well. Brooders can be as simple or as extravagant as you want them to be. The chickens won't mind if it's nothing fancy. As they get older and more flighty the brooder will require a wire or mesh cover. Be sure you provide enough space as not to overcrowd. Overcrowding leads to feather picking! Also make sure brooder is placed in a draft free area. Baby chickens can become chilled easily.
- Feeders/Waterers - Inexpensive and can be purchased at your local Tractor Supply or farm supply store. If you use a "water bowl" make sure it is shallow so that the chicks can reach it and won't drown if they fall in. If you use a bowl for feed instead of a feeder, keep in mind that the chicks will sit in the middle of it without a shadow of a doubt and poop in it so it will need to be cleaned out more frequently. Same applies to the water. For the first few days, vitamins and electrolytes can be added to the water. We also add LS-50 to our water for the first week to help keep the chicks healthy and free of CRD (chronic respiratory disease). If you have purchased baby chicks from a catalog or online, sugar can also be added to their first water to give them energy as shipping puts stress on the birds. Use 3 tablespoons of sugar to each quart of water.
- Heat source - Whether you use a good old fashioned heat lamp or one of the new Eco Brooders that I'm seeing advertised in catalogs, heat is very important for your chicks. Heat lamps can be purchased at Walmart or at your local farm supply store. It's very simple, if your chicks are huddled together they're too cold. If they're panting with their wings held out from their bodies they are too hot. Happy chicks make a very distinct "happy noise" and anyone whose ever raised baby chickens before will know what I'm talking about. It kind of sounds like a "chi-chi-chi..chi-chi-chi" sound. Hard to describe. Unhappy chicks make a sorrowful "Peep, peep, peep!" sound.
- Bedding - My preference is wood shavings. I have used cedar and I have used pine. Some people don't like ceder, but our chickens don't seem to be bothered by it. You can use straw but just make sure it is broken up good. Be careful about straw though because if wild birds have been in the area where the straw is stored, it could be infested with mites and will infest your chicks. Newspaper is a big NO because it doesn't give the chicks enough traction and can cause spraddled legs (splayed legs). Make sure the bedding isn't too fine or the chicks will eat it. Chickens eat everything! Eating a little bedding is okay, but if they eat too much they could get constipated or worse an obstruction (blockage in digestive tract).
- Chick Starter - We buy it by the 50 pound bags, but it can be sold by the pound at your local farm supply store. Chick starter is a smaller morsel of food that can be easily eaten by baby chicks. I've seen really finely ground chick starter and then some comes in "crumbles" that are a little bigger. It is also available with various protein contents for different types of poultry. The higher protein chick starters are designed for game birds like turkeys, pheasants, quail, etc. A good protein content for chickens is anywhere from 14-20%. For meat birds you can use a higher protein starter that is closer to 22-24%.
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| Small brooder |
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| Larger Brooder |
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