Getting Ready For New Chicks

So you are ready for your chicks to arrive, you have set up your brooding spot and you think you are all set. Let's just make sure you have actually gotten yourself ready, because if you aren't then you might see things get out of hand pretty quickly. I have put together a little list of things to make sure you have done so you can be more comfortable with the idea of your chicks arriving.

First off, if you are receiving your chicks from another place then you definitely need to check them out thoroughly to make sure they are healthy. If you receive chickens that do not look healthy you need to have the delivery man look over the shipment again because it is required of them to make sure your shipment of chicks arrives in good condition. You do not want to introduce sick chickens into a population of healthy chickens or let the sick ones stay near any healthy ones that may have come with them because chickens spread illness very quickly.

Before placing your baby chicks in the brooder, make sure it is set to at least 90 degrees. Every week for the first five weeks you can lower the temperature 5 degrees. After this your chicks will no longer need the extra heat to grow and stay healthy. Make sure your brooder is large enough that your chickens can move freely to and from the heater.

 

Make sure you fill your water sources with fresh clean water everyday and add a half a cup of sugar for every gallon that you put in. This will give your baby chickens extra energy. You should not add any other chemicals to their water.

Proper handling of your chickens is extremely important, because as I said before, your chickens can spread illness very fast, especially when they are young and their immune systems are still developing. Also, you want to handling them properly, because you could get sick from whatever microorganisms they have crawling around on them. So it is important for your health and your chickens health that you handling them with care. Make sure to wash any parts of your body that come in contact with baby chickens, and do not put your hands near your face or in your mouth after touching them.

Place the chickens in the brooder one at a time and dip their beaks in the water and food so they immediately get a sense for where they have to go. Make sure to observe your chicks for a couple hours after placing them in the brooder. If they are huddling near the heat source then they are probably too cold and you should increase the heat, if they are spreading out in corners away from the heat, it may be too hot for them. Also make sure all of them are acting normally and are eating and drinking.

Hopefully you get a great healthy batch of new chickens, good luck and have fun!