Chick Days: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens From Hatching to Laying by Jenna Woginrich & Mars Vilaubi

Author:Jenna Woginrich & Mars Vilaubi
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781603425841
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2010-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

DAY 6

Peaceable Kingdom

Growing up healthy and strong means your layers can provide a lifetime of service to you as egg producers. We already covered the importance of a clean, dry environment to prevent chill or disease that a damp home can cause these fragile birds, but I also want to emphasize the value of a stress-free life for the young ones.

The brooder should not be placed where pet cats skulk, radios blare, dogs bound, or kids relentlessly scrutinize. While all of these sensations are good for your birds to grow up around in small doses – skulking cats being the exception – they should not be a constant presence. If chicks get too stressed out, they could literally die from it because their vents will seal up—and this is not a good thing.

YOU DON’T WANT SEALED-UP BUMS

What?! OK, that was a little blunt. But it’s true. A stressed-out chick can get diarrhea—and swilling Pepto-Bismol isn’t an option. What happens when a young chick (under fourteen weeks, especially) gets the runs is that the excrement pastes up and dries over her vent, clogging the passageway and making it impossible for the hen to relieve herself. Plain and simple, if pasting up happens, she’ll die – and it’s a sad way to go.

So while your chicks are still in that flu#y vulnerable stage, periodically pick them up and check their vents. Make sure there isn’t any dried poop to cause serious damage. If there is, you’ll need to get a warm cloth and wipe it off till the area is clean, or cut away the pasting with carefully wielded scissors.

Check your chicks regularly for pasted-up vents. It could save their lives.

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