Feeding chicks

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KittyKat

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I have my fingers crossed for a hatch on Thursday, which leads me to a feeding question. I have raised two lots of chicks so far and my last lot of chicks picked up coccidiosis when they were relatively young, which resulted in poor growth (so they are smaller than the first lot of chick was at their age). Clearly, I don't want this to happen again, which is why I am considering feed with coccidiostat. Does anyone know if it is sufficient to switch to coccidiostat crumb when the chicks have access to the outdoors or should it be used from day 1 even when they do not have contact with potential sources of infection?

I read that coccidiostat does cause slower growth, so I would prefer to use normal crumbs for the first few weeks of their lives if possible, but not if it would risk their health.
 
It's the first few weeks when they're most vulnerable, as they do develop some immunity as they grow, but as they're going to be inside you can guard against cocci by scrupulous attention to hygiene in the brooder. It's especially important to keep the bedding dry around the drinker, as whilst they're under heat, any cocci oocysts will breed faster in the humid warmth. As soon as the chicks grow big enough, you could put the drinker up on a brick so it is less likely to be pooed in, or of course use the sort of drinker with a lip, rather than a moat, which fastens on the side of the brooder if it has wire sides. I used these for quails and they stayed much cleaner. It might be reassuring to get a bottle of Coxoid, to add to the water at the first signs of any infection, without having to wait to obtain it if problems do arise.
At this late stage in the year, the chicks aren't likely to spend much time out of doors before the Spring at all, are they, except maybe an hour or so in a little sheltered run in the sun if we get really warm days once they're off heat (by about 5-6 weeks if the weather stays fairly warm, but they will probably need warmth overnight for longer than this.) Raising an October hatch takes a lot of dedication and electricity - extra light as well as heat, (in the form of daylight spectrum bulbs, to help them produce the Vit. D they need, which a Spring or Summer hatch would get from stronger sunshine.) Make sure the chick crumb is well in date, whatever kind you decide to get, as old stock won't have the full vitamin content and may not be fresh enough. A high quality brand is an investment, especially when feeding fast- growing young stock of any species.
 
I used a brick and a deepish litter of straw from about a week old last time, which did keep the drinker relatively clean, but I still ended up cleaning it often as it didn't take them long to figure out how to jump up on top of it (by means of the feeder in between). I have a few drinkers with a lip which I usually use for grit and shells for the hens. Will try them out on the cage side with a brick as a stepping stone as the tray is relatively deep.

I realise that Coxoid and coccidiostat crub cannot be used at the same time as one will render the other ineffective… in your experience, which of the two is more effective?

I am considering getting a bottle of Coxoid just in case, but I do wonder what the shelf life is like…
 
I would prefer Aubiose or shavings as litter to straw, which is not absorbent and is harder to poo pick because of the long strands. When they're at the stage of being in a small heated brooder, you might find that it works to put down several layers of newspaper and just carefully roll up the top one once or twice a day, complete with all the mess. Just start one side and gently move the chicks over as you roll. This depends on how many chicks you have, it works well for up to 6 but with more than that you may find just plain bedding is easier.
Yes you're right about Coxoid and treated pellets. I haven't raised many broods and mine have been quails, not chickens, but I just concentrated on cleanliness, and had some Coxoid in just in case. I never used it but I think the date on the unopened bottle was reasonably far ahead. Anyway, it's one of those things you hope NOT to use up, isn't it? - if you do get some, it's just for peace of mind.
Can you remember any possible cause for your previous batch getting cocci? Maybe that could give you a clue as to prevention this time.
What sort of heater are you going to use? Electric hen, (Ecoglow), red bulb, or ceramic bulb? Make sure you turn it in well in advance,to give it time for everything to heat up to the same temperature as the incubator they are coming out of, and it's good to use a max/min thermometer to find out what happens to the temperature overnight, and also in different areas of the brooder, especially if you're using a bulb instead of an Ecoglow.
 
We use D&H chick crumb without ACS for ours reared inside up to 6 weeks. For chicks outside with a broody we give crumb with ACS. The ones outside at 8 weeks are about the same size as those inside at 6 weeks, so growth is inhibited to some extent. But it all evens out I think. At 20 weeks you wouldn't notice any difference. Best be safe than sorry perhaps KittyKat.

Don't use Aubiose for chicks. It cuts their feet to pieces. We had to bandage several of ours when we made that mistake, which is a tricky job believe me!
 
I change 100% of the bedding at least once per 24 hours. I use straw as we get it for £2 per bale same year as it's harvested and my friend who picks it up has a tendency of bringing enough every time to last me over a year as he doesn't think it's worth the trip to pick up only one bale at a time. I used the newspaper method to start with, but decided that it was better to disinfect the tray every day as any spilt water would go right through the newspaper to the bottom layer.

The previous batch got it, they started showing symptoms the day that they were first outdoors on land which the other hens had used but, from what I understand, it takes a few days for symptoms to show from the point of contact. I wash my hands before and after handling the chickens and wear gloves, but the chicks also had contact with visitors as I wanted them handled as often as possible, so it is most likely that they came into contact with it through a human.
 
I'm surprised that you had problems with your chicks on Aubiose, Chris, as I've always used it with quails and quail chicks and it didn't have any effect on their feet. They are really tiny when first hatched, the size of those little yellow artificial ones you get to go on Easter cakes, so you'd think their feet were even more sensitive than chicken chicks.
 
Blood all over the place on Aubiose Marigold. Seems the stuff pierced the ends of the toes under the scales. Perhaps has something to do with scratching about in it. I have a photo somewhere of 'Buckets', a chick with bandages on both toes. They were only in it a few hours in the morning as well! Came home at lunchtime to a mess.

Think the Coccidiosis came from the straw KittyKat, because there will be soil dust on it as well. We use fine wood shavings after a week old. Rough stuff has splinters. Sounds like you definitely need chick crumb with ACS though.
 
Ah, I didn't register that it could come from the straw… seems rather obvious now. So the new plan is to keep them on tissue until I can get the coccidiostat crumb which should be Friday, and they're due to hatch tomorrow. Acquiring wood shavings could prove rather difficult at such short notice, but I'll see what I can do.

I know that they're supposed to stay in the incubator until all of them are completely dry (I'm yet to figure out how to tag which one came from which egg without mixing them up… any recommendations would be appreciated), so hopefully the crumb should arrive before they get their first feed. In case it gets delayed in the post, how effective would it be if I feed them normal crumb until the ACS crumb arrives? Should I leave them off straw for longer, in that case?
 
As they're so vulnerable in the early stages of transfer from incubator to brooder, I would avoid the straw altogether for as long as you can manage it. Use paper, or you can obtain white woodshavings from any pet store such as Pets at Home, it's clean, soft and absorbent, and really much more suitable for young chicks than straw, however economical this will be for you later on. You've put so much care and effort into hatching, it seems a shame to take an unnecessary risk at this stage. Just keep them really clean on uncontaminated bedding until they've had a chance to develop some natural immunity and then go on to the straw if you want to.
 
Has one of you tried Easichick before? How does it compare to shavings? I'm all for using a recycled product, especially when the price is comparable, assuming that it's as good or better.
 
I finally have 2 Faverolle chicks one hatched yesterday and the other late last night so i left in the incubator till this morning. The brooder is one i bought it comes with a 60w red bulb. This is my first time with chicks so i would like to ask re getting them to feed. the water was in all day yesterday and the chick crumb went in yest evening. Oh the brooder is at present in the house as i live in the Strathdon Aberdeenshire. I will be
 
Hi Jan. I think you need to start a new thread in the General Chickens or Incubation and Hatching sections. Rearing chicks is far more complicated than hatching them, doubly so this time of year. So much depends on your location and facilities as well.
 
chrismahon said:
Hi Jan. I think you need to start a new thread in the General Chickens or Incubation and Hatching sections. Rearing chicks is far more complicated than hatching them, doubly so this time of year. So much depends on your location and facilities as well.
Click to expand...

Yes that's a good idea. You might also like to look at a long thread by Eirwen, who last winter raised some chicks in the winter and asked about lots of things you might like to read about. Hers came ready hatched and a bit older and later in the year an yours but she did find out all the problems and did a good job on them.
See
http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8635&p=51551#p51551

I'm very glad you ended up with two chicks,as raising a singleton would add greatly to your problems.
 
Just wondering do i give chick grit as well as the crumb, I know you might think it a stupid question but i don't want to feed it if i don't need nor do i want to not feed if i should. Also can anyone recommend where i can get the medicated chick crumb from as i cant get locally.
 
Chick crumb should already contains the right amount of grit. You should only need to offer chick grit if the chicks have access to other foods.
 
A breeder has told me that flint grit is essential for chicks all the time. Even one day without it can set them back. But I used Allen and Page crumbs which don't contain grit. Fancy feed crumbs also don't contain grit. I guess it depends what you are using.
 
Hmm, I wonder if we can get input from someone else on this? I feed my chicks without grit and the poo comes out looking similar to adult birds but a bit more "shapely" and definitely not looking like undigested food. The growth rate of the current bunch is on a par with what other breeders get, from what I can see.
 
We used Dobson & Horrell (?) chick crumb and never added any grit until they started being given chick mixed grain (very small pieces which they sell here) at about 4 weeks. Then we sieved the regular grit (through a potato net packaging) to give them just small pieces of that. Had no digestive issues at all. All grew perfectly strong and healthy. We only gave them grain to add interest to their rather boring crumb diet. They went onto growers pellets at 6 weeks.
 
Hi all, a little update here. I ended up feeding the chicks unmedicated feed and they remained indoors on wood shavings until 10 weeks old, from 10-15 on straw (possible coccidiosis carrier) and at 15 weeks old they were moved outside. At 17 weeks old, they came into direct contact with my other hens. Now, at 19 weeks old, there is no sign of coccidiosis or any other problems!
 
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