First Time Chick Parents, Spring 2016

[bantamm]

My chicks arrived! All safe and sound, apart from one who wouldn't stop running around yelling her head off (I had to name her Rebel, since with a rebel yell she cries cheep cheep cheep). She's still eating, drinking, sleeping under the MHP, and all the other regular chick stuff, so I think she's safe though. Crossing my fingers that she's just a drama queen. It's so hard to get good pictures of them, they're such active little guys, but here's a few:

 

[jwtyrcha]

Found a way to keep them off the top of the water bottle! A wiffle ball secured with packing tape! Working so far!

 

[schrefflers]

Very cute!

 

[schrefflers]

...

My husband has been out of state for work since before the chicks arrived. He hasn't even been home for 24hrs and he has already called me the crazy chicken lady

oh well lol[/quote
That's what I'm referred to as well! LOL. I admit that I am crazy over them

 

[schrefflers]

Well, they are finally outside in their new coop! It was time..they are growing up. I miss their peeping in the house already. But, they couldn't be happier outside with their little faces to the ground!

We will be putting up their fence by the weekend so that they can really stretch out!

 

[schrefflers]

Here is a pic of their little red barn coop

 

[whatthecluckman]

Newby chick parents here, we got ours on April 4th and are in love with our new babies! We ordered 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte and 3 Barred Rock chicks, but Cackle hatchery threw in an extra Barred (maybe because one of them was small?)

Nerd Alert: We're going to name all seven after female main characters in Star Trek shows: (Pecking order from highest to lowest)
1. Captain Janeway 2. Seven of Nine 3. Major Kira 4. T'Pol 5. Jadzia Dax 6. B'Lana Torres 7. Naomi Wildman

We put them in a clear plastic storage tub for a brooder and lined the bottom with puppy pads, then pine shavings...

But after a week they were already flying and landing on the top edge! They started flying onto our hands...
This is our pretty Wyandotte - she looks like she has eyeliner on.

So we ended up having to use this chicken pen we bought on Amazon and turned it upside down. Luckily we had a big cardboard box we put under it to catch all the shavings they would kick out. Got tired of seeing poops floating in the water so we put a piece of lumber under the waterer. These chicks are poop factories!

Now they are a little over 2 weeks old and their feathers are growing in! The Wyandottes are losing their stripes. They're really making use of the branch we stuck in there to use as a roost

They can't quite fly to the top, but not for lack of trying! Guess it's time to finish building the outdoor run?
Anyway, thanks to everyone for sharing their experience and pictures - we learned a lot from reading all the BYC forums, especially seeing that people are using puppy pads in the brooder - they are a lifesaver!

 

[kekstrom]

I am happy to report that our "accidentally perfectly timed vacation" went great and our chickies were in good hands! We happily and accidentally booked a family vacation at the same time we would possibly be raising our first batch of chicks.... and as soon as our accident was discovered. We lined up a chick-sitter, who happily took our 4 chicks in their brooder for the duration of our getaway. Said chick-sitter also happens to be my wonderful mother-in-law.

She took great care of them, and they looked happy, healthy, and MUCH bigger when I picked them up yesterday. I can't believe how much they can grow in such a short time. I am thankful they were just babies still, and so, making arrangements to take them inside the brooder made it easier for my mother-in-law to keep a good and loving eye on them. Now, we have to figure out a chicken-sitter to line up for any future vacations.

 

[collie1470]

Anybody here have a cockerel who loves his comb and wattles rubbed? Our boy, Red, adores it. He'll sit on my lap and angle his head with either his wattles or comb toward me and just stare until they get rubbed....then he falls asleep as I love on him. I think he's probably going to be our keeper boy. He's already protective of the girls (while not showing any aggressive posturing towards us at all, so hopefully that sticks lol). And he got loose today and came right over to me to be picked up, even though he was outside and could have easily made a run for it. He's the fastest developer and is already so handsome.

 

[stumpie]

My chicks are 6 weeks old, fully feathered. Is it ok to put them outside if temps are around 40 degrees at night but 70 turning the day. Any suggestion would be appropriated