Re: hen and baby chicks -anyone keep them ?

anji jonas — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:27:15 GMT

hi there, we keep hens and have just had a super hatch of lovley baby chicks!

as the mum is with them and she sounds like she knows what to do, they wont need a heat lamp or anything. as long as mum has got somewhere safe and dry to roost.

pop along to the agri merchants and get some poultry corn (for mum) we feed ours ad lib but its up to you, and some chick crumb (for babies)

put the chick crumb on a shallow saucer so the ickle ones can reach it. but beware you will have to top this up often as mum will take a fancy to it.

as for water put some in a drinker for mum that is just lower than the level of her back (so the chicks cant fall in it) and some for the chicks again in a very shallow bowl.

then just let mum do her job - hopefully she will do it in fine style! if they have grass to scratch around in and some dust to bathe in then you should have a very happy brood. but say goodbye to all your garden plants - lol!

the girlies should start to lay from 18 - 22 wks old depending on daylength.

i must admit we eat our cockrels as its hard to even give them away :-(

at a guess they are "Indian game" a rare breed so you may end up being able to sell some should you want too.

all the very best and if you need any more help do give me a shout!

A.xx

Re: hen and baby chicks -anyone keep them ?

Nick Shackleton — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:56:32 GMT

I kno this aint gonna help out but I recall there was an article in a recent vet times about hen husbandry! How about your local library and get a book?