Brooder, grit, coop age and more questions.

[vanilla.exe]

Okay so my boyfriend is supposed to be picking up my silkie chicks today after work (fingers crossed). They will probably be anywhere from 3-5 weeks old (when I first talked to her she had chicks 2-4 weeks old) so I wanted to know if this kennel will be a good brooder:

It has ventilation holes all along the sides and back, but not big enough for a chick to get out of (or my kitty to get in). I could lean my tortoises ceramic heat emitter to one side so they can stay warm. How old will they have to be until I can put them in their coop? Also, would they be okay over night without food until we can go get some tomorrow or is that no good? And one more thing: Can I use the sand from my back yard as grit, and can I use play sand as grit? I used to give my quail play sand as something to dust bathe in and use as grit, they never had any problems with it.

And could anyone point me to a place that has week-by-week photos of silkie chicks growing up?

Sorry for all of the questions and stuff!

 

[Wildflower_VA]

Cart before the horse--You need food before you pick up the chicks. Why can't boyfriend stop and pick up food before picking up chicks?

 

[vanilla.exe]

Because he's already driving an hour out of the way to get the chicks after work, making it 2 extra hours until he gets home. I've been telling him that I will go to the feed store and get the food since there's one like a 10 min bike ride away but he said NO, he wants to buy it. Anyway since he works all week and he has the car we do all of our shopping on Saturday.

 

[redbarnfeathers]

I would definitely get food also...they will get weak without food, baby chicks eat and drink constantly.....

also, the play sand should work just find for dust bathing or the dirt in your yard, either one.....

 

[Magenta_Chick]

Agree, they need food. It's very important for a growing chick

 

[vanilla.exe]

Is there anything I can make them to last the night? What did chickens eat before humans invented chicken food?

 

[wayneh]

vanilla.exe :

Okay so my boyfriend is supposed to be picking up my silkie chicks today after work (fingers crossed). They will probably be anywhere from 3-5 weeks old (when I first talked to her she had chicks 2-4 weeks old) so I wanted to know if this kennel will be a good brooder:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff283/vanillaxtiffy/kennel.png

It has ventilation holes all along the sides and back, but not big enough for a chick to get out of (or my kitty to get in). I could lean my tortoises ceramic heat emitter to one side so they can stay warm. How old will they have to be until I can put them in their coop? Also, would they be okay over night without food until we can go get some tomorrow or is that no good? And one more thing: Can I use the sand from my back yard as grit, and can I use play sand as grit? I used to give my quail play sand as something to dust bathe in and use as grit, they never had any problems with it.

And could anyone point me to a place that has week-by-week photos of silkie chicks growing up?

Sorry for all of the questions and stuff!

question #1 how many chicks are you getting? your kennel will work good for a brooder for maybe 2 or 3 chicks.
#2 we have RIR's and Sexlinks, they went into the coop at 3 weeks. we gave them a heat lamp just in case of cold weather.
#3 they don't need to go without food. food needs to be available 24/7. water also.
#4 sand works great as grit, just not play sand. use construction, or building sand.
hope you have great luck with your chicks.​

 

[starlingk]

Our chicks eat constantly ... and when I refill their feeder they fall on it like they've never eaten before. Maybe the person you're getting the chicks from can sell you enough food to get through the night?

Good luck!

 

[Wildflower_VA]

vanilla.exe :

Is there anything I can make them to last the night? What did chickens eat before humans invented chicken food?

Before humans invented chicken food, chickens were never kept in a dog kennel where they didn't have access to natural food. They ate bugs, worms, vegetation, nuts, berries and so on. The two circumstances have no relation to each other. If you absolutely can't find a way to run by wherever you intend to buy chicken feed, you can hard boil some eggs and chop them up, add some finely chopped fresh veggies and throw in some grain like oatmeal. However, this should be considered an emergency feeding ration only.​

 

[vanilla.exe]

Quote:
Before humans invented chicken food, chickens were never kept in a dog kennel where they didn't have access to natural food. They ate bugs, worms, vegetation, nuts, berries and so on. The two circumstances have no relation to each other. If you absolutely can't find a way to run by wherever you intend to buy chicken feed, you can hard boil some eggs and chop them up, add some finely chopped fresh veggies and throw in some grain like oatmeal. However, this should be considered an emergency feeding ration only.

Same thing with indoor cats and dogs. Imo, they still do better on a more natural diet, even if it's provided to them in a bowl rather than them hunting on their own. I *am* going to try my best to get them their proper feed before he gets home with them, but in the event that it's not possible, thank you for the recipe.