Can 4 baby chicks survive in the winter alone with out a hen?

[a p p l e s]

I am planning to buy 4 chicks (female) and will keep them in the house untill they get a litter bigger but i was wondering if they can survive and not die in my back yard. Please tell me what the things i need to buy are. Btw can the chickens live in a chicken coop all winter long? please help i am very confused

 

[Cetawin]

They may need a heat lamp available for them inside their coop. They can stay in the coop all winter but once they are fully feathered and have some size to them (say older than 10 - 14 weeks) they can do a little outside time in the winter....the bigger and older they are they better. My girls go out everyday, if they want to. I just open the coop door and they decide, they come out and go inside as they please.

If they are not fully feathered, they will need a heat lamp and a maintained warm temperature to survive without a hen.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Cetawin is absolutly right. If they aren't fully feathered, they will need a heat lamp and a little extra maitence. What breeds are you thinking of getting? Some breeds feather much faster than others, and are much more cold tolerant.

 

[a p p l e s]

yo when they have feathers i wont need a heat lamp? because i am planning to keep them in my house for like 8 weeks

i want to keep it until they are big but my parents dont want them flying in the house :\\

 

[a p p l e s]

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[Smartie_Pants]

Depends on the breed on when they get feathers. What are you getting?

 

[a p p l e s]

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Whats a good cheap and frendly breed? i am very new to chickens and dont know a thing!

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Most breeds can be friendly, as long as you give them lots of love and attention. I think you would have a lot of fun with Easter Eggers. They are very colorful, lay colored eggs, and they have no wattles and combs that are close to their heads. In cold weather, breeds with single combs tend to frostbite very easily.

 

[monathequeen]

OK, HERE WE GO..

FIRST OF ALL TRY NOT TO INHERET BABY CHICKS IN THE WINTER IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. I SAY THIS BECAUSE MY LOVELY HEN DECIDED TO SIT AND I NOW HAVE 4 NEW BABIES. BUT THEY ARE ALMOST TWO MO,S OLD NOW AND I HAVE THE BEST MOTHER EVER.....I HAVN'T HAD TO DO A THING ACCEPT PROVIDE WATER AND FOOD.

SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE A HEN, YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH EVERYTHING THEY WILL NEED TO SURVIVE. HERE WE GO,

1- DO NOT PUT THEM OUTDOORS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE OR THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE.........

2- THEY WILL NEED A LARGE CARDBOARD BOX FOR A SHELTER.
PUT NEWS PAPER INSIDE THE BOX..LOTS OF PAPER...

3- YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY " MEDICATED CHICK-STARTER" FOR THEM TO EAT FOR THE FIRST 12 WEEKS. THEN SWITCH OVER TO 16% GROWER FEEDER FOOD.

4-GET A SMALL WATER CONTAINER THAT YOU FILL UP THEN TURN UPSIDE DOWN THAT ONLY LETS OUT A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER AT A TIME...YOU DONT WANT TO PUT WATER IN A BOWL THAT THEY CAN GET INTO. THEY CAN DROWN VERY EASILY IF THEY IMMERSE THEMSELVES. KEEP THEM OUT OF THE WATER.

5- A SHALLOW DISH WOULD WORK TOO AS LONG AS IT ISN'T MORE THAN 1/2 INCH DEEP.

6- HEAT LAMP THAT YOU CAN HANG ABOVE THEM 24 HRS. A DAY...DO NOT TURN OFF THE LIGHT AT NIGHT FOR THEY WILL NEED THE HEAT SOURCE TO KEEP THEIR BODY TEMP. UP. IF THEY GET TOO COLD, THEY COULD DIE.

7- THE HEAT LAMP SHOULD ONLY BE ABOUT 38 INCHES ABOVE THEM AND THEN RAISE THE LAMP EVERY WEEK TO ABOUT 12 INCHES. MAKE SURE IT'S NOT TOO CLOSE TO THEM SO YOU DON'T GET THEM TOO HOT.

WATER AND FOOD MUST BE CCHECKED SEVERAL TIMES A DAY SO THEY DONT GO WITHOUT...BABY CHICKS EAT AND DRINK CONSTANTLY FOR ABOUT 3-4 MONTHS.

WHEN YOU DO MOVE THEM OUTSIDE, I WOULD HAVE A VERY WARM ENCLOSURE FOR THEM TO SLEEP IN WITH STRAW FOR BEDDING.
i HAVE ABOUT 6 INCH DEEP STRAW BEDDING INSIDE MY COOP IN THE WINTER, IT PROVIDES WARM INSULATION FOR THEM.

THERY WILL NOT BE READY TO GO OUTSIDE FOR ATLEAST 12-16 WEEKS.
YOU ARE IN FOR A LONG, MESSY NOISY THREE MONTHS. BUT IT'S WORTH IT AS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BOND WITH THEM AND IT'S A VERY BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE TO GO THROUGH.
YOU WILL HAVE SO MUCH FUN WATCHING THEM GROW AND THEY GROW VERY FAST......

AT ABOUT 6 WEEKS, YOU CAN START USING WOOD SHAVINGS FOR BEDDING IN THE BOX. THEY WILL PECK AT EVERYTHING SO DON'T USE SHAVINGS WHEN THEY ARE SMALL. THEY WILL EAT THE WOOD AND CAN BECOME VERY ILL..

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG AND I HAVN'T COVERED HARDLEY ANYTHING ACCEPT GETTING PAST THE FIRST 3-MONTHS....

PLEASE GO ON LINE TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN "RAISING CHICKS" AND THERE YOU WILL FIND TONS OF VERY GOOD INFO....IT WILL BE YOUR BIBLE FOR YEARS TO COME....GOOD LUCK MY FRIEND...AND ENJOY YOUR NEW ADVENTURE...I'AM.

 

[fargosmom]

If you click on the "Learning Center" button at the left, you'll find a bunch of articles that will answer all your questions. One important point - it's not necessarily how high or low your heat lamp is, but what is the temperature - so you need to get some sort of thermometer to read the temperature where the chicks are, and make sure it stays consistent so your chickies grow up healthy and happy. Start at 90-100 degrees, then decrease 5 degrees each week till they have all their feathers. Anyway check out the learning center and you'll know everything! Well, maybe not everything . . . .