How To Take Care Of Baby Chicks? Top Care Tips To Raise Them

Baby chicks are the cutest forms young ones if compared to any other juvenile of an animal.

To raise them, they need a lot of care. Many people have raised them on farms or at home as pets and for other purposes.

Raising baby chicks is not that hard, but it requires attention. First, chicks need chick starter feed and clean water, a source of heat, and a safe place to take cover. These are the basics to start them off when they are weeks old. The first thing you should do is to provide them with a safe house; chicks need safety from diseases as well as predators and need plenty of attention from the brooder.

Backyard chickens should get a proper cage with bars so that they do not become prey for predators and should be provided with a heat lamp and a clean place to live. Just make sure that not much gap is between bars of the cage so a snake or any other large predator cannot get in the cage. The second step you should follow is to keep baby chicks warm as chicks need warmth. They should be provided with a heat lamp or a heating plate to give them warmth so while keeping baby chicks it is best to keep 4-10 chicks so they can keep themselves warm. Keep the cage or house at a temperature of 98℉ (36.66 ℃) degrees. Compared to a heat lamp, a heating plate is a better option as a heat source so that they can move under the heating plate when feeling cold. Heat lamps should be placed 3 ft (91.44 cm) away from the bedding or it will catch fire as the heat will be in direct contact with the bedding which makes it dry if the bedding is too close. Attach heat lamps with a clamp but these clamps are always not safe therefore be attentive when placing them in the cage for the warmth of baby chicks. Check that they are at a low temperature or they may produce a lot of heat which could results in the death of these baby chicks. The best way to check that the lamp is not too close is just to place your hand near it and if it feels very hot or if you have any burning sensation then the lamp is placed a bit too close.

To know more about other fun facts, you can also check out how to take care of baby duck and how to take care of a hedgehog.

How do you take care of chicks from day one?

Care of the baby chick must be provided week by week, from day one. One must follow instructions in the chick care guide from a vet or the internet. Here is a basic care routine for your one-day-old baby chick. The temperature of the brooder should be set at 95 ℉ (35 ℃) in the first week and decrease the temperature five degrees week by week until these chicks are fully feathered. You should also provide them some space for moving out of the heat when it becomes too hot in the cage. Probiotics should be given to them in food and water for their healthy digestive systems as it also gives them proteins and nutrients. Food containers should be kept clean always and filled with water. Drafts and sunny spots in the brooder area should be avoided as they cause temperature changes. Heat lights, such as an infrared lamp (250 watts), should be put in their cage since the red spectrum light is less disturbing than white light. Rodents, pets or children should be monitored so as not to hurt these small newborn baby chicks; the brooder area should be checked regularly for these things.

The water provided to them should not be too cold. It should be at room temperature so it won't chill chicks. Usually, the parents would, during the first couple of weeks, teach baby chicks how to drink water by putting their beaks into the container in which they are given water. Sugar should only be used and not honey for at least several weeks or it may cause a type of botulism that can kill baby chicks. If they are vaccinated against coccidiosis you should give them non-medicated grower feed and if they seem to lose interest in food give them small pieces of lettuce on top of food crumbles and also grower feed should be provided which contains protein. The cage should be an enclosed space for a weeks-old baby chick with a water fountain, feeder and starter feed. For the first couple of months of a newborn chick's existence, it must be housed in a brooder, which can be as basic as a large cardboard box filled with wood shavings. When baby chicks develop their feathers they start feeling more hot compared to the beginning weeks.

Chick health problems and facts

We will be discussing five types of problems faced by backyard chickens, hens and the chick starter pack. The first one is related to lice. The housekeeper should check this the very first day when hens or baby chicks arrive at the house as lice may affect chicks in the form of poultry parasites. The second disease or health problem they suffer from is worms. Parasitic poultry worms are very common in hens and can even show up if you do everything right but the best part is that they are easily treated and prevented from causing serious problems. The next problem is related to their breathing. Sometimes chickens make a different kind of noise when breathing as there may be respiratory issues in the chicken which are not easy to determine. You need to learn about chick care after hatching before taking on chicks.

The fourth disease in baby chicks is diarrhoea which affects chick poop. There is an easy way to figure out which health issue chickens are going through. The last disease is a sour taste in a chicken's beak. The digestive tract of chickens is an intriguingly complex system that has very little resemblance to our own. Chicks have a thing attached to their throat called a crop which is a kind of little pouch in their esophagus that helps the food gets moistened and stores the food before it is released to their stomach or gizzard. The sour taste remains in their beak when this crop is completely empty, creating the perfect environment for an issue commonly known as thrush to grow. It doesn't matter if they are allowed to roam free or are kept in a coop like some birds are kept in cages but caring for backyard chickens is relatively easy. Chicks will remain healthy if they are provided with a clean environment. To keep them healthy and free from any health issues provide them with nutrition and even crumbles are good for their diet from the starting weeks to adulthood. One should watch videos on Google and YouTube to remain aware of diseases, diet and other life issues of chickens and baby chicks.

How to calm a baby chick

When chickens lay eggs and when they are being raised by the breeder sometimes they need to be made calm in certain situations. It is said that if you want to feel the same kind of love you are giving to your chicks while raising them, you should also give them the same fresh air surroundings and make them feel happy. Some breeds of one flock are more domesticated than birds of another flock.

These chicks want to be free from the coop and run and fly at a certain age. When they are covered with feathers a little more, the feeder should be providing these chicks with their favorite food to eat several times a day to keep them in a good mood. These chicks should be kept in an appropriately sized cardboard box with wood shavings and bars that are not too widely spaced apart. Add heat lamps or heating plates and set at a warm but not overly hot temperature so chicks remain in warm conditions. The most important thing you should do to keep them calm is spend time with your chicks several times a day or and pay attention whenever they are not being themselves. Secondly, do not scare old chicks or those who are very young in age. Walk slowly and do not run because slow movements build trust among these chicks.

What do you feed baby chickens after hatching?

There are some basic things that are provided by the feeder for these chicks after hens lay eggs. According to studies, chicks should not eat anything after they are born for up to 48 hours because after hatching from the egg they are sustained from the yolk of the egg. They absorb nutrition from egg yolks into their body.

With this process, chicks are allowed to be sent from the store after they come out from an egg and will eat nothing for 48 hours. After that, you can provide your chicks with fresh food to keep them healthy and keep them free from poultry parasites. These chicks can be left in an incubator for 6-12 hours without food and water and can still be fine. It is very important to differentiate between the food of baby chicks and food of the adult flock and also ensure that you are giving your baby chick the baby food. The adult food contains a high amount of calcium which can cause irreversible kidney damage, and this food is too low in protein which chicks need, growing at an explosive rate. When choosing food for your young chick then go for a good brand which contains preferably organic and non-GMO ingredients and also has a ratio of 15%-20% protein. If you feed them with a diet of unprocessed whole grains it will be a great and healthy diet for them.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to take care of baby chicks, then why not take a look at how to take care of box turtle or hen facts?