Help, I ordered baby chicks today!

[2DogsCoop]

Well I made a rookie mistake today, I feel like an idiot, I thought I ordered pullets which to me are birds less than one year of age at the stage to start laying. Well I guess they are babies, we have our coop almost ready, just need to put the chicken wire on it. I will have to get a brooder to keep them in. A couple of questions, 1. how long until we can move them to the coop? 2. Both my wife and I work and can they be left unattended for up to 6 hours? 3. Do we have to give any meds to them? We are going out of town in May and have a friend that can check on them twice daily but I am hoping they will be in the coop by then.

Thanks, Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I ordered them from Cackle Hatchery, 5 easter egg chickens and 10 RIR.

 

[paceysgl5]

Yay congrats on new babies!! Don't worry, they aren't that difficult to care for!

1. Until they are fully feathered out (6 weeks or so) OR until you can get heat in the coop. We just moved out ours who are between 4-6 weeks old and have 2 heat lamps in there and they are doing well.

2. They'll be fine during the day. Just be prepared to clean waterers in the morning, afternoon, & evening (and have 2 waterers so they have enough) and also you'll probably be filling the feeders once per day (2 of those too).

3. No meds, but it is nice to have something like Poly-Vi-Sol on hand in case one looks weak. Shipping does a number on them and you might get a couple that die in the first couple days or in shipment, so be prepared (mentally) for that.

 

[Fred's Hens]

They certainly can be left unattended all day. Set them up in the morning and again in evening and they'll be just fine. I only do chores in the morning and in the evening. That's it.

They can be left up to 3 days, usually, with adequate feeders and water in May, as the weather will be nice, I assume.

Having a KNOWLEDGEABLE helper check on them during your vacation is wise and folks do this sort of thing all the time, otherwise, none of us would ever go anywhere.

 

[kitchwitch]

If your coop has electric then you can put them there straight away. Don't give them access to the outside though, keep them inside the coop, perhaps in a corner so they're in a smaller space.

If your coop does not have electric then you'll need to bring them inside your house or garage for a little while. I brood my babies in rubbermaid storage containers. You'll need a heat lamp with a red bulb that will have to be on them at all times for the first week or so. Everybody broods their babies differently. Books will tell you to keep their brooder at 85-90 degrees for the first week but my brooders have NEVER gotten that warm. I start chicks inside where the ambient temp is about 75 and under their lamp they'll get to about 80. By the second or third week they have no heat lamp. My 3 week olds are actually just moved outside into a tractor with no supplemental heat. They're feathering out very quickly and doing very well. Mind you our days are now fluctuating between 45-70 degrees.

They can be left unattended no matter where you are keeping them, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. Typically baby chicks don't need any meds. at most, if they seem weak or lethargic, you can add Poly-Vi-Sol to their water. Poly-Vi-Sol is a liquid multivitamin for babies that can be picked up at any local supermarket or store.

I would let the PO know to call you ASAP and inform your place of work of the possibility of being late on the day you expect to get the chicks. When I first ordered chicks my PO called me at 6 am. Today I was expecting ducks and I was disappointed because there was no call at 6am. Instead they called me at 9:30am and had these babies arrived on Wednesday, I would have been at work already!

As far as your vacation, My DH and I go camping all the time and we just leave our full grown chickens with 2 large waterers full plus 2 small waterers, and 2 large feeders with food. We once left them with a flock block and I cannot recommend against it enough. I didn't get any eggs for almost 6 weeks after that! (I equate it to a massive block of scratch grains).

 

[ralleia]

I don't think you'll have to wait six weeks to move them out to the coop.

How's the weather in Naples, Florida? Low of 59 tonight? So long your coop isn't drafty, I'd probably move those chicks out of my house and into the coop in about week. They're going to start throwing shavings about and making a mess as they get bigger.

For brooding indoors, I use a galvanized feed bin with a window screen over it and a hanging lamp suspended about 18" above with an ordinary 70-watt bulb in it. DO NOT buy those 200 or 300 watt heat lamps unless you're brooding a hundred chicks in a large area. I have a collection of those never-used that were cast off from other people (and one that I bought myself--one of my rookie mistakes!)

Use wood shavings or the like for flooring. You don't want them slipping around and developing leg problems.

Also, set up a simple thermometer in the brooding area. The temperature on the floor near the lamp should be around 95 degrees F (according to published standards). Observe the chicks for clues--if they're huddled in a mass under the light, then they're too cold. If they are avoiding the light, it's too hot. If they're running around pecking at the food, falling into the water, and doing chick-things, then it's just right.

I don't think that mine was ever quite 95 degrees--usually in the 80's, in my house.

Red light is supposed to reduce pecking problems, but I've never had an issue with the chicks seriously pecking each other. A few pecks are normal.

Once the chicks become too big and messy to keep in the house, you'll need to set up a bigger brooding area in the coop. Let's get you through the first week though.