Sun 16 Mar 2008
How do I care for newly hatched chicks?
Posted by trevor under Chick Rearing
A very common question, especially on hatching day 
When your eggs pip in the incubator you should have your brooding / rearing area ready. In a brooding area you will need a brooder lamp, chick feeder and drinker.
When your eggs hatch in your incubator I advise leaving them in there for about 24 hours with no food or water. After 24 hours move the chicks to your brooding area with your chick drinker filled with water and your chick feeder filled with chick crumb. You can sprinkle a small amount of chick crumb on the floor but 99% of the time the chicks have a good instinct and they will find it.
The height for the brooder lamp really depends on your situation but a simple rough rule is if the chicks are all huddling very very close and on top of each other the brooder lamp is too far away from them and they are cold, however if the chicks are forming a circle or are staying away from the brooder lamp it is too low and they are too hot. Ideally they should be under the brooder lamp wandering around happily with a little space between them. If feeding and drinking and just milling around unstressed you got it right, dont forget though as they grow the brooder lamp will need to be raised.
March 17th, 2008 at 17:31
Can I ask about what to put under new chicks please? Some people say woodshavings and some say corrugated cardboard. The woodshavings are positively dangerous as they try to eat them and one of my smaller chicks choked, only being saved when I pulled a very long woodshaving out of her/him. the corrugated cardboard is quite hard to walk on, so I have ended up sprinkling a decent amount of chick grit for them to walk on. This also ‘wraps up’ the droppings quite well. However, I don’t know where to get more corrugated cardboard from of if there is something more practical to put them on in their box. Any suggestions please?