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Make Sure Your Brooder is Ready Before Picking up Your Chicks:

•Heat lamp: Hang the heat lamp about 20” above the litter. The temperature under the heat lamp, should be 95 degrees. 

•Bedding: Add wood shavings/pellets to the floor of the brooder. Place bedding 3” deep to keep the area dry & odor free. Remove wet bedding daily. Don’t use cedar shavings.

•Feeders: Offer 4” of feeder space for each chick. Wait to add feeder 2 hrs after chicks have been placed in brooder

•Waterers: Keep at room temperature, place the waterers in the brooder, NOT under the heat lamp, 24 hours prior to the chicks’ arrival.

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TIPS ON TRAVELING HOME:

• Keep your car HOT crank up the heat & set the chicks securely in their box on your lap or on the floor

• Go directly home & get those girls in their brooder

• Gently pick up each chick & place their beaks in the waterer letting them down close to it.

• Once all chicks have been given a sip, observe & let them explore their new environment. Ensure they are happy, the brooder is draft free, & they all have had a drink.  After 2 hrs. provide chicks with feed

• Recommend: limit handling the chicks during the first week

 

PROBLEM SOLVING:

PASTY BUTT

• When the chick’s poop sticks to their down feathers around the vent area

• Problem: if not cared for will block vent completely & can be fatal to chick

• Cause: Stress from travel, lack of/excessive heat, improper diet

• Treatment: warm water- run over vent or saturate paper towel to wipe chicks vent area, continue until dried stool loosens & wipe away. Do not pull on feces, it’ll rip the chick’s skin. Apply Vaseline or baby Aquaphor to vent using cotton swab to clear vent & lubricate skin surrounding vent. Give chicks electrolytes & probiotics also can add scrambled eggs crumble mixed into feed

• Prevention: REDUCE STRESS as much as possible by checking brooder temperature, no drafts, minimize handling the first week, provide adequate nutrition (give vitamins/electrolytes 3 days after arrival x 3 days every other week), provide probiotic (organic chick starter has mixed in feed already), avoid chick treats the first 4 weeks.

 

COOP RATIO, Ware’s Farm has coops in stock & available for customization, your chicks will be free & delivery is free:

• Coop: 2-3 sq. ft. per hen                                                    Run: 8-10 sq. ft. per hen

• Nesting box: 1 box per 3-4 hens                                Roosting bar: 8-10” per hen

TRANSITION TO COOP

• When: At night move them to the new coop after they’ve fallen asleep.  Easier, less fuss & chickens awaken in their new home – more likely to accept the change

• Where: Place the chickens on the roosting bars of the new coop. They can’t see at night, so they’ll need you help to locate the roosting bar

• Time: Leave them in the coop & run-in for 4 days to allow them to adjust and get used to their new digs-identify it as their new home.

SUPPLEMENTS Ware’s Farm has all these items in stock when/if you need them:

• NUTRI-DRENCH™ is a premium, nutrient rich supplement formulated to rapidly deliver energy & essential nutrients. The patented process increases speed of assimilation & bio-availability. Used for: Shipping and heat stress, Weak newborns, Diarrhea, Appetite & Vitamin deficiencies

• Strike III Natural Poultry Pellets- is veterinary formulated to support digestive health. Pumpkin seed, oregano, and garlic for a taste birds love. Mix 2 teaspoons of Strike III Natural per 1 lb. of feed daily for 5 average size chickens or 1 lb. into 50 lbs. of feed. No egg or food withdrawal. Antibiotic free.  All natural dewormer*

• VetRx Poultry Remedy- administer at the first signs of respiratory disease, often indicated by gaping, sneezing, and gasping. VetRx can also be used in the treatment of scaly leg mites and eye worm, too. 

• Grit: ground up granite rock to help chickens digest their food.  Great to provide if no access to free range or using straw as bedding source.

• Poultry Protector™ is an all-natural solution to the common problem of mites, lice, fleas and ticks within the backyard flock. The natural enzymes in Poultry Protector clean away these pesky bugs safely, without the use of harsh chemicals found in so many other insect treatment products.

• Diatomaceous Earth- a powdered food grade substance to treat lice and mites: Wear a dust mask. Clean the coop out removing old shavings, wash floor & roosting area with warm water & vinegar. After its dried, apply a layer of DE using a broom to spread evenly. Once added back in new bag of shavings mix in ½ cup of DE per 2 sq. ft.  Then use rake to evenly distribute DE Provide a space for a dust bath with DE can use a rubber feed bowl or dry corner in run.  Repeat this process with every cleaning

FIRST AID

• Banixx for CHIXX is a topical anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, first-aid spray for a myriad of chicken/poultry problems such as Pecking Sores, Raw Vent Area Injuries, Bumble foot (Bumblefoot), Fowl Pox, Fungus, Chicken Foot/ Leg injuries and a host of other cuts, scrapes & abrasions. Solution is steroid-free and antibiotic-free with no added dyes and is completely safe for use around the eyes. With no odor and no sting upon application, administration is a breeze. Also use for disinfecting incubators, nest boxes & brooders

• Blue Kote- quick-drying, protective wound dressing to treat ringworm, skin abrasions and surface wounds. It covers the wound with a deep, penetrating coating to promote clean, rapid healing. It works well for birds who have been pecked.  Unpleasant taste & colors the area blue to stop further pecking (product does contain ingredient known to be harmful if ingested by humans, recommend any chicken using Blue Kote for their eggs to be discarded for your safety)

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