raising baby chicks

I just bought two 3 day old Australorp females from TSC. The one chirps loudly and constantly. Everyone at the store heard her as I carried her out of the store. She did not quiet down for the 20minute ride home . She is asleep now. The babies i raised last year (buff orpington, blk...

Does anybody have tips on how to hatch eggs or just useful information that I might need? If you do, please say, as I'm new to raising chickens. I also have pets I need to teach to not try to eat the chicks/eggs. 1. An older, gentle black cat. 2. An excitable rottweiler. 3. A loving...

I have 4 docile hens: buff orpington, back australorp, blue laced red wyandotte, and an EE. I would like to get a white hen just to add color to my flock. I hear that White Leghorn roosters are noisy and aggressive. I live in the suburbs and dont want to upset me neighbors. Are WL hens also...

Hi! New to BYC. I have 8 baby chicks - 9 days old - and one of them is not doing as well. I'm hoping some of y'all may have advice or insight! - I noticed symptoms beginning yesterday morning (so this is day 2): primarily she seems very lethargic and is sleeping far more than the others...

Hi all! Mama hen hatched some eggs. They are all in a large dog crate with food and water inside the coop. Our coop is at least 4ft off the ground, so not safe to let the babies walk around the coop and no safe way to get outside (ramp is super long). Mama hen wants her chicks to follow her...

I a few have eggs incubating and we’re less than a week away from hatching. I also have a broody who I didn’t let sit on any eggs until recently so she’s definitely not reached her 21 day mark. There is also another hen who I think has gone broody as well now, they sit happily in the same box...

Hi there chickie friends, We have had our 15 chickens for one week now and I have noticed the chickens are pecking at the cardboard box. I feel like they are bored and need to be provided with some natural elements. Would it be okay if I gave some grass/dirt with worms to my little friends...

I’m just curious if tractor supply “Easter eggers” are just all breeds that lay various color eggs, The older my chicks get I think I have at least 3 wyandottes, a barred rock or Cochin mix and maybe some classic “Easter eggers” I’m really excited about the variety but the older they get the...

Do I need to be careful with my baby chicks in regards to infection and diseases considering I have an existing flock? I will have my baby chicks in the house while I take care of them until they’re fully feathered but I also need to care for my existing flock in the run and coup outside. Do I...

Is it a risk to get baby chicks in the fall weather? I would get them next week, September 1st. This puts them fully feathered at 6 weeks and brings me to mid October weather in Massachusetts. Which can be warm or chilly but not cold. Will they be too cold come December? Will they make it...

New to chicken keeping here. We have four young hens at the moment (see them here). Considering that this can quickly turn into an addiction of sorts, we may want to add a handful more next year. Having lived in Belgium for a time, I'm very intrigued by Barbu d'Uccle chickens...they're rad, and...

Hello everyone, so I just got 4 Buff Orpington pullet chicks from Tractor Supply. They are 4-5 days old. And I have a few questions: (1) Right now, I have a 65 watt bulb. I read that they need 80-100 watt. and I plan on getting one right away, but right now they seem content, and aren't acting...

I have 5 corturnix quail, 3 hens and 2 roos. They live in a tractor supply esk chicken coop we've dubbed "the quail palace" as they have a ton of room to move around. A hen apparently hid a whole pile of fertilized eggs and we woke this morning to about 10 little babies. We've given them a...

Three of my hens went broody at once. Two have decided to share a nesting box. (Nesting boxes are raised so not on the ground.) The chicks should be hatching any day. My concern is whether or not they are all going to be overcrowded (potentially suffocating and trampling on chicks) as that will...

I’m back with my 5th question. These tiny fluffs have been a source of constant worry. I have one chick that is a lot smaller than the rest, and isn’t very good at eating. She will just stand and stare at the food and maybe peck at it once or twice, while the rest of the chicks are just...

Hello Chicken People! Recently, my mom's friend was visiting and I had just acquired two young chicks. She expressed interest in getting chickens once she moved to her new location, and as I had my babies out with me, I had the thought to inform her that most people don't go to the lengths I...

This is the first year since 2014 that I don’t have new chicks. I have for coops and 110 hens who are all laying and the oldest is just over 18 months. I welcome New chicken owners and help as I can. It’s exciting to see people enjoy chickens. The trouble is so many people buy chickens without...

Hello! I had posted a thread about 4-5 days ago asking about one of my silkie chicks. I have 3 and they are 3 weeks old today. I have one that is different than the other 2. Two of them are white, growing rapidly, and are now sprouting head and back feathers. They have their wing feathers and...

Hey there, I'm new to the forum. We had backyard chickens for ~10 years in Madison, WI. Then we retired June 2019 and moved to a high desert mesa in NW New Mexico. We are starting up a farmstead here and have our greenhouse and outdoor garden up and running. We've been living out of a...

Hello all! This will be my first year raising chickens. I currently have three hens: a showgirl silkie, a barred rock, and a welsummer. They are all about 1 year old. None have ever had chicks. In September I am receiving 16 days old chicks from Murray McMurray hatchery. The majority are red...