Getting chicks soon...what do I need?

[Scwood24]

Specifically, supplements and housing. We used to have a very cruddy but operational cage but we tossed it due to lack of use. We've decided on acquiring 6 chicks and the shipment arrives in the store on the 24th. I either need a really cheap cage or a way to make one cheap! Also, I hear if you supplement the babies that they're more likely to survive. Tips?

 

[QueenMisha]

You can use many things as a brooder. The important factors are 1. The chicks can't escape and 2. There is a place to hang the light. I'm fond of using rabbit/guinea pig cages, but also frequently utilize plastic storage bins.

The best bedding is shavings, be sure to get pine... cedar contains oils poisonous to poultry! The first 1-2 days, you should lay down either plain white printer paper or a light colored towel over most of the brooder, leaving the shavings exposed only on the edges of the towel/paper, and scatter a handful of feed across it. This will result in the chicks eating as soon as they are placed the in the brooder.

I always use Sav-A-Chick electrolytes and probiotics. 1 packet of each into 1 gallon of water (or 1/4 packet of each into 1 quart of water), mixed fresh daily for the first 3 or 4 days... it has saved the lives of many birds who were sickly due to shipping or hatching stress.

I also scatter around 1 teaspoon of Rooster Booster vitamins (must be crumble form) onto the towel/paper along with the feed, these always get my chicks off to a good start.

 

[Toddrick]

I used a large plastic storage bin for the first four weeks, and then moved them to the garage in a dog crate until they were ready to live outside.

Practically anything that holds them will be fine at first, even just a cardboard box (so long as your best source won't catch it on fire--which is why I like plastic). After a few weeks they will start jumping up, but you can just put some screen over the top.

 

[allyclair]

I use the top off an old guinea pig cage, with a base made out of coroplast (corrugated plastic). It only lasts them 3 weeks and then I move them outside to the coop.

I like the coroplast because it is really easy to get it clean. I like the guinea pig cage top because they get lots of ventilation.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are these your only chickens? What shape is the coop in? Do you have electricity out there? Are you north or south of the equator and what is your weather likely to be like? A simple really inexpensive solution may be to use the coop as the brooder.

My 3’ x 6’ brooder is in the coop. The chicks go in there straight out of the incubator whether the outside temperatures are in the 90’s or below freezing. I wrap it pretty well in the winter but it’s almost all wire in the summer, depending on temperatures. I only heat one end to give them a warm place to go if they need to warm up but let the rest cool off as it will. That way they can find their own comfort level.

You are only getting six but they do grow quickly. A popular brooder is to get a large appliance box or two, taped together if necessary, and put that in the garage or some outbuilding. You may be able to get a free box from a local appliance store. Or several large boxes taped together can work. I like the idea of free boxes and I do like being able to heat one area and give them cooler areas to go to if they get too hot. Too much heat can kill as fast or faster as too little heat. If given a chance they are really good about regulating the heat themselves by walking away or toward the heat source.

 

[SammileeChickie]

For my chicks I used an old guinea pig cage and covered it with a blanket and hooked the heat lamp on the side so half the cage got light
For the bedding I used puppy pee pads because I was so scared they would eat the shavings

For supplements I used sav a chick electrolytes and then I used finely crushed dried oregano because I read somewhere that it's good for chicks

 

[SammileeChickie]

OR.!
I'm sure you can use a plastic storage bin and cut a hole on the top and glue some netting on top I made my brother a hamster cage like that.

 

[azygous]

Consider alternatives to the traditional methods of brooding chicks with plastic or cardboard brooders with a heat lamp.

Read about heating pad brooding right inside your permanent coop on this forum under the thread titled "Mama heating pad in the brooder".

Since you have no adult flock to contend with, an existing coop can be used to house the chicks with a heating pad cave system so you don't have the dangers associated with a heat lamp. The thread covers experiences raising chicks under this system in temperatures well below freezing successfully, and no dusty mess from brooding chicks indoors.

 

[Barredrock360]

Some things you might need is...
1. Heat lamp 100-175 watts. I have a 250 watt bulb but I keep it a distance so they don't die.
2. chick starter food
3. a water container or source of water. Make sure its not big enough to drowned the baby chicks!!
4. A container like cardboard box, Tub, cabinet. There's lots of things you can use to put them in.
5. Pine shavings or hay for them to sleep on and to be comfortable.
6. Temperature gage to make sure they don't over heat or get to cold. It needs to be around 75-90 degree's.

 

[Scwood24]

I have plenty of heat lamps thanks to my reptiles lol I have a homemade waterer. I have a food dish. We are going to screen in a dog cage and use Aspen as bedding.