Top 3 Tips To Keep Your Baby Chicks Alive
There are not many things on a homestead that bring as much excitement and joy as baby chicks. We always get the magazines from the hatchery in December and spend a couple of weeks planning on what we need to get for the following year.
It always consists of meat chickens as well as a new batch of egg layers. We always try to rotate in new layers to ensure we have peak performers at all times. Generally speaking, a chicken will be a good producer for three years, and after that, they probably consume more than they produce. Though we are as guilty as anyone of becoming attached to our favorite birds, we try to be practical and realize that the animals need to produce on our farm to stay. Otherwise, you end up with an expensive petting zoo.
Like with any animal for our farm, we invest time and money into raising them. So it only makes sense to do everything you can to ensure they make it to maturity. Unfortunately, baby chicks are the farm animal that has the highest rate of tragic casualties. Here are our top 3 tips to avoid that sad outcome.
Make good choices when ordering your chicks. What does that mean? Well, it comes down to two main things.
First, realize that if you’re ordering from a hatchery, they are in all likelihood being sent to you via the US Postal Service. Now the Hatchery will likely only ship out chicks on a Monday or Tuesday to ensure no birds get trapped in transit over the weekend. But that doesn’t mean they can speed up the process of getting them from Point A to Point B. So be aware of the distance between you and the hatchery. We adopted a 3 State Rule. Essentially we will only order chicks from states that are within a 3 state distance of us. It is not an exact science obviously, but it gives us a black and white rule to work with when we decide who we may order from.
The second part is to make the tiny investment into the vitality pack that is an add-on purchase. It is generally $5 or less, but it is a wise investment to give your birds the best chance at staying healthy during delivery. This is especially important during the summer months. Imagine being stuck in a box for 2-3 days in 90 degree heat… now imagine doing that with nothing to drink.
As a side note, it is worth looking at the policies of the hatchery as it relates to birds arriving dead. Some hatcheries will replace the birds at no cost. Some say that is at your risk. It is always best to know what to expect in advance to ensure you don’t become disappointed later.
2. Avoid stampedes.
Stampedes? Isn’t that just in the Lion King? No, baby birds are easy to startle. Nothing hurts the heart like seeing a baby bird getting flattened like a pancake because you caused a wave of panic to the flock. Handling them more frequently will certainly help them stay calmer as you interact with them. You also want to ensure they have enough space as they grow. Our experience tells us that the more birds you have, the more likely this is to be a problem. Just like if a mass of people tried to run down a staircase in the event of a fire. The more people running to avoid danger, the more likely someone gets tripped up and run over.
So to help avoid this outcome try to do a few things.
Interact with them regularly so that they are familiar with the hands (and faces) that come into their environment.
Move slowly. Going slow allows them to stay calm compared to quick movements. Remember they are just babies and have a built-in fight or flight response.
Make sure their food and water are always full. Having a rush to freshwater or food can be a reason to cause a problem. Also, when placing food and water in their brooder, try placing two items in at the same time. It allows the birds to go in two different directions and helps reduce them all running to the same point in a rush.
#3 Look for “pasty butts.”
If a baby chick was born and had a hen there to care for them, this wouldn’t be an issue. Like all good moms, they help keep their babies clean. However, with a bunch of chicks and no hens, that means they are susceptible to a build-up of poop on their back end. So much so that it can actually back up the birds to the point of death. When he created animals, a part of God’s design was that we all need to get rid of waste. If we cannot pass it, we will become septic and suffer a tragic outcome.
So how do you know if this is an issue? It is a pretty easy visual test. We start right away and make a point to check daily for about 7-10 days. You pick up the birds one at a time and simply look at their backside. If it is clean, they are fine. If they have a buildup...then we put them to the side (a separate box to keep them isolated). Once we have examined everyone, we bring the dirty chicks to a sink and hold their backside under warm water. *** It is extremely important that you do not attempt to pull this off. You’ll rip out their feathers, and in extreme cases, their anus will be pulled outside of their body. *** What you want to do is let the warm water run over the mess for several seconds and then pinch the blob of poop. The warm water will wash away the waste. Repeat the pinching as many times as required to get the build-up to wash away. Pat dry the bird and place them back under the heat lamp.
Like any animal on the farm or homestead, baby chickens have unique needs. Fortunately, they are not complicated and do not hinder any “little farmer” from helping out.
We hope that these farm lessons we’ve learned can be a blessing to you, and pray that God blesses your Flock and Family!
Want to see some of these tips in action? Check out our video on YouTube
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