Help! Chicks arriving soon, but so is a cold front

[aart]

You might want to put an open waterer in there for now,
the HN's can be pretty hard for them to operate that young.

 

[OasiVerde]

You might want to put an open waterer in there for now,
the HN's can be pretty hard for them to operate that young.

Thank you Aart. I will do that after dinner. I was already watching them and was wondering if they would get enough to drink. The stronger ones don;t seem to have an issue, but I have two/three that are weaker

 

[aart]

Thank you Aart. I will do that after dinner. I was already watching them and was wondering if they would get enough to drink. The stronger ones don;t seem to have an issue, but I have two/three that are weaker

I'm a big HN fan....but IME chicks do have a hard time with them so I an use open waterer at first, then slowly switch them over to only HN's while watching daily consumption. Often will put the open waterer out for awhile before sleep time to make sure they are well hydrated overnight.

 

[RoosterML]

Looks like you have got things under control over there. I would not have a problem putting them in the original brooder set-up you have. Cover the open sides with some cardboard that you have to keep any drafts down. I would go with this type of waterer (see picture) for the first week or so at least. Not a large opening so the chicks can't fall in and get wet. I think the one i used for day old chicks is actually for quails or pigeons. I also like to have everything in twos if i have to leave for awhile. Next thing you know waterer falls over and they didn't have any for a long time.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I place marbles in the water to keep them from sticking beaks into far are getting soaked when they fall asleep on the waterer. ( had it happen several times).but the waterer the last poster was showing may be easier to clean How cold is cold front where you are? They may be ok out there depending how cold a cold front is

 

[azygous]

You're doing great! I'm all for raising chicks outside in coop or run, but you may already know that about me. I've had new chicks arrive during very cold periods, and once they are stabilized from their shipping stress, they do splendidly at freezing temps at night, and if it warms up to the low 50s during the day, they will be very active running around instead of hunkering down under the heat plate all the time.

Just be sure the weak ones have conquered their shipping stress before you move them all into the outdoor brooder. Poultry Nutri-drench will revive them and they should then be good to go.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good to know they are doing well. It looks like you are using pine shavings for bedding. Great stuff, however, as a precaution, get an air filter going in the room the chicks are being kept in. Between the bedding and the starter feed you are going to get a lot of dust, I mean a whole lot of dust. Good luck with your wee ones and keep updating us on their progress.

 

[OasiVerde]

Thank you all for your replies. An update on the chicks.
@Rachel Taylor The cold front is currently here. Temps are dropping to 30 and 20mph wind from the north. All chicks are still indoors. We will probably get 3 nights with freezing temperatures and the weather forecast shows by next weekend night temperatures will be up to 47. @azygous I am planning to move them to the outdoor brooder next weekend. Would like to get strong, healthy chicks.

Within the first 48 hours, I had 4 chicks that passed away. I am not sure if this was due to the shipping or if they were already weak/genetics. I am not going to worry to much about it, I have 13 strong chicks left and I am going to focus on them. The chicks that passed away at least had comfortable last moments. I separated them and put them in my laundry room under a heat lamp and on a towel. Gave them the water mix with a little syringe every hour or so. All of them had the same symptoms, laying on their side/tummy and gasping for air. Hart breaking to watch.

@aart I changed the waterer to one that is easier for the chicks.
@RoosterML I will go to TSC this week to buy a second waterer and feeder. They are growing super fast and getting stronger, yes would be worried if they knock over the waterer.

 

[Dancing With Chickens]

I need advise. I am having chicks arriving, hopefully, today. They were shipped on Monday afternoon, so they have been in a box for almost three days already.
Side note: USPS can't tell me where they are, tracking info is not updated and when I call they don;t know other than the info I can see online too - this is the first and last time I order chicks that need to be shipped
But anyway: we are getting a strong cold front coming in tonight, with gusty winds and rain. And beginning of next week the night temperatures will drop to near freezing. The chicks will be in a brooder on the soil in the big coop. I have a heating plate ready for them.
Would you put them in there or would you rather take them into the garage till the temperatures rise again?
They will probably be weak from the whole trip and maybe dehydrated
Please share your experiences and/or advise on what to do. TIA

I see this happen a lot, and something similar happened to me, where the weather was cold (not freezing for sure!), and the shipping took an extra day. Call your post office frequently and tell them you're expecting a shipment of live chickens. They'll call you as soon as the order is ready. When your chicks do come, dip each of their beaks into electrolyte and sugar water. This will give your chickens an energy boost so that way they have energy to eat. Lay down rubber shelf liner and sprinkle food on the ground so hat way they have easy to access to feed and they can learn what food is. Doing this the first two days you have them is a good idea. I had one chick who came who was so weak she could barely stand, and I had to dip here beak in the sugar/ electrolyte water every ten minutes, along with feeding the whole flock hard boiled egg yolks as those are full of vitamins and are really good for chicks. She made it, luckily, and now is one of the most energetic of the flock!
For the cold temperatures, I would move them into a garage or even a spare room in your house the first week. Since they have no feathers, they have no way to keep themselves warm. I brought mine inside the house and put them in the laundry room the first two weeks as the one was weak and the temps were in the 30's and 40's at night. I suggest using a heat lamp and the heating plate, especially if you're leaving them outside. Hope this helps!

 

[meetthebubus]

Sorry for your babies... are you doing medicated feed? That may be recommend