Am I missing anything?

[Slingha]

Greetings from NJ!

15 Chicks are coming next week. Ordered from mypetchicken. Have a 5x6 coop being made by the Amish. Medicated chick food on hand.

What else do I need?


Looking forward to learning more.

 

[Wisher1000]

So far, so good! You might need a thermometer to place beneath the light, it should be about 90-95 directly below the light but cooler where the food and water are. Looks like you may need to lower it. You are also going to need something to either put over that pool or to make the sides taller. Those little stinkers can fly before you expect them to!

Good luck and have fun with you new babies.

 

[Slingha]

Thanks for the response. There is a thermometer in there. I'm going to let it run all night to see if I can get it to 90-95 deg

 

[Wisher1000]

It would be easier to put the light closer to the bedding (not too close) and let the chicks regulate the to the temp they need by getting closer or further away from the heat. It's really cool how they know exactly how warm they need to be.

Like this!

 

[ChirpChickens]

usually with chickies, if you need something changed they'll let you know! otherwise they'll stay relatively quiet. you just don't want them TOO quiet if ya know wht i mean

 

[donrae]

That pool is nice, but it will only fit 15 chicks for maybe 2 weeks, then they'll need more space. Good rule of thumb is 1 square foot each the first few weeks, then 2 square feet each at about 3 weeks. Plus, as stated, they'll fly right over the edge of that in a week or so. I'd also be concerned about them being able to get to enough cool space as that heat lamp covers a good deal of the brooder area. I'd angle the light so it only partially shines in the brooder to keep the warm area smaller. Chicks suffer a lot more from over heating than being too cool. As long as they have a warm area to go to, they should spend much of their time at room temperature.

Your coop is going to be too small for 15 birds. Rule of thumb is 4 square feet per bird in a coop and 10 square feet per bird in the run. You can get by with less space in the coop if you free range exclusively, but you also need to consider how often they might need to be confined due to weather, predator issues, vacations, etc.

 

[JesNflock]

You might want to have some Save-a-chick electrolytes on hand as well

 

[Slingha]

Our plan is to only keep 10 chickens. We thought that there may be some loss as they grow. The "extras" above 10 will be rehomed.

Also, when they get bigger the plan is to use our baby gates to make a circle about 9 feet across so they have room to roam.