# Sexing and Raising chicks.



## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

So I was wondering do any of you think their is a certain way to sex Bantam chicks? Because I have 3 Mille Fleurs and 1 is absolutely way darker than the other 2, one is blackish gray and the other 2 are yellow with black lines down their back so I didn't know if you might be able to color sex them. I was thinking maybe the darker Mille Fleur one might possibly be a cockerel just by the way he is colored and by personality, he/she is very aggressive towards the other ones pecking them and chasing them, Do any of you think this would be too early to tell? Also one of my Porcelains has no beard and the face just looks so much like a pullet, the other 3 porcelains I have all have big beard muffs and the one doesn't have anything, Am I just being ridiculous right now thinking way too much or could this possibly be true? I am really hoping for a rooster at this point.
Also do you think by keeping them in a little shed they could suffocate? I do have a heat lamp over them which could make it more hot in there. 
Also I have been seeing mice in there, will they bother the chicks?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Color sexing only works with sexlink birds. You're are not so sorry to say you get to wait for a while. 

A shed? Are they going to be in a cage? Or something to keep them safe?


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Animals45 said:


> So I was wondering do any of you think their is a certain way to sex Bantam chicks? Because I have 3 Mille Fleurs and 1 is absolutely way darker than the other 2, one is blackish gray and the other 2 are yellow with black lines down their back so I didn't know if you might be able to color sex them. I was thinking maybe the darker Mille Fleur one might possibly be a cockerel just by the way he is colored and by personality, he/she is very aggressive towards the other ones pecking them and chasing them, Do any of you think this would be too early to tell? Also one of my Porcelains has no beard and the face just looks so much like a pullet, the other 3 porcelains I have all have big beard muffs and the one doesn't have anything, Am I just being ridiculous right now thinking way too much or could this possibly be true? I am really hoping for a rooster at this point.
> Also do you think by keeping them in a little shed they could suffocate? I do have a heat lamp over them which could make it more hot in there.
> Also I have been seeing mice in there, will they bother the chicks?


With a few chicks it is not likely that any would suffocate. Be sure they can get away from the heat lamp. Mice, while the chicks are so young is bad; not because the mice will hurt the chicks but because the chicks could eat mouse droppings, sicken and die. For two-three weeks, I keep my chicks in a draft free brooder. A chick brooder can be as simple as a big plastic tub with a heat lamp. I would encourage you to use a similar set-up. Mice can not get into the tub so the chicks are safe. The lid should never be sealed as the tub would get too hot and not have air circulation. At any rate, find a way to have the chicks in a place where mice can not go. Didn't the hatchery sex them or did you buy straight run? For us, there is no way to sex bantam chicks unless a person is experienced at vent sexing like the hatcheries. Color variances are common. No muff and beard speaks to the quality of the chicks. Hatcheries do not usually have show birds so it's not unusual to get chicks that are less than what they should be. When your chicks get to be 4-6 weeks old we can help you verify their sex.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Color sexing only works with sexlink birds. You're are not so sorry to say you get to wait for a while.
> 
> A shed? Are they going to be in a cage? Or something to keep them safe?


Right now I have them in a bin, in a little barn.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> With a few chicks it is not likely that any would suffocate. Be sure they can get away from the heat lamp. Mice, while the chicks are so young is bad; not because the mice will hurt the chicks but because the chicks could eat mouse droppings, sicken and die. For two-three weeks, I keep my chicks in a draft free brooder. A chick brooder can be as simple as a big plastic tub with a heat lamp. I would encourage you to use a similar set-up. Mice can not get into the tub so the chicks are safe. The lid should never be sealed as the tub would get too hot and not have air circulation. At any rate, find a way to have the chicks in a place where mice can not go. Didn't the hatchery sex them or did you buy straight run? For us, there is no way to sex bantam chicks unless a person is experienced at vent sexing like the hatcheries. Color variances are common. No muff and beard speaks to the quality of the chicks. Hatcheries do not usually have show birds so it's not unusual to get chicks that are less than what they should be. When your chicks get to be 4-6 weeks old we can help you verify their sex.


Ok, understood. My chicks are not in a super big bin so I'm not quite sure if it's very possible for them to actually get out of the light, usually when I go in there though they are all huddled up together like they are cold, unless it's something chicks naturally do. I don't think I've been seeing any mice in there lately, I was thinking maybe the bright heat lamp light might be scaring the mice but that is probably something ridiculous to think.😕 
No the hatchery didn't sex them. They said that they don't know how to sex bantams. I asked them if wing sexing them would work and they said they weren't bred for it.. I will definitely post about the gender when they are a bit older.
Thank you for you're help!


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Animals45 said:


> Ok, understood. My chicks are not in a super big bin so I'm not quite sure if it's very possible for them to actually get out of the light, usually when I go in there though they are all huddled up together like they are cold, unless it's something chicks naturally do. I don't think I've been seeing any mice in there lately, I was thinking maybe the bright heat lamp light might be scaring the mice but that is probably something ridiculous to think.😕
> No the hatchery didn't sex them. They said that they don't know how to sex bantams. I asked them if wing sexing them would work and they said they weren't bred for it.. I will definitely post about the gender when they are a bit older.
> Thank you for you're help!


If the bin is high enough to keep mice out (mice can climb) and hasn't anything for the mice to crawl up and in, it should be fine as far as mice. Chicks will naturally spend a lot of time under the heat lamp at first. As time goes by the chicks will spend more and more time out and about, so the bin needs to be big enough so they can get away from the heat when they want to.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

To solve this we need pics. Not liking the sounds of the setup so far.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

robin416 said:


> To solve this we need pics. Not liking the sounds of the setup so far.


X 2. I'm not getting a good mental image from your description.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> If the bin is high enough to keep mice out (mice can climb) and hasn't anything for the mice to crawl up and in, it should be fine as far as mice. Chicks will naturally spend a lot of time under the heat lamp at first. As time goes by the chicks will spend more and more time out and about, so the bin needs to be big enough so they can get away from the heat when they want to.


Ok, understood. I can try a bigger brooder.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Ok I'll get some pictures


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Sorry for the wait on pictures but here they are. Sorry they are so bad I took them on my laptop.























Do you think the heat lamp is too high?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do you have a thermometer you can put in the bin to check the temp? 

If babies are not crying then it's probably OK for them during the day. Night time might be a different story.

The bin isn't quite as bad as I thought but that isn't going to work for long.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

For ten little chicks that heat bulb is not necessary, but OK. You could easily replace it with a 70 watt bulb and bring the lamp down into the tub. Heat lamps will work with less wattage bulbs. Mice can not get into your tub as long as it is away from a wall they can crawl up and they can climb up the wall in the picture. Robin is right, the chicks will soon outgrow the present tub. There are bigger tubs like what you have. By the time they outgrew that they would be ready for life elsewhere without the supplemental heat; unless it gets very cold where you are. But certainly ready for a coop.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Do you have a thermometer you can put in the bin to check the temp?
> 
> If babies are not crying then it's probably OK for them during the day. Night time might be a different story.
> 
> The bin isn't quite as bad as I thought but that isn't going to work for long.


I don't have a thermometer. They huddle up together during the night which makes me think they are cold.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You're right, it does sound like they're not warm enough.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Animals45 said:


> Sorry for the wait on pictures but here they are. Sorry they are so bad I took them on my laptop.
> View attachment 42812
> View attachment 42810
> 
> ...


for now, yes. It should be about 90-95 degrees the first week, then raise it up about 2.5 inches (lower the temp 5 degrees) Until they are 6 weeks old, the temperature is about 60F, and the night temps go no less than 50.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

Animals45 said:


> I don't have a thermometer. They huddle up together during the night which makes me think they are cold.


yes you need to lower it.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

robin416 said:


> Do you have a thermometer you can put in the bin to check the temp?
> 
> If babies are not crying then it's probably OK for them during the day. Night time might be a different story.
> 
> The bin isn't quite as bad as I thought but that isn't going to work for long.


yes agreed. The bin should be 1 square foot per bird each week @Animals45 . (3 birds on their first week would need 3 square feet, then when they are all 4 weeks old, they would need 12 square feet, and so on.)


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> For ten little chicks that heat bulb is not necessary, but OK. You could easily replace it with a 70 watt bulb and bring the lamp down into the tub. Heat lamps will work with less wattage bulbs. Mice can not get into your tub as long as it is away from a wall they can crawl up and they can climb up the wall in the picture. Robin is right, the chicks will soon outgrow the present tub. There are bigger tubs like what you have. By the time they outgrew that they would be ready for life elsewhere without the supplemental heat; unless it gets very cold where you are. But certainly ready for a coop.


Ok, so are you saying they are ready for a coop? And the heat lamp is not necessary? I thought they would get too cold.. actually with the heat lamp on them they are always huddled up together while sleeping. Do you know where I can get a 70 watt bulb?


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

chickenpersoon said:


> for now, yes. It should be about 90-95 degrees the first week, then raise it up about 2.5 inches (lower the temp 5 degrees) Until they are 6 weeks old, the temperature is about 60F, and the night temps go no less than 50.


Ok I will, thank you!


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

chickenpersoon said:


> yes you need to lower it.


Okay!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Animals45 said:


> Ok, so are you saying they are ready for a coop? And the heat lamp is not necessary? I thought they would get too cold.. actually with the heat lamp on them they are always huddled up together while sleeping. Do you know where I can get a 70 watt bulb?


Not without heat they're not. They need to be fully feathered before they can go without added heat. Even then if you're in an are where the temps drop a bunch at night heat might still be needed for a bit.

It would make things a lot easier if you had some sort of thermometer to check temps so you would know where to position the lamp so they are warm enough.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Animals45 said:


> Ok, so are you saying they are ready for a coop?NO, THAT"S NOT WHAT I SAID. And the heat lamp is not necessary? I DID NOT SAY THIS EITHER. thought they would get too cold.. actually with the heat lamp on them they are always huddled up together while sleeping. Do you know where I can get a 70 watt bulb?


Your chicks need heat. Use the bulb you have but lower it down. When you don't have a thermometer, use your hand.
With the lamp on, place your hand directly under it flat on the tub bottom. If the heat is too much for your hand, it is too hot for the chicks. Raise the heat lamp up again a little higher. Do the hand step again. Keep doing this until your hand feels the heat, but it's not uncomfortable. Secure the lamp at this height so there is no way it can fall. Forget what I said about the 70 watt bulb. Chicks will come together naturally under the heat lamp. If they start piling up like in a football tackle, they are still cold.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

I think it best to let the others help you; they are doing a great job. Good luck with your new babies.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> Your chicks need heat. Use the bulb you have but lower it down. When you don't have a thermometer, use your hand.
> With the lamp on, place your hand directly under it flat on the tub bottom. If the heat is too much for your hand, it is too hot for the chicks. Raise the heat lamp up again a little higher. Do the hand step again. Keep doing this until your hand feels the heat, but it's not uncomfortable. Secure the lamp at this height so there is no way it can fall. Forget what I said about the 70 watt bulb. Chicks will come together naturally under the heat lamp. If they start piling up like in a football tackle, they are still cold.


Ok, so sorry for the misunderstanding! Ok, I will definitely go out there and lower it.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Animals45 said:


> Ok, so sorry for the misunderstanding! Ok, I will definitely go out there and lower it.


Sorry too. Just a bad day.


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## chickenpersoon (Sep 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> Sorry too. Just a bad day.


Oh I'm sorry your having a bad day!!!!


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

chickenpersoon said:


> Oh I'm sorry your having a bad day!!!!


We all have less than perfect days; sometimes it seems that insults are just added to injuries, and just when things look brighter... You have a great day and I'll strive to make mine better.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Is this kind of like that thing that happens in winter with the lack of sunshine? You've had so much rain this year, Dan, you've had very little bit of it.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Is this kind of like that thing that happens in winter with the lack of sunshine? You've had so much rain this year, Dan, you've had very little bit of it.


Yes, Robin. I'm very much affected by the lack of sunshine-always have been. A bigger problem is that my medication has been cut in half, just when I was doing really well. Doctors know all and to complain in TN is to be told "Deal with it".
There just is no understanding TN and the way things are done here. Probably being paranoid but a northerner in TN doesn't seem to set well with some.

It is hard to have a good day when ya feel like crap, and I'm positive you know all about that.


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

danathome said:


> Sorry too. Just a bad day.


No worries! We all get those.


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