First Time Chick Parents, Spring 2016

[907ChickenLady]

What we've learned so far:
*Chicks are even messier than I thought. Good grief they poop like every other minute, it is ridiculous.
*But, they are also way more entertaining than we expected, and therefore the mess is a lot easier to tolerate. We kinda like having them in the house so far. BTW, 1500 sq ft, two adult humans, two boys ages 13 and 9, two cats, and the dog.
*Older kids like chicks a lot too.
*So does my husband.
*If you happen to have a chick that enjoys perching on your shoulder, it is a good excuse to talk like a pirate.

Ha, that's fantastic! I once ordered a PBR at a bar in a fishing town. As soon as the R came out of my mouth a salty old guy at the bar turned around here and said, "around here, missy, it's called PB-ARRRRRrrrrrr." I now need an arsenal of chicken pirate jokes.

Also, hooray for small houses. Cozy... if nothing else!

 

[Jensownzoo]

Well, 6 week old chicks like live mealworms...I ended up with three of them on my lap, which involved some fly-jumping on their part.

Also, if you want to jumpstart your mealworm farm, get some giant mealworms along with the regulars. I think I originally had 250 giants (got the chicken treat combo pack from Rainbow) and set them up in their own shoebox because they were too big for the babies to eat right away. Well I just pulled about 50 pupae out of that container. The box of 6000 regular mealies won't pupate for months yet!

 

[amyelynn93]

All the little peepers little tiny tail feathers are starting to sprout, which is way adorable. HOWEVER, at the molting of some tiny little new wing feathers, I think we may have ran into a slight upset. I think one of our RIRs is actually a roo and not a lady... We're allowed to have them where we live, however, as a courtesy to the neighbors and to keep our eggs unfertilized, we had decided from the beginning that we'd prefer an all female flock.. So if she turns out to be a he, we'll have to figure out what we're gonna do with him... other than that, our peeps are happy and crazy and becoming quite the rambunctious flock. They're coop is built too, but its still MUCH too cold, and theyre still much to small.

 

[misslogan019]

Today is day 5 with chicks in my life, and thus far I've learned:

-Heat lamps are scary! Heating pad cave is definitely the way to go.
-Chicks eat a lot. Mine are using just over a quart of scratch and feed a day, 15 (was 16) chicks.
-I thought I was mentally prepped to handle it when dead chicks happened. I wasn't. I frantically woke up hubs, handed him a bag, and had him take care of the chick. He is determined to toughen me up. I'll get there, eventually.
-Kids like chicks. A lot. My almost 4 year old has practically lived by their side, and the 1 year old visits them every chance he gets. I'm really sure I heard him say "chick" earlier today, and he doesn't talk much.
-The brooder can be not in my house. Currently, it's in my bathroom (warmest room in my tiny house). They'll be there until the coop is built (next week, hopefully). Next time around, brooder is going in the coop so I don't have to shuffle all of the things (including the bucket of chicks) to take a shower.
-Mealworms = easy AND I can fenangle the setup to fit in my house without taking up much space (1000 sq ft and 4 humans + bucket of chicks = tight quarters... can't wait for warm weather).
-Entirely too much time gets lost in learning all of the chicken things.... and I love it!

If I feed my new baby's meal worms do they need grit along with it?

 

[BigBlueTruck]

Hello everyone

Also a new to chickens here. We got day olds - 5 black Australorps and 6 Buff Orpingtons - yesterday from Cackle. All arrived alive and well. Brooding in a large kiddie pool in the basement under a heating lamp at the moment. I'm really tempted to try the heating pad approach but have to see what extra materials I have lying around to make the cave structure. I'd love to kick them outside but there are some finishing touches I want done to the coop first. I'm worried it'll be too drafty, too :\

My biggest concern is handling. I read the article about brooding outdoors or in an elevated set up reducing the "predator from the sky" threat of your hand reaching in, but at the moment those set ups aren't an option for me. I don't need lap chickens by any stretch but I would like them to be okay around people. So I've been ever so slowly reaching in, gently picking them up and holding them against my chest, gently petting them. They settle right down when I do that and don't struggle or alarm-cheep, which is promising. Any thoughts on socialization welcome from the old hands

Good luck to everyone!

 

[907ChickenLady]

If I feed my new baby's meal worms do they need grit along with it?

I believe so. I haven't fed any to them, jut getting to mealie farm started. I did throw in a chunk of sod yesterday, thinking the fresh greens and attached grit would do them good... It was demolished.

 

[Blooie]

They LOVE chunks of sod, don't they? After they break it all down, they'll dust bathe in the dirt. I think it also gives their immune system a much needed boost....gets them accustomed to whatever lives in the great outdoors they will soon be enjoying!

 

[misslogan019]

What about boiled eggs? Do they need the white or yellow or both ?

 

[Blooie]

I fed the whole egg chopped up fine at first. Now that they are all grown up and laying, I hardboil up a bunch of eggs that are on the older side, then I put them into a plastic grocery bag and tie it shut. I put that inside another grocery bag. Then I drop it on the floor a few times to get the breaking up started. After that I put it up on the counter and "knead" the bags with my hands until I have a mess of broken up hardboiled eggs and small shell pieces. The girls go nuts for this, it's added protein and a little more calcium.

 

[907ChickenLady]

They LOVE chunks of sod, don't they? After they break it all down, they'll dust bathe in the dirt. I think it also gives their immune system a much needed boost....gets them accustomed to whatever lives in the great outdoors they will soon be enjoying!

Good to know. I'll keep throwing bits in! Also, I think it was you who recommended the heating pad cave as opposed to the heat lamp... THANK YOU! Much happier chicks, and MUCH happier mama! The chicks were afraid of the dark the first night and chirped for quite a while before settling down. Now, when the lights go out they chatter for a few minutes then are perfectly silent until the lights go on in the morning. Added bonus, I'm not worrying about my house catching fire all night.