The night before the chicks were due to come I made sure the brooder was ready, bedding in, feeders and waterer clean, dry and ready to go, everything where I wanted it, fresh heat lamp bulbs, and heat lamp and thermometer placed where I wanted them...everything was ready, filled the feeder...etc. When I got the call at 6am Monday, I turned the light on so it would be warm when I got the chicks home, filled the water, and went to go get 'em. Brought them home, and as I took each one out of the box, I dipped its little beak in the water to make sure it got a drink. They all went to eating and drinking right away. Then I left them alone. I kept an eye on them of course, (oh, I took pics, and set out the gro gel that we opted to give them). But I figured they had been through enough stress in shipment, I didn't want to disturb them anymore the first day than I had to. I just watched them from overhead, and pretty much let them be.
We got an additive from the hatchery to put in the water for the first few weeks, and used the gro gel the first day, but I have seen people mention here about using poly-vi-sol, a children's vitamin supplement, in their water if you wanted? We just ordered "Quick Chick" from McMurray.
Good luck!
