| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| TsJewel |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 11:52:23 AM
This is my third time with day old chicks and not having a good time of it. Its colder this time and having a problem with pasty butt. 4 have died. I've been cleaning their hineys and so far the rest look good but have any advice how to keep them going in right direction? They are in a shed with two heat lights, in wood chips. Temp drops down to 95 under the lights at night but can get a lot cooler around the edges. I've had them one week today. Suggestions Please!
Life's Short Eat Dessert First |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| TsJewel |
Posted - Apr 16 2011 : 5:46:37 PM
The chicks are great! I only lost four but that was too many! Growing like weeds now & getting feathers!!! Will move to our new coop soon!
Life's Short Eat Dessert First |
| pielady83154 |
Posted - Apr 16 2011 : 5:20:39 PM
How are the chicks doing? Did you hatch them or order them? I have been raising chicks for many years. Let me know if you stil are having problems. |
| TsJewel |
Posted - Apr 05 2011 : 08:35:47 AM
Oh wow thanks sandy!!! Great ideas!!
Life's Short Eat Dessert First |
| chickenjanedoe |
Posted - Apr 05 2011 : 08:23:13 AM
Something we discovered that works well is those charcoal air activated hand warmers that you can get around the sporting goods sections. They stay active around 8 hours or so. I run aline or two across their boxes and clip a couple on with clothspins so that they hang down to about midbody on the chicks. This also helps keep them from corner piling. This way you've got heat even if your power goes out.:) We always do this when we go away to insure they stay warm.
As for the pasty but apple cider vinegar works for us too. Sometimes we add a drop or two of minced garlic as well.
Good luck sandy |
| TsJewel |
Posted - Apr 03 2011 : 05:36:15 AM
Good luck Cibola! The last four years have been have been great! Love my fuzzy butts!!! It's great to look out my windows & see them foraging.
Life's Short Eat Dessert First |
| Cibola |
Posted - Apr 02 2011 : 8:20:28 PM
This is my first year having chicks and I appreciate all the advice above. Here I go. I am so looking forward to watching them grow.
Farmgirl: cibola
"When you get to the end of your rope, you tie a knot and hang on." |
| momdrinkstea |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 2:00:45 PM
We also start ours inside, with a brooder lamp, in a cardboard box, with newspapers. I keep them in a closet the first 2 weeks! Keeps the noise from peeping down, and keeps them safe from my kitties. I throw out (burn) the old box every 3-4 days, then they go into an unheated box in the kitchen/laundry until 4 weeks. They go outside into a pen at 4 weeks with a brooder lamp...it's been really cold here, and we've had no problems. Have not lost a chick yet! We hatch out our own eggs with 2 Little Giant incubators. Good luck!
Stacked Stone Farm
feel free to follow my blog: www.stackedstonefarm.blogspot.com |
| amomfly |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 11:21:53 AM
Glad to hear you seem to be doing ok. Good luck and enjoy!
I hope the weather continues to improve here in Indiana!
Come visit my blog
http://angieruralliving.blogspot.com/
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
| TsJewel |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 08:16:09 AM
Thanks for all the support. I think its due to the cold and they are in my shed. When I did this two years ago it was warmer. I have all the right stuff going but the temp does fluctuate some. So far so good and I did put hay around the outside of the shed to help insulate and this may be working. The temps are to warm here in Indiana this weekend so hopefully we are over the worst of it! Thanks again! Julianna
Life's Short Eat Dessert First |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 05:56:06 AM
Also put a drop or 2 of apple cider vinegar in their water...for some reason this helped with mine at this age. I always do it with the big girls but didn't with the new born ones now when I have newborn I always do this & no longer have a problem with the pasty butt....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| Sweet_Tea |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 05:24:18 AM
I also kept my chicks in my house until they were a few weeks old... This year was my first time with chicks, But the fella that I bought some off of had his out in a barn with a big heat lamp with a 250 watt bulb in it. and he had that about 3 feet above the cage and regular old horse pine bedding in there..
Then I built them a coop because they started flying around my laundry room, so I moved them outside with the lamp, went to the rodeo for the weekend, and it dropped to about 35 degrees. I was worried when I got home, but they were there huddled under the lamp and all still alive... so I got lucky..
~ http://notsosweettea.blogspot.com/
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears"
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| medievalcat |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 7:50:03 PM
Oh geez not good sounds like Vent Gleat aka Pasted Vent
From the book, The Joy Of Keeping Chickens, by by Jennifer Megyesi, she says, "new chicks need a draft-free area that is warm and dry. This can be as simple as a cardboard box lined with newspaper and a bare light-bulb for heat.. In their artificial environment, chicks should have enough space to be warm but not overheated... the temperature in our new chicks' pen should be about 95 degrees for the first week of life. Heat lamps with 250-watt brooder bulb placed at least 17 inches from the bottom of the pen will adequately warm a 12 foot square area."
She also says, "Vent Gleat or Pasted Vent: While the definitive cause for this is unknown, it's common in checks less than 10 days old. Dropping become pasted around the cloacal opening and can cause it to seal shut, resulting in the chicks' death. Both improper brooding temperatures resulting chilled chicks and inconsistent rations are often the cause. If chicks are found with vent gleat, carefully pull off the feathers from around the vent, and express the fecal material from the rectum by gently pushing below it, near the chick's belly. Carefully inspect all of your chicks daily, as they are very rarely all affect by vent gleat at the same time."
The vent I read is the place the eggs come out of which is above the rectum.
I found this book at the library.
Wish you all the best.
Cindy |
| sherrye |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 7:23:38 PM
all good ideas. also if they are stressed they get pastey butts. i give a little house corn meal to get them cleaned up. i too would use the powder tetracycline. they may have coccidiousis (spelling) sorry i sure hope they get better sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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| Sheep Mom 2 |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 12:54:16 PM
What kind of wood chips are you using? Sometimes the type can give trouble. Never use cedar... What kind of enclosure are you using to keep the heat in? I use a plywood box with a brooder light that has a big metal hood that I can lower so the hood rests on the box. If it's super cold, I have even covered the edges of the box around the light hood with foil to keep the heat in. I am not a big fan of anti-biotics but I do use tetracycline powder in the water for the first few weeks. Another thing - I have blocks in the corner of my box to keep them from smothering each other in the corners too. Are they huddling in a pile under the light or in a corner? If they are huddling too much this will tell you if heat is the culprit. If they are spread out too much (loose in the shed and not in some kind of enclosure) then they will get too cold as well. Good luck.
Blessings, Sheri
"Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran |
| amomfly |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 12:25:13 PM
I have always kept mine in the house in my den for the first several weeks, then to the barn then to an open pen then lose. I aalso use a little sugar in my water for the first week or so. It helps them have enough energy and keeps them going. I also would maybe stack some straw around them, it may help retain some heat. I can no think of anything else. Good luck.
Come visit my blog
http://angieruralliving.blogspot.com/
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
