First Time Chick Parents, Spring 2016

[MedSchlFarmers]

My chicks will be 7 weeks old in two days and have started flying to perch on the edges of their 3ft tall brooder! I really wish I hadn't been sick those first three weeks...coop is not done. I should have all the walls framed and up tomorrow. Maybe I can even get some rafters up and some boards on the walls. But then it's supposed to rain all week...grrr!

How many do you have? How big is your brooder? We had some flyers too. A baby gate on top of the brooder worked great for us. Cheap solution. Also, chicken wire or hardware cloth on top works great too.

 

[Parahawg]

I am new to having chicks I have 12 stright run 6 black Aust and 6 rir I am nervous after reading some of the things on here I have them in a through with a heat lamp food and water some times there huddling other times there all over the place here is a pic of my set up if anything needs to be changed please let me know

Im a first time brooder this spring also ...not till march 30th but cant wait,, to me your setup looks very good ,,, From everything i have read your set up looks fantastic, the only (potential) danger i see ,, could be the shavings ----- I dont know what you have in there ,,, i have been reading " no cedar Shavings "and not to use small shavings".
AS long as those are pine shavings, I would think you are golden...

 

[gmsmith1980]

Just got our coop finished today. If it gets as warm as they are saying its going to, I might let the baby chicks try it out during the daytime and bring them in when its cooler. Get an extension cord for the heat lamp and hook it on the coop just in case.

 

[gmsmith1980]

Here's my baby chicks on my oldest daughter's shoulders.

 

[gmsmith1980]

What I've learned so far.
#1: Move slowly and quietly.
#2: Start slowly and let the chicks make the first move.
#3: Once they discover a way out of the brooder box, they will take it every time.
#4: If you want friendly chicks, start early.
#5: They love to be as high as possible and will climb quickly to get where they want to be.
#6: They love their treats as much as their food.
#7: Fresh sod in the brooder box will distract them for over an hour.

 

[chicken24]

What I've learned so far.

#1: Move slowly and quietly.

#2: Start slowly and let the chicks make the first move.

#3: Once they discover a way out of the brooder box, they will take it every time.

#4: If you want friendly chicks, start early.

#5: They love to be as high as possible and will climb quickly to get where they want to be.
#6: They love their treats as much as their food.
#7: Fresh sod in the brooder box will distract them for over an hour.

What's fresh sod

 

[MedSchlFarmers]

Hello everyone! We are first timers too! We have 8 chicks, their ages range from 7 weeks to 9 weeks (1 silkie, 1 brown leghorn, 2 easter eggers, 2 barred rocks, 1 black sexlink, 1 lavender orpington). They have been outside for a week now and I thought I'd share our journey to moving them outside from the brooder, in case it is helpful to anyone looking to do the same in the coming weeks.

We got most of the chicks at 6 days of age. They were inside with a heat lamp for the first 3-4 weeks. I kept the heat lamp on one side of the brooder and adjusted the height based on the chicks behavior. If they huddled under the lamp I moved it down, if they didn't seem to be using it, I moved it up. I did not use a thermometer. I tried the first day and they knocked it over and jumped and pooped on it.

At 3-5 weeks of age we moved them to the un-heated garage with a heat lamp. (It was February, we live in North Carolina). The lows were in the mid-twenties. They were fine. When they were ranging in age from 5-7 weeks, we turned the heat lamp off during the day and turned it on at night for two days. Then, we turned it off completely for 3 days, but kept them in the garage. Then we moved them outside, they were ranging in age from 6-8 weeks at that time. They have done beautifully. (During the heat lamp weaning in the garage they spent the warmer days outside in the coop until nightfall)

I was concerned about them sleeping on the ground of the coop, rather than up on the roosting bars, where they would be MUCH warmer. (Our coop has hardware cloth on the bottom half, but plywood on the top half, so when they roost, they have a wind break.) I went out to check them after nightfall the first night and they were huddled on the floor, looking rather cold. I placed each one on the roosting bar and went back out to check an hour later. They were still on the bars. I checked a few hours after that, and they were still on the bars. The second night I had to place them on the bars again. The third night, I went out to put them on the roosting bars and they had already done it themselves! I was THRILLED. Now, they start making their way up the ramp each night as it starts to get dark. Once it is dark, chickens stay put.

Good luck with the transition!

 

[gmsmith1980]

A chunk of dirt (sod) from the yard.

 

[chicken24]

A chunk of dirt (sod) from the yard.

Oh thank you

 

[gmsmith1980]

You are welcome.