Easter gift brings me here...

[Neezle]

I didn't expect to be a chicken raiser. None of us did, but lo and behold, we are, and dedicated to giving these two little girls lots of love and the best care.

But...we need help determining their age/breed, as the only instructions they came with were to keep them indoors for another week or two, and feed them what they came with (a ziplock bag of...what?!)

I posted in the Raising Chicks forum - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761714/age-breed-guesses-first-time-chick-raiser - if anyone out there is interested in giving a newbie some much-needed assistance!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Neezle, and

! Great to have you aboard! So, an impromptu chickken raiser! We accept all kinds around here. As a beginner, spend some time in the Learning Center link below - it will give you the ins and outs of responsible poultry care and upkeep. Also, if possible, visit a local farm and ranch store or grain elevator that sells chickens. There you can find the feed you need to start off with (it will likely be called chick starter...brand not as important). Also linked below is the Baby Chicks forum - it is question and answer but reading the old threads will help you immensely. One more thing - depending on where you live, your chicks will need to be inside for more than two weeks - should be until they are full feathered - like 4 weeks - before they head to an outside coop. Do you have them under a heat lamp now?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/11/raising-baby-chicks


Good luck ad enjoy your adventure!!!

 

[liz9910]

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!

Glad you joined us!!

 

[Neezle]

Thank you for the resources! I'll definitely check them out, I appreciate it.

They're currently in our livingroom, and seem comfortable (not shivering or huddling together). We got a larger box for them and intend to move them into the basement for the rest of their indoor stay. There are heat ducts in the basement, but it is still a little bit cooler than it is up here.

We're purchasing a coop tonight, and were going to pick up a heat lamp, but without knowing their age, how do I know what their ideal temperature should be? Since they seem comfortable here, should I aim for 72ish?

 

[Neezle]

Some are saying they're 3-4 weeks old. Do they need something for grit at this age or are the starter crumbles sufficient?

 

[drumstick diva]

Chicks can usually move to a coop when they are fully feathered out. As long as they are on chick food they don't need grit. BUt once they start scratching and pecking outdoors and eating grass, weeds etc or other treads they will need grit available to them

 

[Neezle]

Thanks for the info! I'm becoming accustomed to the idea now (what a shock it was to be thrown into this unaware) and am educating myself as quickly as I can. I don't want anything bad to happen to the babies!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[Neezle]

Thank you