Getting chicks need advice

[Growley Monster]

I got my chickens 4 days ago there so cute I even got 4 extra. Anyway I was wondering are they old enough to have a roost . It's just that they keep sleeping on there poop and it's getting stuck in there butt fluff. Another question how much light do they need? The hatchery said 23 hours of light but it feels like a lot doesn't it? Final thing we are having a power outage in 2 days. It will last from 1 to 6pm what should I do about warmth?

They don't know nothin bout roosts yet, if they were day-olds when shipped. Your brood pen also has to be high enough for a roost or perch. In a couple of weeks you might want to give them something to roost on. When they are making wing-assisted leaps and jumps, they are ready for that.

I found that pine shavings work great for chick bedding. Just fluff them up and dump them in, about 4 to 6 inches deep. The pine shavings will gently ex-poopiate the little ones when they sit. Like Charmin, for little baby chickens who know nothing about hygiene yet. A good layer of shavings can absorb quite a lot of chicken poop and spilled water. When it gets stinky, into the compost pile with it, and lay in some fresh. A bale of it is pretty cheap.

I don't think they need that much light. I actually would wonder if that is too much, but I am not the expert on that. But it's a fact that MY recently acquired flock of Brown Leghorns did just fine with me turning the lights out at my bed time, and opening up the window blinds when I got up for my morning cappuccino and to check, feed, and water the little cheepers.

I expect that the first week of life is very temperature critical. They have only a very little bit of insulation, and they are not yet producing and retaining enough body heat. But as I recall, I think I stopped heating at the 3 week mark. I started with a bulb, then got a thermostatically controlled heated fan made just for the purpose.

Now here it is, June. I don't know about where you are at, but here in Coastal Louisiana it is in the upper 80's on a cool day. Low to mid 90's seems about right for their first week of life, and if they are cold, they will huddle up together. If the outage starts with them in an outdoor ambient temperature space like a detached garage, shed, or coop, I would cover their pen with a blanket and give them a jug of hot water or a hot water bottle. By the time it cools, the outage will be half over. You definitely should not lose any peeps unless you are like up in the mountains of New Hampshire or the Brooks Range or some place, where it is still actually cold. But if the brood pen is in an air conditioned space, you need to move them I think, just to be safe.

The usual temperature guidelines really apply more to a static condition than a temporary and changing one. Brief periods of sub-optimum temperatures do not seem to be harmful. You might be fine taking no precautions at all, for such a short length of time with no power. Imagine, if you will, a broody hen leaving her peeps alone in the nest or trailing along behind her, while she goes and scarfs up some food or treats. Then she sets again and they all snuggle up under and against her again. None of them froze to death. How bout that? OTOH, the suggestions above will be easy to implement and give you peace of mind, and comfort to your chicks. But if you are really paranoid about it, just keep a fire burning and warm up some bricks, and wrap them in a towel. They will stay nice and warm for a good half hour.

Now you only got 4, so not so effective for snuggling together to share body heat. But then again, just 4 of them will be easy to keep warm with jugs and bricks and stuff.

 

[kattabelly]

I'd say 5 days old is plenty old enough to add a low roost - just don't expect them to sleep on it yet, overnight at least. By a week old they'll probably start roosting for short daytime naps if it's warm enough. They'll enjoy having somewhere to hop up and climb about and perch on though, and being able to explore their space vertically is important for their development even from a really young age.

I use 25x50mm roof battens because the timber is cheap and I have lots of cutoffs lying around from other projects. You can build all sorts of fancy climbing frames but just a long piece as a roost, with a shorter piece attached perpendicularly at each end for extra stability and height, will be fine.