Chicken Newbie

[Gembeag]

Gembeag
Hi everyone,
The Reception class at my school have hatched chicks and I brought 4 home yesterday! Complete novice, excited and a little scared! They are sex linked 'golden hens' and are between 2 and 3 weeks old. They are in a box in our kitchen under a lamp and we have taken delivery of a coop that now needs putting together. Does anyone have any tips or advice they think I should have. Loving this site, so helpful.x

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! Congratulations on your new chicks Raising chicks is such a rewarding experience and lots of fun. My top tip would be to check out the learning centre for lots of super articles on raising them. Here is the link > https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
They will need to be under heat untill they are fully feathered so approximately 6-8 weeks. Keeping them well fed, watered and clean you should have some good healthy egg layers there. Once you do move them out make sure they are secure and no predators can get them. Most of all enjoy this experience keeping chickens is fantastic.

Be sure to ask any questions that you may have around the forum there is a section for all your questions. Everyone here to help you along the way and very friendly.

Enjoy BYC and all the chicken chat

 

[Gembeag]

Hi Yorkshire Coop, thanks. I'm a little chicken obsessed already!

 

[drumstick diva]

They will be trying out their wings soon, so it's best to have a wire cover for their box. If they flew out, they wouldn't be able to get back in and would get chilled or injured- if their are cats or dogs in the house.

I like the "Raising Backyard Chickens," forum - a menu opens to the right and there are several topics that probably would be of interest to you. Welcome to Backyard Chickens - hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

We have 3 of the red sex link girls in our mixed flock and they are super layers of large brown eggs. They are friendly, inquisitive birds and love to eat. Here is a link to take you to a great chart of healthy treats:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

Keep the treats to no more than 10% of their diet and make sure they have grit and crushed oyster shell available to eat whenever they want it.

Have fun with your new flock and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Gembeag]

Thank everyone for all your comments. Drumstick Diva, they do have a wire top to their box and yes we do have dogs-2 beagles!

NorthFLChick, I haven't introduced any treats yet, they are just having Chick crumb and water. Should they be having grit yet or when they are having other foods/treats as well as their crumb? Unfortunately/fortunately, I am a teacher information freak and have loads of stupid questions! I would like to introduce a perch- how wide should it be? Should their feet sit on it or should they be able to wrap their feet round it? Thanks.x

 

[N F C]

Thank everyone for all your comments. Drumstick Diva, they do have a wire top to their box and yes we do have dogs-2 beagles!

NorthFLChick, I haven't introduced any treats yet, they are just having Chick crumb and water. Should they be having grit yet or when they are having other foods/treats as well as their crumb? Unfortunately/fortunately, I am a teacher information freak and have loads of stupid questions! I would like to introduce a perch- how wide should it be? Should their feet sit on it or should they be able to wrap their feet round it? Thanks.x

You can introduce them to a couple treats now if you want, that's when you'll want the grit to be available. For the roost, chickens sit on their feet so go with something flat vs. something round. In your coop, a 2x4 placed so they can sit on the wide side works well.

Good luck to you!

 

[Gembeag]

Thank you. Daft question! Is that 2cm by 4cm or inches? 'Cos inches will make it enormous!!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Gembeag]

Any idea how big they will be at 6/8 weeks?