This looks like a great website. I've read some of the guides and message board postings. I look forward to participating here as I advance in my new hobby of keeping chickens.
On Tuesday after work I will pick up 12 RI Red chicks from a local farm supply store. I've borrowed a heat lamp (250 watt) and plan to buy a feeder tray, waterer, bedding material, and feed when I pick up the chicks.
I've got a few questions that I could not find answers to....
I plan to keep the chicks on an enclosed (but not heated) porch. I've found a cardboard box to keep them in. It measures 23 inches by 33 inches by 28 inches tall. Will this be enough space? I plan to put a thermometer on the floor of the box and raise/lower the lamp to get the temp right. Should the lamp hang over the middle or at one end to give more room to get further away from it?
Should I only put newspaper on the floor until I am sure they are eating and then introduce bedding (wood shavings) or can I start using the wood shavings right away?
One friend said that I should turn the heat lamp off at night and close the box up. Everything else I've heard/read says that the heat lamp should stay on 24/7. I am planning on leaving it on 24/7, and assume that at this stage they don't need a light/darkness cycle.
At what age will they be able to get out of the box? I assume that at that point I will lay a piece of chicken wire or hardware cloth over the top of the box.
Thanks for any advice - I'm excited about this new hobby.
~Gary in Person Co. NC
On Tuesday after work I will pick up 12 RI Red chicks from a local farm supply store. I've borrowed a heat lamp (250 watt) and plan to buy a feeder tray, waterer, bedding material, and feed when I pick up the chicks.
I've got a few questions that I could not find answers to....
I plan to keep the chicks on an enclosed (but not heated) porch. I've found a cardboard box to keep them in. It measures 23 inches by 33 inches by 28 inches tall. Will this be enough space? I plan to put a thermometer on the floor of the box and raise/lower the lamp to get the temp right. Should the lamp hang over the middle or at one end to give more room to get further away from it?
Should I only put newspaper on the floor until I am sure they are eating and then introduce bedding (wood shavings) or can I start using the wood shavings right away?
One friend said that I should turn the heat lamp off at night and close the box up. Everything else I've heard/read says that the heat lamp should stay on 24/7. I am planning on leaving it on 24/7, and assume that at this stage they don't need a light/darkness cycle.
At what age will they be able to get out of the box? I assume that at that point I will lay a piece of chicken wire or hardware cloth over the top of the box.
Thanks for any advice - I'm excited about this new hobby.
~Gary in Person Co. NC