Chicks to hatch in a day or two, I've got a couple of questions.

[donaltman3]

Hey, all I have to EE hens that are sitting on 5 eggs total. They are set to hatch this weekend. Both hens are in a coop with a built on run that you get from a farmers store. The two hens are sharing the small clutch of 5 fertile eggs and sit together inside it happily. The coop part is elevated off the ground and is inside the run. It has a ramp to enter it. My initial thoughts were to just put food and water up in the coop and use the elevated coop as a "brooder." The outside run door has a split door that I think will be handy when the chicks are a little older and come down out of the coop area. It will allow me to open the top half of the door so the hens can easily jump/fly out but still contain the smaller ones. This coop/run house is located in a larger 16x24 proper run that is fenced and has bird betting over the top. Also trying to figure out if I should put chick starter inside the coop/run and put regular food outside in the larger run.. or switch all to the same kind?

 

[chickens really]

As far as feed goes I supply Medicated Chick starter for my Chicks and feed my Adults Grower feed with oyster shell on the side..You can build a creep feeder for the Chicks..