First time chicken owner here!

[GcandJdinMe]

Hello folks! Very first time chicken owner here my hubby came home from TSC and surprised me with nine lil baby chicks and now I want to learn how to do the best I can to take care of them and keep them healthy and happy

so first things first, we have:
- 3 speckled Sussex (straight run)
- 3 Australorp black (straight run)
- 3 Rhode Island reds (pullets)

looks like the reds are a little older than the others, they are bigger and starting to feather in little tufts.

Some questions I have for this community:

- I have 6 straight run chicks!! Isn’t that too many? What do I do if I end up with 4 or 5 roosters?? I’m feeling a little anxious about this possibility because I only wanted around 4 laying birds to start and now I have 9 birds and most of them are a mystery Sex

- we have them in a 3x6 tub at the moment. I change their water and shavings every day. I clean out all the shavings from their food and check them for pasty butt (some had it when we got them, fixed it with warm water and gentle rubbing with gauze). I feed them the chick starter from the bag and i put some probiotic powder in a separate water bowl for them. Is there anything else I need to do this week?

- ....what about next week? How do I know when they have outgrown their tub and need a bigger space? What happens to them if their space is not large enough?

- what about treats? I don’t give them any treats now as they are about 3-5 days old and what I saw on this community was that’s a little too young. When should I start and what should I offer them? Also, I don’t have any grit. When do I need to introduce that?

...we are planning to Build them a coop outside starting now so that it’s ready for them when they are big enough. I’m going to go look at the coop forum for ideas but if anyone has a link of a good starter-coop please send my way!!!

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your help! I am a little over my head and am determined to do a good job for these babies!

 

[AppleMomma65]

Hi - congrats! Super cute photos! I too am new to chickens (mine are 12 days old) and this place is very helpful! I Assuming you have a heat source? Either a lamp, or a heat plate? Chick grit at two/three weeks in a separate container, then can do treats (grit helps to digest). I bought dried meal worms. They will grow very quick and mine have started to "fly" already! Be prepared to move to another brooder box as they need to feather out fully before you can put them outside (not sure where you are from) - about 6-8 weeks. Enjoy - they are so fun to watch

 

[GcandJdinMe]

Thanks @AppleMomma65 ! Yes, forgot to mention we do have a heat lamp with extra bulbs for them.
What did you use for a larger brooder?

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Welcome! You'll also want to get them out of the house as soon as you can because, well, they'll stink like crazy the older they get (think 9 little birds pooping 9 times a day!).

For your questions-

- Yes 6 straight runs *could be* 6 cockerels! It's actually quite the game on here to post pictures of your 4 weeks olds+ and see others try to sex them, so you can at least find out early.

- HEAT! You need a heat lamp in there until they are at least 4-6 weeks old. Even though it seems silly, they need a good 85-95 degrees while they grow!

- They will outgrow that 3x6 tub in like 4 weeks or so and you will want them outside! Or in your garage at least! They're ok to be bunched up some as long as they have room to get around. You'll know when it is time to move them because they'll escape the tub! There's a coop building section on here that can give you a ton of ideas. It's a lot of fun to build one, but it may actually be easier / more cost effective to just buy one the first time around.

- You don't need any treats- save that for when they get older. You can feed them from your hand when they're hungry, that's just as fun. They don't officially need grit this young, but it's great if you could put some dirt in there in a little tub and they'll find what they need.

 

[GcandJdinMe]

Thank you @BaaKaaawk ! This is really helpful!
If I move them outside at 4 weeks, should I also have the heat lamp outside for them?

 

[AppleMomma65]

Thanks @AppleMomma65 ! Yes, forgot to mention we do have a heat lamp with extra bulbs for them.
What did you use for a larger brooder?

Right now, I've got a large wire dog kennel so I am in the same position as you. I am going to have my husband build a larger "pen" using some plywood and 2x4s with a tarp bottom and will move them in another two weeks or so. Will use a wire top so they don't fly out. Seriously - mine are testing their wings and flying over each other for food, for pecking order, etc. It's crazy - wasn't expecting that to happen this soon.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Thank you @BaaKaaawk ! This is really helpful!
If I move them outside at 4 weeks, should I also have the heat lamp outside for them?

Most people will usually at least give them the option of heat until 6 weeks or so- but weather is a factor. If it is 90 degrees out, clearly they have enough heat. If it is 30 degrees they may need the lamp for 8 weeks.

Since we're coming into Spring I imagine in a month, wherever you are, will be plenty warm enough to put them outside without heat. Once they have full feathers (their wings will come in first, then their tails, then finally the rest of the bodies) you're good at most temperatures.

 

[GcandJdinMe]

Ok sounds good! This is all so helpful I think I will need to move them to a bigger brooder even before they go outside ... my reds are already flapping around too! Their wings are getting big!

 

[rosemarythyme]

What do I do if I end up with 4 or 5 roosters?? I’m feeling a little anxious about this possibility

- ....what about next week? How do I know when they have outgrown their tub and need a bigger space? What happens to them if their space is not large enough?

- what about treats? I don’t give them any treats now as they are about 3-5 days old and what I saw on this community was that’s a little too young. When should I start and what should I offer them? Also, I don’t have any grit. When do I need to introduce that?

First, yell at your hubby for getting straight run then come up with a plan on what you want to do with unwanted cockerels. Our current plan is to donate them as dinner. Other possibilities are advertising them/selling them as pets, dinner, what have you, donating to a raptor rescue, learning to butcher them yourself. If you want to keep them you might consider building a bachelor pen for boys only, as you're possibly going to have too many boys for the girls.

Your tub is big enough for a few weeks. Once they start feeling crowded you might see some tussling or pecking but chicks are a little less prone to that than adults. Not sure if you have a cover for that tub, but if not, you need to make one immediately - either take the existing lid and cut out most of the center and replace with wire mesh, or stretch wire mesh onto a wood frame and pin it down with some bricks on top.

I choose to give them grit immediately but I also brood outdoors on the ground, so possibility of the chicks picking up random stuff to eat is pretty high. Treats, you can give them some very sparingly (like 1 or 2 mealworms a day) but yes they'll need grit to help break down any treats they get.