Getting chicks in the morning! Quick advice?

[Kristin228]

I'm finally getting 3-4 chicks tomorrow morning! I'm so excited!!! My local feed store opens at 8am and they are getting their first shipment of chicks and I plan on being the first one there! They have a great selection.

Any last minute advice for me?(don't worry I've been researching chickens for about 3 years

)

 

[arizonachickens]

Which feed store are you going to ?
At my local tractor supply you have to buy a minimum of 6 chicks , I bought 21 barnevelders

 

[Kristin228]

Which feed store are you going to ?
At my local tractor supply you have to buy a minimum of 6 chicks , I bought 21 barnevelders

It's not a TSC it's a local feedstore and you can buy as little as one chick

 

[barred2rock]

I would make sure that the feed store has them on hand for at least 24 hours and cared for properly before taking any home. The first 24 hours after birth or shipment are the most risky (for the lack of a better word) time for a chick. If you wait, you'll be less likely to see losses in your care due to dehydration, mishandling during shipping or illness.

ETA: You'll also want the brooder, heat source (whether heat lamp, heat pad or heat plate) and all the supplies you'll need for your new chicks, setup and ready before you bring any chicks home.

 

[dandan111]

Keep them warm. Buy some good starter grower. I keep mine in heated garage with a light on them the
First week or so. Then they go to barn in a big tub with
Lamp.

 

[Pork Pie]

These links may help

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-your-baby-chicks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens

 

[kajira]

My advice, talk/handle them daily/alot as babies. It makes transitioning them to adults so much easier if you ever need to care for them. Including trimming nails, cleaning vents, checking/administering meds as needed, etc.

Plus, there's nothing quite like cuddles from a chicken.

 

[lutherpug]

If you can set your brooder up so you're not reaching for them from above but rather at their level it may help them be less skittish with you. I've done it both ways with 2 batches of chicks and the 2nd crew warmed up to me sooner.

That said, don't despair if they're not as cuddly as you want or expect right away. They calm down quite a bit as they get closer to egg laying age. I had one I was just exasperated with for a couple of months and now she is the sweetest thing ever. She used to run away from me and scream bloody murder when I finally caught her. What a difference!

 

[MigraineMan]

You definitely want to get "several." We picked up six of the little buggers, and they're quite social. They get upset when placed in isolation - when cleaning the brooder or checking vents for pasty-butt. The first one into the "jail" and the last one out will scream for his/her siblings. (We have since cut slots into the cardboard partition we use to separate them - they can see each other from either side, and they're much more calm about being moved from one side to another.)

That said, "pasty butt" is a big deal, and can kill your chicks in less than a day. We had it, and two of our chicks were severely constipated. They were very loud, and continued being loud even after we released the torrent of chickie-poo. I expect there was discomfort from being plugged-up.

I can't say I'm an expert, but if the chicks are being loud, it's likely that something is wrong.

 

[Rainwing]

I'd be extra vigilant and look for problems in the chicks. Last year I got 6 chicks from Tractor Supply, and they had quiet crackling or popping noises coming from them. Turns out it was a respiratory illness and it killed one of them very quickly. It's advisable to have doxytetracycline or Sav-A-Chick nearby just in case something like that happens. Also like MigraineMan said, pasty butt is a problem that's really common.

This year my chicks are from Tractor Supply again, they have had no problems but one of them has her wing feathers sticking straight out like an airplane.