Raising Chicks: Week One
After some sad losses with the chicks, I reassessed things and identified the problem. Chicks have zero capacity to maintain their own body heat so the slightest draft can be dangerous. According to the downloadable Cyclodpedia of American Agriculture from 1910 (a great source of information and history on American livestock practices), in the first week of life, a chick needs a hover temperature of 95°F to 100°F and a nursery temperature kept at 80°F to 85°F. I am happy to say that after insulating the chicks hut and powering up the heat lamps, everyone has been doing very well. I also replaced the make shift watering and feeding containers I had and replaced them with an actual chick feeder and waterer. It turns out that if a chick can climb into the feed container, it will. And it will poop in the food. And the others birds will eat it. I also learned that water containers can be deadly. Even though the container had a minimal level of water somehow a chick manged to trip, fall backwards (it is apparently hard for them to right themselves) and land on the back of its head with its beak in the water. Though this was the equivalent to me slipping off a curb in Oakland on a rainy day, landing with my face in the gutter and drowning, apparently, it can happen. I found my new safe containers at a great feed store called Concord Feed (they have everything you can possibly need for all manner of livestock and a practical and knowledgeable staff). After these replacements, there has been no more poop eating and no more water related deaths. Within only one week, there is already a noticeable difference in the chick’s size and behavior. They are now acting like mini chicken instead of wobbling around and peeping helplessly, okay maybe they are still doing that a little, but they are doing it with greater confidence. The next step is to build the chicken coop at the Urban Sprouts’ garden. To design the coop both the director and myself looked to the
book Chicken Coops, by Judy Pangman. There are several great designs in the book. However, there are very few construction notes. It appears you can purchase some of the plans online directly from the individuals that built the coops. At Urban Sprouts we are a tribe that takes doing things yourself to another level. Which means I busted out the calculator, the drafting paper and a ruler and have created a building plan for the coop. Next week we have a great group of students, teachers and volunteers coming out to construct. Until then the coop is an idea (a good one at that).