basic care for new chickens

[unknownbbq2126]

I just got two white leghorn chicks and these are my first chickens. I was wondering about general care for this breed of chicken. Another question is can you have different breeds of chicken in the same coop.

 

[MeerKat]

Hi, I'm sure not one to ask for professional advice about chickens but we had leggorns and thery are the best for eggs , imo. We had brown legghorns the first go round, now we just ordered 5 white and 5 brown .

We kept ours inside in a plastic container until they were about 2 wks. old then started taking them out for a few hours a day . We spoiled them with too many treats though .

Legghorns we had were quite, friendly and good layers . We had bantams and they were noisy, mean and laid little green eggs . But we loved the little things, they are adventurous . Thats how they got taken by hawk, they dug out of pen one too many times .

Before these chics arrive we will lay fence on ground so nothing can dig in or out . Not that the leggies ever tried, but just in case .

 

[starryhen]

Hi ... White Leghorns are just like any other chick. If you don't have a broody hen to put them under you need to keep them warm ( the most crucial thing, I have found), fed, watered and clean.
I use a lamp to keep them warm with enough room to go closer when cold and farther when too warm. My home chickens dislike any new hens and chicks and would love to kill them. That's why I like a broody hen. They have an ally. However, my old hens still attack the new ones even if they are the same breed. You may have different luck.

 

[unknownbbq2126]

thanks guys, i got the chicks saturday and this morning one was dead, so this afternoon i put a light in the coop and wraped a blanket around the coop to keep tonights rain out. Tomarrow im going to get one or two more white leghorns and put them in the coop hope it works out. thanks again for the advice.

 

[sheaviance1]

You may have already learned about pasty butt, but just in case, pick them up pretty frequently the first couple of weeks and check for dried poo on their vent. If present, get warm water and q-tips or an old washrag and get it damp enough to soften it, then wipe it clean. The chick cannot eliminate if their all pasted up, and they will die from that.
It usually happens when they get cold.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Check the frequently asked questions section for some basic info on new chicks. You should have a brooder set up for your chicks, where they wil be kept under a heat lamp untill they are well feathered out and the outside temperature matches the temperature that they should be kept at. The first week chicks are kept at 95 degree F, and each week you decrease 5 degrees. Leghorns are kept like any other type of chicks. You can keep different breeds of chickens together...Just read up on how to integrate chicks to older birds first.