first time new "mom" needs help

[mamarosa]

my chicks will come today, waiting for the post office to call
have everything ready, brooder, heat lamps etc
have read everything i can about my babies.
My question is, I know water stays on the cool side and you keep it with them always, but what about the food do you keep their food feeder full in the brooder or do you take it out and feed them a certain times of day
thanks

 

[MissPrissy]

Keep their feeder full. If you only have one 1 quart feeder you will be filling it a couple times a day. After a week you'll need 2 or more before moving on to a much larger feeder.

By the time they are a week old you can't even begin to imagine how they eat so much. LOL

This is a huge growth period for them. Mindful they will waste food so set your feeder up a bit off the floor of your brooder so they can't bill out as much.

 

[lovemychicks9]

Miss Prissy is so right!! They will eat so much that you will think they are little piggy's. I had 5 at a time in my brooder and they grew so fast that I ended up putting 2 feeders in and a water. I put my feeder in a pie tin so when they billed it out in went into the pie tin and it did not waste quite so much . The girls are now 8 weeks old and I have a 11 pound feeder outside in the run and a 8 pound feeder in the coop and I fill them at least 3 times a week so be prepared! Trudy