Why did the chick I bought as a child die so quickly? I finally know the answer!

We often see some merchants or small farmers carrying a basket with many chicks for sale on the roadside or near farmers' markets. Many people cannot refuse the light yellow fur balls running around and chirping.

But these chicks often share a common "fate" after being bought home - no matter how carefully they are cared for, many of them will not survive more than a week or two.

Why did the chicks we raised as children die so soon? Today we will answer your questions.

Childhood chickens

Where do they all come from?

In fact, raising chickens is really not an easy thing.

First of all, the chicks we buy on the market now are basically hatched by chicken farms . Especially the female egg-laying chickens, such as the Rock Island Red, White Leghorn, New Han Summer and other breeds are generally used for laying eggs, and chicken farms generally do not sell female chicks at will.

As for those little roosters that cannot lay eggs , except for some very good individuals that are selected as breeding chickens, most of them will be eliminated. Most of these eliminated chickens will be crushed and made into livestock and poultry feed for reuse, and a small number of slightly better ones will be selected and bought by rural free-range households or small chicken farms for family breeding and sale.

Of course, in some counties, cities, towns and villages, chicks raised and hatched by rural families are also sold, but the number is much smaller than that of the former. Therefore, when we were young, the chicks we bought were almost all roosters , and few vendors sold hens.

Why does the little chicken

Died inexplicably?

Bird chicks can be divided into two types: one is late-forming chicks, such as swallows and sparrows. Their chicks are born without hair, are bare, and cannot open their eyes. Only after the mother bird feeds them with food from her mouth for many days will they open their eyes and gradually grow down.

There is another type of precocial chicks, such as chickens, ducks and other poultry. They are born with down, can follow their mothers around, and learn to find food by themselves. However, although chicks can run around and eat by themselves , they are still very vulnerable to adverse external environments and conditions.

In addition, the digestive system of newborn chicks is not yet mature, and they need to eat some easily digestible food.

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And the chicks also have some small requirements for the growth environment after birth:

1

Temperature does not meet the standard

Newly born chicks have high requirements for temperature. The temperature of chicks hatched by incubators needs to reach above 30℃, and the ambient temperature should be 33℃~34℃, which is safer. If the temperature is lower than this, the chicks are likely to die due to hypothermia.

The body temperature of domestic chickens incubating chicks with their own body temperature is generally around 40℃. Newly born chicks are very small. After leaving the mother's body, the chicks' own heat can be easily dissipated with changes in the outside temperature, thereby reducing their resistance to the external environment.

This is one of the reasons why we often see newly born chicks always like to gather under the wings of the mother hen for protection. If the chicks lose the care of the mother hen, they will huddle together and seek a way to keep their body temperature.

Chicks have different temperature requirements at different stages of growth and development.

1~3 days old can adapt to 40℃~35℃;

4~5 days old can adapt to 34℃~33℃;

6-8 days old can adapt to 33℃~32℃;

9-12 days old can adapt to 32℃~30℃;

13~20 days old can adapt to 30℃~28℃;

After 20 days of age, chicks can live normally at room temperature.

However, most of the chicks we buy on the market are covered with a towel or cloth by the vendors at random before being sold on the market. Especially in the morning and evening, the temperature changes greatly, and it is difficult for the chicks to adapt to such temperature conditions. Although they are very happy when they are bought, the unsuitable temperature environment has already caused a great blow to their young bodies.

Therefore, when we bought the chicks and did not use heating equipment, the changes in the cold and hot environments would inevitably make the chicks unable to adapt to the temperature changes , and they would die within a few days.

2

Feeding a single diet for a long period of time

When I was a child, the adults in my family believed that chickens should only eat millet soaked in water, and would not be fed anything else.

Indeed! Free-range chickens are omnivorous birds, and plant seeds are very good food for them. However, feeding a single feed for a long time will inevitably lead to malnutrition during the growth and development of chicks.

Moreover, if the chicks do not finish eating the food that has been soaked in water, it is very likely to go bad if it is left in the feeding trough for a long time . The digestive system of the chicks at this time is very fragile. After eating such spoiled and rotten food, they can easily become sick, have diarrhea, or even die.

3

Not drinking enough water

Many people will ignore giving chicks water, thinking that chicks cannot drink water, and drinking water will cause diarrhea and death. In fact, this idea is completely wrong, because chicks must be supplemented with sufficient water during their growth and development stage. The chicks you buy should not only be placed in a breeding box with a suitable temperature, but also be provided with sufficient drinking water at all times.

When you first start raising chicks, you must make sure they drink water first, and then you can feed them after about an hour, and the water they drink must be clean and pure . Because newborn chicks have a very fast metabolism rate and a high demand for water, and the required environmental temperature is relatively strict, it is necessary to replenish water in real time.

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By the way, we can occasionally see a kind of "squirrel chicken" that is smaller than a chicken on the market. It is a quail chick. The temperature requirement of the quail chick is higher, and the ambient temperature needs to reach 38℃~40℃ to survive. If you don't pay attention to this, it is almost impossible to keep and raise a squirrel chicken.

4

Being ravaged

There are also the naughty hands of children. Most children who bought the chicks would love to put them down after seeing the cute chicks, and would grab and touch them with their hands.

In fact, the children have no ill intentions, most of the time they just like it. However, when people are too energetic and curious, they just want to play with the chicks and don't consider the chicks' tolerance at all. These chicks are just born and their organs are still very fragile. It is easy to get hurt by doing this. After being injured, chicks are rarely treated, so death is inevitable.

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5

Chicken coop not paying attention to hygiene

Another problem is that when raising chicks, many people do not pay attention to the hygiene of the chicken coop and fail to clean it regularly. As bird chicks, their digestive systems are relatively short and they will excrete food quickly after eating, so if the chicken coop is not cleaned for a day, there will often be a lot of feces and urine in the chicken coop.

If not cleaned in time, the chicks will easily be contaminated by dirt, especially when they are defecating, the feces will occasionally stick to the fluff near the anus. If the feces are not cleaned in time, they will accumulate more and more, and eventually stick to the entire anus, causing the chicks to be unable to defecate and die.

If you encounter this situation, the best way is to use kitchen paper or cotton swab, dip it in a little warm water, slowly soften the feces near the anus, and then wipe it clean.

How to raise chickens correctly?

Having said so much, how can we raise chicks correctly?

1

Choose chicks that are active and have loud voices.

First of all, when buying chicks, we should choose chicks that are energetic, agile, have shiny feathers, and have loud and powerful voices. When we gently grab the chicks, we can clearly feel that they are struggling vigorously. We can also turn the chicks over and put them on the ground to see if they can turn over quickly . This is also a simple and primitive selection method.

2

Choose the right breeding container

If conditions permit, you can choose a wooden feeding box. The advantage of a wooden feeding box is that it is easy to keep warm and has good air permeability. Of course, a feeding box with a temperature control device is the best. If you don't plan to prepare either, you can also find a sturdy large cardboard box and put a heating pad inside to keep the chicks warm. At the same time, pay attention to the humidity in the box.

Generally speaking, the humidity is required to be controlled at 50%~75% , which is the most suitable environmental condition for chicks.

When the chicks are raised for about one and a half to two months, their down will gradually fade and new feathers will grow. At this time, there is no need for heating or humidification, and the chicks can grow and develop in normal environmental conditions.

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The chicken nest can be padded with a layer of rice husk, walnut sand, or corn cobs as bedding, which can ferment the feces of the chickens and make them less smelly. You can buy them on major shopping platforms, or you can use kitchen paper towels as bedding, which should be changed every 2 to 3 days to ensure the healthy growth of the chickens and the hygiene of the human room.

3

Special chick feed can be used for feeding

When feeding, you can consider buying chicken feed directly. Chicken feed of different growth stages can be purchased on major shopping platforms, and there are many special chick feeds to choose from. This kind of feed is reasonably proportioned according to the nutritional needs of chicks, and it is more convenient to feed.

If you prepare your own feed, you can feed some softened rice, millet or corn bran in the early stage; after two weeks of feeding, the chicks can gradually be fed grains directly; every few days, you can feed some chopped vegetables, carrots or cucumber pieces for the chicks to peck at themselves; in order to supplement protein, you can also feed some dried mealworms.

In addition, since chicks have no teeth, they need to swallow some small stones or gravel to help grind and digest food in the crop. It can also be coarse river sand, which can be washed, dried, and mixed into the food for the chicks to eat.

4

Keep drinking fountains clean

The drinking water problem has been discussed before, so I won't go into details here. However, it is worth emphasizing the requirements for drinking fountains. Professional drinking fountains must be used. Drinking fountains must be cleaned regularly, and the water in the drinking fountains must be changed frequently to keep them clean.

5

Do a good job in disease prevention and control

Chicks are very susceptible to disease. If conditions permit, you can give them some vaccinations to reduce the probability of them getting sick.

When I was a kid, I had an uncle who worked on the railway. One year, he brought me two little black chickens. It was said that when the freight section was transporting a batch of chickens from a farm, a cage fell over during loading and all the chickens ran away. When he was off work, he accidentally heard the sound of chickens in the corner. He followed the sound and found these two little chickens shivering in the corner. My uncle took them home and gave them to me to raise.

The chicks transported were vaccinated and were the only two I raised when I was a child. Unfortunately, they were later taken away by a weasel...

Planning and production

Author: Erzhu Popular Science Creator

Review丨Jinhua Xinjiang Animal Husbandry Station Agricultural Technology Extension Researcher

Planning丨Wang Mengru

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin