raising chicks

So I just hatched a batch of 22 chicks, 19 made it to hatch and then yesterday one of the chicks started acting weird in the brooder. It was in the incubator about 12 hours before I moved it to the brooder. After about an hour in the brooder I noticed it was weak and panting and also seemed to...

My four hens have been indoors since birth. They are 17 weeks old. I finally got a coop and it is assembled. The temp outside has been in 30s and 40s, but the hens have not been out yet. Since tomorrow and the next week will be in the fifties, I thought it would be a great time to take them...

I have four hens: a black australorp, buff orpington, blue laced red wyandotte, and EE (I think). I am so tempted to purchase a white silkie and/or a white crested black Polish. Should I? I dont want to do that if that be disatrous and that they would get picked on constantly or a lot...

Devastated and posting this as hopefully a warning to prevent another accident like this occurring. Have been putting mama hen and her 4 babies out in the run during the day and back inside at night for the past 2 days, and one of the chicks just died under the regular feeder the hen (used to be...

Hi guys! I am NEW to raising backyard chickens in the Central Florida area. I have Polish (6weeks old), Easter eggers and Green Queens (7 weeks old). I’ve been loving this journey of learning something completely new and am really enjoying the community around raising chickens!! I’ve...

Hey all! It's been a while (insert guitar chord here) and having a flock of hens has been amazing. The problem has been el doggo. Y'see I got a doggo in December. I love him very much. He's a German Shepherd/Husky mix and is about 10 mos old. The problem: he has a significant prey drive. I'm...

Does anyone actually use these in their brooders? Are they ok? (Sorry about the bad photo, it's straight off my computer😅)

I have silkie chicks that are nearing 6 weeks old. I'd like to move them outside, but I know they are more fragile to temperatures. I live in Arizona, but in the mountains. Here soon it should be reaching 50 degrees min at night. Would I be able to move my silkie chicks to the chick coop with a...

I’ve heard 1 to 10 is a standard ratio currently raising 11 chicks who are “pullets” from TSC but we know how that may turn out lol i am also getting 2 light Brahma coop ready pullets in June bringing the total to 13 so will I need more than one Roo? How many roosters have you been able to keep...

Alright chciken fam extreme newbie here I have hatched 6 out of 11 eggs so far... 2 passed in shell 2 passed after hatching. My hen had 2 eggs left today 1 of them clearly had passed having a small crack on the outside of the egg with dark veins in that area that looked broken, no movement...

I have been checking my chicks for pasty butt since I got them April 1st. They have been all good this far but today I noticed two had just a bit of poop stuck to the back downy feathers. Not on the vent or around. I cleaned them both up to prevent it from getting worse but did I really need to...

Lots of people ask me about the things I know a lot about so I've decided ot make a thread where you can ask me questions about any of these things: Broody hens Hatching Helping to hatch Raising chicks Saving weak chicks Sexing silkies Raising chickens (specifically bantams) in general Any...

I have 9 Australorp chicks that are about 2 weeks old I got them last week. I don’t think they got any form of human interaction from the guy I bought them off as they are still scared of me. Is there anything I can do to help make them more friendly? I have side access to brooder so I’m not...

hey everyone so im raising 5 chicks and 3 of them turned out to be cocks, 2 campines started crowing and my one brahma started growing a comb somewhat early. They are now 6-8 weeks. well i am thinking of keeping the brahma as my roo as my two campines keep terrorizing the pullets, while the...

Hi :) So I have 6 baby chicks who hatched last week. They are doing really well except one little chick had pasty butt which I noticed on Friday and treated with warm water and a paper towel. The pasty butt is back again today so I treated it again today. She is the smallest of the chicks. The...

Hi guys! I am picking up day old chicks on Saturday (18 of them!) so I have a few questions. 1. How do I regulate the temperature with a brooder plate? I don’t want to use lamps as they scare me (fire hazard) 2. I have about a 2 hour drive with them. How can I prepare for them to stay warm...

I recently purchased six Blue Maran chicks from Tractor Supply. One of the things their associate did tell me was just because they were sexed does not mean a rooster doesn't sneak in once in a while. During my nightly "poopy butt inspection" one chick triggered my what's out of place here...

I’ve ordered 6 new chicks (technically one is a bantam), and I’m planning on using my extra bathtub as a brooder. I’m currently buying things and getting everything set up so I don’t have a picture of it but I’ve got a while til they will arrive (they hatch April 12th and will be here soon after...

I have a chick that arrived to me through mail. The hatchery I got her from told me (based off the videos I sent them) that she has a slipped tendon. It took days for them to respond telling me this. I then had a hard time finding resources on how to fix this. By the time I found out a way to...