WHO IS EXPECTING APRIL CHICKS?????

[poodlechicks]

Wow mine hatch and ship out on April 11th too!!! When did you order yours? I ordered mine back in January! Talk about a long wait!I choose a April hatch in hopes of better weather as well as a only 3 chick minimum. I did however order 10 chicks. how about you?what Breeds did you get? I got one female "Suprise Breed", Seven Female Barred Rocks, One Female Golden Cuckoo Maran, and One Female Silver Penciled Rock. Please say a little prayer for my Chicks Healthy and alive arrival from their long trip and I will say a prayer for the same for yours!let's post pictures when they arrive! I'm so excited! ♡♡

I also ordered mine in January. I actually don't know what I'm getting exactly, just that they are ornamental and all pullets ( crossing my fingers)

I ordered a white Orpington chick also and passed out on the "surprise" chick b/c it can be male or female. I'd rather not risk another rooster.
Sending good vibes to you!! Remember to post pics of the little ones upon arrival. Best of luck to you!!

 

[WyoJax]

I have a question about those pads, are they thermostaticaly regulated (in English: can you set the temperature)? How big are they?
And what exactly is a DH? 

Looks like everyone has given you a lot of information. The heating pad I have is found here:http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0087...8-2&keywords=xpress+heating+pad&pi=SY200_QL40 this heating pad is wonderful for my five with plenty of room for more. I have it set to 6 currently, for the first week. I will pull it down once my Coccidiosis chick catches up a little. But typically people pull it down a setting every increment you would pull your bulb up. I will show you my set up, but there are hundreds on BYC. You can find the original thread under raising baby chickens, Mama Heating Pad in the brooder. The reason why I decided to go this way, I'm a first time Chicken Mama is because we are gone so much for work and also because the starter of three proved to me it does work. She lives in northern Wyoming and this pad worked through our very cold winters outside...it works. Plus it's more natural, my girls are asleep and in bed when the sun goes down, not a peep is heard until the sun rises again.

Our set up includes a frame of garden fencing wrapped with electrical tape where the edges are sharp, after DH(darling husband) folded the edges down with some needle nose pliers. The heating pad has been covered with Cling Wrap to keep it clean. And then I set towels on top of it also for cleanliness, the girls love sitting on top of MHP. Now a lot of people use shavings, I've had problems with Coccidiosis so I'm waiting until all stool is solid first, but planed on paper towels in the beginning so we didn't end up with any leg issues. Because the paper towels are thin I have used old dish towels in the MHP to raise the chicks up closer to the MHP. Two folded once works great, that way they can snuggle right up close. They way the frame is built it is more open on the front and shorter in the back so they can adjust how warm they need to be, a lot like broody Mama. Hope this helps, it does work. I had my reservations but my babies are all well, even through the Coccidiosis.
Good luck!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Congratulations, hopefully they all do okay. I see some naked necks, you are brave, I find them creepy, but they are cute as chicks, like little vultures.

I kind of feel the same way, they are a bit creepy as adults But, I wanted to try something new and "different", and thought the NNs would fit the bill perfectly. They're adorable right now, and they're SUPER friendly, so they're sort winning me over

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I kind of feel the same way, they are a bit creepy as adults But, I wanted to try something new and "different", and thought the NNs would fit the bill perfectly. They're adorable right now, and they're SUPER friendly, so they're sort winning me over

That's what I have heard about them. Last year I bought two la mancha goat kids, the ones with no ears, I was told I would get used to it and find them cute, nope, they are still creepy too without ears. I also had a frazzle rooster who lost most of his feathers during the summer, had a naked neck, beat red from the sun, reminded me of a snake. Hopefully you can overcome what I can't.

 

[realsis]

I also ordered mine in January. I actually don't know what I'm getting exactly, just that they are ornamental and all pullets ( crossing my fingers)

I ordered a white Orpington chick also and passed out on the "surprise" chick b/c it can be male or female. I'd rather not risk another rooster.
Sending good vibes to you!! Remember to post pics of the little ones upon arrival. Best of luck to you!!

Actually at Meyer hatchery in January when I ordered I was ABLE TO CHOOSE THE SEX OF MY SUPRISE BREED!! So I picked MMMF meaning Meyer Meal Maker Female!! the other choice was MMMM meaning Meyer Meal Maker Male. Funny though I looked back on the site later and it didn't have the option to choose anymore, however it only offered MMMF which would be the female. They call it the Meal Maker because they ask you to donate eggs to needy or neighborhood folks who might need some help. I've named mine Charity. Also another thing Meyer does that really suprised me was they said to me "Because I paid for all my other birds to get the Mareks vaccine They will give the Mareks vaccine to my free female chick AT NO CHARGE TO ME!!" So when you order from Meyer you don't have to worry that their free chick is a male unless you order early and CHOOSE a male. so if your ordering from Meyer don't be afraid to add the free chick. just tell them you want the MMMF female.NO WORRIES in fact if you do have a Meyer order ID definitely call and get your free layer!it's not too late to add her hope this helps!!

 

[bufforpfarm]

Mine ship april 4th tommorow. 11chicks 10- blue orpintons 1-jubelee orpington so i have a large $$ amount invested as these are very expensive an rare! Cant wait. These will be my birthday blues.

 

[FlyWheel]

I placed one of my folding, adjustable height sawhorses across/over the new brooding box and hung the heat lamp from it via a chain. Not only safer but easier to regulate the temperature too.

The chicks are huddled in the corner because one of my dogs was checking them out​

Regarding the Sunbeam heating pads with the always on feature, where do you get these? Every single heating pad or heated blanket/throw I have seen automatically shuts itself off after an hour or few (safety feature). NEVER have I seen one with a switch that overrides this and lets the pad/blanket remain on.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I placed one of my folding, adjustable height sawhorses across/over the new brooding box and hung the heat lamp from it via a chain. Not only safer but easier to regulate the temperature too.

​

The chicks are huddled in the corner because one of my dogs was checking them out​

Regarding the Sunbeam heating pads with the always on feature, where do you get these? Every single heating pad or heated blanket/throw I have seen automatically shuts itself off after an hour or few (safety feature). NEVER have I seen one with a switch that overrides this and lets the pad/blanket remain on.

I got mine at Walgreens, but they're available on Amazon.

 

[Smiley Chicks]

I also ordered mine in January. I actually don't know what I'm getting exactly, just that they are ornamental and all pullets ( crossing my fingers)

I ordered a white Orpington chick also and passed out on the "surprise" chick b/c it can be male or female. I'd rather not risk another rooster.
Sending good vibes to you!! Remember to post pics of the little ones upon arrival. Best of luck to you!!

 

[Smiley Chicks]

I've never heard of a white Orpington, we wanted white silkies but the minimum order was 15. We have 25 buff orpingtons coming in 2 weeks and we don't want to crowd them.