Are they that hard to raise?

[porkchop48]

When I break down and get around to ordering chicks, how hard are they to raise?

this time of the year do they need to be inside?


I think the answers to this question might be my deciding factor if I orderchicks or just keep plugging away at craiglist.

 

[chickenbythesea]

chickens are simple to raise... really no harder then having a cat. You need to make sure they have a safe place to roost, an area to run in, food and water and that's really about it. My chicks went into their coop with a heat lamp at 3 days, they're growing like weeds and happy as all get out. I make sure they have the necessities and that's about it. There's usually a bit of worrying when you first start out with chicks (I know I did) and if you're doing things right etc but really in hindsight there was no need... they're pretty amazing little critters who pretty much take care of themselves. Some people go high end and some go simple..... really it's whatever you want to do.

 

[LPOHHomestead]

I'm no expert, by any means, but we just got a baker's dozen of chicks around 4th of July. We put them into our coop straight away, in a little confinement area so the larger chickens couldn't get to them. It's been in the 80-90s during the day and high 60's/low 70's during the night since we got them. I was a little concerned about them the first few nights, but they did fine. Our coop gets a lot of sun so that may have helped keep the temperature a little elevated during the evenings.

We've since had to give them a little more room because they grow like mad, but they are a joy to watch and interact with. I check their feed and water twice a day, throw in a little grass or watermelon for them to try out and that's about it so far. (Knock on wood) they all seem healthy and happy.

Good luck if you decide to go for it. I don't think you'll be disappointed!


LPOH Homestead
www.littlepatchofheavenhomestead.blogspot.com

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I've been raising my chicks (8 hatched June 13th) pretty much by the book...brooder in the garage, heat lamp, organic chick starter and so forth. While most of it has been a pleasure, they are poopy little things and I was changing the bedding of the brooder (several layers of paper towels) twice a day. They also regularly poop and now that I've switched to pine shavings, kick bedding into their water and food, which needs cleaning several times a day. While I won't say it is a LOT of work, I will say that it is another thing on my Mommy to-do list that can't be just shoved off to another day or time. Several of my chicks had pasty butt during their first week and one has continued to have problems through week five, so that's another thing on the "must do" list. Of course I've also dedicated a great deal of time during the past five weeks building a coop and run, which some of the more experienced chicken people already had and don't probably factor into the equation.

So, I'm very happy so far with my decision to purchase day old chicks. But I would suggest that your calendar is fairly flexible for the next month or so so that you can be around to check on them and change bedding, water etc. several times a day...they're also so fun to watch so you need to leave time for that.

Good luck.

 

[Chicken_an_eggs]

I got 7 SLW for a farm off from craigslist they order form 2 different places to get a mix in chicks. Over all chicks are easy to raise a little messy at times but fun for all

 

[kfisher123]

We just got 5 day old silkies a month ago and they have been a complete joy! We had them in the garage using the baby chick starter kit from MyBackYardChickens.com. We hold them all the time, my daughters can't get enough of them. They fall asleep on them! We had to move the whole set up to our mudroom yesterday because of excessive heat. It's a little messy but managable. We'll put them in the coop (I got ours off EBay, super easy to put together) in 2 weeks. We just check their water throughout the day and keep their food filled. My girls are a huge help, so far, it's been fun for all of us. They are really funny to watch so we take them out all the time to play.
I say go for it!!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

My post somehow got posted twice, so I'm editing out this one.

 

[porkchop48]

Thank you guys.

I have the coops done... It has been sitting there begging for something to go it in. I was worried about the actual raising of chicks.

I leave the house about 7 am but am back by 3 pm and that was the part that worried me... Will they be fine for 8 hours if I give them fresh food and water before I leave?

Oh my ... How big do they have to be before the can hang out in the run while I am gone?

 

[Long Last Farm]

They will be fine alone for that period of time. Just give them food and water before you go.

 

[Long Last Farm]

You could start getting them ready to be in the coop and get them used to the coop being their home. Some folks just brood them in the coop. That might work for you if you don't have any older chickens in there, and you can put electricity in the coop to provide heat. They will do best with about 95 degrees the first week, then reduce by 5 degrees each week for about 6-8 weeks. Of course, if it already HOT in the coop from this heatwave, you would adjust accordingly.