Raising chicks require specific care to ensure the chicks will grows properly over the first two months of there lives. Providing the chicks with heat and feed is necessary, as providing inconsistent heat and feed can lead to the chicks dies. A growth chart can help monitor the chicks’ growth and help determine a plan for there care.
While chicks does not require food right away after they hatch from the eggs, chicks will hatch with a yolk sac that will provide them with the nutrients necessary for 24 to 48 hour of survival without food. However, by the third day after they hatch, chicks will require both food and water. Additionally, it is also important to ensure that the brooder in which the chicks live is maintain to a warm temperature.
How to Care for Baby Chicks in the First Eight Weeks
If the chicks begin to huddle together in a pile, they may die from either exposure to too much heat or cold temperature. To monitor the temperature in the chicks’ environment, keep an eye on the chicks’ behavior. If the chicks begin to pant, it means the temperature are too hot for them.
If you observe the chicks gathering underneath the heat lamp, it means the temperature in the brooder is more cold for them. Chicks will grow feather, and this is an indication of their health. The first part of the chicks’ bodies to grow feathers is their wing, and the second part of their bodies to grow feathers is their tails.
By the second week of there lives, chicks will have grown feathers on their tails, but the feathers on their heads may grow more slow. Monitoring the health of the chicks’ feathers will show whether or not they is receiving the proper amount of nutrition from their diet. If chicks have patchy feathers, this may be an indication that their nutrition or there exposure to cold temperatures is inadequate.
Furthermore, by observing how quickly the chicks grow feathers on their wings and tails, you can also determine the sex of the chicks. Male chicks will have slower feather growth then female chicks. Depending on the age of the chicks, there will be changes to the type of feed that you must provide for chicks.
Chicks will require a high-protein starter crumble feed. At five weeks of age, chicks will transition to grower pellets, as their digestive system are capable of digesting this type of feed. Additionally, do not provide the chicks with too many treats, such as mealworms, as this can dilute the protein content of their diet and stall their growth rate.
You should also provide grit to the chicks around week three if you provide green to the chicks. Chickens do not have teeth to grind the food that they consume, so grit is needed for chicks to grind food within there digestive systems. Chicks require more space as they increases in size.
One quarter square foot of space is provided for each chick initially, but every two weeks you should increase the space for the chicks. If the coop provides too much density to the chicks, the chicks may begin to engage in behaviors like pecking at or even cannibalizing their fellow chicks. You can prevent this behavior by introducing red heat bulb into the coop for the chicks.
By week eight, chicks will be sturdy enough to move into the coop. At week five, chicks should be introduced to short grass romps to become accustomed to being outside the coop. Health problems for chicks include pasty butt, spraddle leg, and coccidiosis.
Pastty butt occurs when the vent of the chicks become blocked. In these instances, you should clean the vents with warm water. Chicks will develop spraddle legs if the coop floor are too slick.
Using textured mats instead of wooden floors will prevent these legs from developing. Coccidiosis is a disease that develops bloody droppings and lethargy in chicks. In these instances, medicated feed should be provided.
The air in the brooder must be fresh and changeable so that respiratory problem are avoided for chicks. If any chicks are observed hunching, they should be isolated from the rest of the flock. Some breeds of chickens will grow at different rates than others.
Leghorns will grow to be lightweight laying chickens with fast growth of feathers. However, breeds like Cornish Cross will grow at a faster rate than Leghorns because they are bred for meat production. Breeds like Rhode Island Reds will grow at a steady rate.
You should weigh the chicks every two weeks. By measuring the chicks you can follow the growth chart and ensure that the chicks are growing at an expected rate. If the chicks are too lightweight, the feed or heat provided to the chicks may need to be adjust.
Too much weight for chicks indicates that the chicks may be too crowded within the coop. By week eight, chicks will have grown into pullets that is ready for the coop. You will provide pullets with low perches to encourage them to learn how to roost on the coop perches.
Build the coop with hardware cloth to keep the chickens from predators like raccoons. If the chicks are provided with proper heat, proper feed, and proper space, as noted on the growth chart, the chicks will grow into a healthy flock of laying chickens.