3 babies coming in 2 weeks - looking for advice on small numbers

[staceyl]

Last year a friend raised my batch until they were ready to go in the coop, but this year I'm trying to do my own and am a bit intimidated. I re-read the section in Storey's about raising chicks, but it all seems to be written for people raising large numbers. I'm only getting 3 little girls. Any advice?
Thanks!
Stacey

 

[Nyrial]

I think it's the same whether you have 1 or 100. Warm, draft free, and dry. Non-slippery bedding, fresh food, and fresh water. I'm new to this too as of last year, but everyone seems happy and healthy today. They pretty much took care of themselves.

Just enjoy them.

 

[gryeyes]

Get yourself these things:

A Rubbermaid bin (for the brooder).
Chick starter crumbles.
An infrared heat lamp and reflector.
A chick waterer and a chick feeder (plastic cleans well).
A roll of paper towels.
A bag o' pine shavings.
A camera (one of the most essential items).

Get a small stuffed animal to put in the brooder, because 3 chicks aren't a lot of body mass and they might want to snuggle with it.

Set up your brooder the day before you get the chicks. Turn the lamp on that morning. Hang it SECURELY in a place where you can raise or lower it as necessary at one end of the bin (so they can get away if it's too hot, or gather in that section if they need the heat). Chicks need 95 degrees heat for the first week; drop the temp - by raising the heat lamp - by 5 degrees a week.

Put some shavings in the brooder. Lay some paper towels over the shavings (for the first two days). Set up the waterer and feeder. Maybe put a few small rocks or marbles in the waterer tray so nobody can fall into it and drown.

Have some hard-boiled egg(s) cooked and chopped up very finely if you want to give them treats after a while.

That's a good start. Prepare to spend lots of time (hours and hours) just watching the chicks, and be sure to hold them a couple times a day.

Other folks will add more information. Prepare to become enslaved by love for your 3 fuzzbutts.

 

[staceyl]

thank you gryeyes! That is perfect. I've been frantically looking for a box and hadn't even thought of using one of the many rubbermaid containers I have lying around - good idea.
Now I have to convince one of my kids to give up one of their thousands of stuffed animals to the cause.
I have everything else, other than a good way to hold up the light - still working on that.
Stacey

 

[gryeyes]

I put my brooder in the bathroom and strung the heat lamp up over one of those expandable shower rods. DO NOT USE THE CORD to hang it; use twine or cord or something tied to the wires which act as a "cover" over the lamp itself. It just takes some finagling. Also, confession time: I never used a thermometer (they only read air temp, anyway, and infrared heat lamps don't heat the air) and just gauged how warm the chicks were by their behaviour. If they all hang out by the lamp and peep A LOT, huddled together, they're too cold. If they go to the other corners away from the lamp and lay down with their little wings out, they're too warm.

It made the bathroom really dusty and like a hot-house, but it was the only place I could put them that was #1, easy to keep clean, and #2, able to keep the dogs and cats out even when I had to go to work all day away from home. But the toilet was the most handy place to sit and watch them for hours.....

 

[staceyl]

Gryeyes - I was planning on sticking them in the shower in the guest bathroom that we don't use - I was thinking that the shower stall might contain the dust somewhat. An expandable rod would work great in there so thanks for the idea!