Raising Chicks? The First 14 Days Matter More Than You Think – Audio Edition

Your chicks have feed, water, and heat—but are they getting the start they need? The small details in their first 14 days can affect the birds you raise months later. In this PK360 conversation, Rip Stalvey and our team’s livestock nutritionist, Jeff Mattocks, discuss the hands-on care that helps chicks get off to a strong start. Drawing on years of raising poultry and working with poultry keepers, they explain what to watch for, what to prepare, and how to tell whether your chicks are finding feed and water. We cover early feeding, chick weights, crop fill, starter feed and particle size, brooder temperature, grit, and moving chicks from the incubator. The conversation also includes Jeff’s approach to feeding eggs, water additives, dust bathing, and the value of spending time observing your chicks. Whether you raise heritage breeds, exhibition poultry, or a small backyard flock, this episode will help you pay closer attention to the details that are easy to overlook. What is one thing you do to give your chicks a strong start? Share your experience in the comments. This Audio Edition features a conversation from a previous PK360 LIVE video broadcast, edited and tightened for those who prefer to listen. Poultry Keepers 360 — Helping Poultry Keepers Make Better Decisions. #RaisingChicks #ChickCare #PoultryKeepers360 Chapters and timestamps 00:00 Give your chicks a strong start 00:38 Why the first 14 days matter 02:01 Weighing chicks and tracking growth 03:42 How soon should chicks get feed? 05:44 Help chicks find feed and water 06:53 Introducing grit and checking crop fill 08:33 Early care and genetic potential 13:04 Choosing chick starter and particle size 18:16 Early development and brooder temperature 22:39 Brooder space during the first three days 24:32 Immune development and introducing sod 27:42 Small chicks and hatching egg size 29:24 When to move chicks into the brooder 33:02 Bantam feed and feeding eggs 37:18 Water first or feed and water together? 38:23 Jeff’s approach to water additives 40:04 Water temperature and preparing the brooder 41:16 Feed particles and chick grit 42:24 Dust baths and handling chicks 45:52 Shipped chicks and Grow Gel 47:05 Honey and feeding eggs to older chicks 49:08 Does this approach apply to meat birds? 50:00 Grit size and brooder dust 51:42 Encouraging chicks to drink Join our Facebook Groups: Poultry Keepers 360 - -    / 354973752688125   Poultry Breeders Nutrition -   / 4908798409211973