Hi everybody! My name is Lorain. I am so glad there is a site like this with lots of information to go by. I am a brand new chicken owner and learning as I go along. I need to now what is next for me to do for them. I have 6 Dominiques, well at least I know 5 are defianetly Dominiques--1 looks very different from the others,they will be 2 weeks old this Wednesday. They are currently staying in a huge dog crate, I put newspaper down and paper towels on top, I change them 2 to 3 times a day. They are eating starter chick feed and I have a large waterer for them. I have decreased the heat lamp so that the temp is now about 85 degress. I have been using a red bulb, I heard or read that the red light was good for them but not sure as to why. My chicken coop is in the process of being built by my husband, but for now I have a huge rabbit hutch that I will put them in to get fresh air during the day when it is warm out, they can't get out of it and nothing can get in. Now if they are not getting grit(was told to wait till they are 12 weeks old) am I right to assume they can't walk in the grass because they can't eat anything other than chicken feed? Is there anything else I need to be doing for them at this time? I welcome any suggestions.
Lorain
Lorain