HELP! Its my first time ordering!!!!

[hunterkipferl]

SO in December I ordered chicks from ideal poultry! They will be shipped out February 12thThis is my first time ordering and using a brooder. I have had chickens before but none that needed a brooder before. My husband made quite the brooder but I have a couple questions! For instance WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!?

Can I take them out to play during the day or do I have to leave them in the brooder? Do I have to make a "nesting area" for them to sleep in? Do I need little roosts (so cute!) I am so excited yet so nervous! Any tips and Especially pics would be greatly appreciated!

This is what I got!:

5 Black Silkie Chicks
5 White Silkie Chicks
5 Grey Silkie Chicks
5 Buff Silkie Chicks
5 Partridge Silkie Chicks
5 Red Silkie Chicks
5 Blue Silkie Chicks
5 Self Blue Silkie Chicks (Lavender)
6 Bantam Ameraucanas Chicks
2 French Guinea Chicks
2 Fawn and White Runner Female Ducklings (For My Mom In Law)
1 Black and White Magpie Female Duckling
1 Black East India Female Duckling
1 Blue Swedish Female Duckling
1 Rouen Female Duckling


HELP WANTED!!!!

 

[SelfMadeFarming]

When I have mine in a brooder, I just have pine shaving on the floor, they will usually just sit right in it and not on a roost until they are a little older.
I always played with mine, but they usually poop on me.

I never had any die or get sick. Keep them warm with a heat lamp, food and water and clean bedding (pine shaving) and they should be happy and healthy.

 

[SelfMadeFarming]

Here's a pic of my girls when they were about a week old in their brooder

 

[chickyscratch]

wow thats a good order.. the ducks in my opinion should be seperated from the chicks. those chicks are very tiny and can get stepped on and squished by the ducklings. ducklings also love water as you can imagine and will get water on the floor and on the chicks making them cold and could get sick or die. keep them away from drafts and keep a heat lamp on them all.if they get cold they will huddle up and that is where some may get squished. change there waters when they start to become dirty, or it could introduce them to bacteria that can cause them to get sick as well.keep their bedding dry and clean with that many it doesnt take long . it may seem as though there arent that many till they start growing, they grow fairly fast. i used a kids pool and it worked pretty good because you can put cardboard boxes around it to make taller keeping them from drafts and keep them warmer i stapled the cardboard together using a bag stapler you could also sew them together using twine on the outside so they dont see the string because they see it they will try to pick at it later.remember to get it tight so they dont get out and get cold. i put smallrocks down first on the floor and some sand then i used wheat straw but you have to keep it clean. yes they start to jump and fly also. roosters will start to crow earlier than you think and at first sound real funny.hope this helps connie

 

[donrae]

I'd give them a week or so, but after that you can take them outside for some "play time". Remember, when a broody hen raises a chick, the chicks actually spends very little time under the momma after the first week or so. So, being outside will simulate how a chick's raised naturally.

You don't need a specific nesting area, they'll use the whole brooder as their bed. They'll sleep wherever they're comfortable temp-wise, as long as you have a warm area AND a cool area.

Chicks do like roosts, but they're mostly for play, as perches during the day. They won't sleep on them until they're several weeks old as a rule. Just make sure the perches aren't so high the chick can fly out!

Brood the chicks and ducklings separate. Ducks are horribly messy. Horribly!

You have 46 chicks ordered---That's going to take one large brooder! How long do you plan to keep them in the brooder, and then what are you housing plans? Is your coop and run large enough for that many birds? Also, what are you going to do with the ~23 roosters you get?

 

[hunterkipferl]

Thank you Donrae, I have a HUGE brooder lol my husband is a trooper made it by hand its amazing! and I think what im going to do is put up a divider in the middle of it he used ply wood to make a big box were putting the top on it tomorrow going to cut "windows" out off the top put some wire on it. I am so excited! For my birthday (march) my grandfather is making me a HUGE coop with an even bigger run for me with all the little accessories I could ask for! I am one lucky girl! I would LOVE some pics of everyone babies and their brooders/coops!

 

[lazy gardener]

How big is this brooder? You're going to need at least 1 - 2 s.f. per chick, not to mention the ducks before you are done brooding them.

 

[LTygress]

For instance WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!?

Can I take them out to play during the day or do I have to leave them in the brooder? Do I have to make a "nesting area" for them to sleep in? Do I need little roosts (so cute!) I am so excited yet so nervous! Any tips and Especially pics would be greatly appreciated!

This is what I got!:

5 Black Silkie Chicks
5 White Silkie Chicks
5 Grey Silkie Chicks
5 Buff Silkie Chicks
5 Partridge Silkie Chicks
5 Red Silkie Chicks
5 Blue Silkie Chicks
5 Self Blue Silkie Chicks (Lavender)
6 Bantam Ameraucanas Chicks
2 French Guinea Chicks
2 Fawn and White Runner Female Ducklings (For My Mom In Law)
1 Black and White Magpie Female Duckling
1 Black East India Female Duckling
1 Blue Swedish Female Duckling
1 Rouen Female Duckling

What the heck are you doing? The same thing every other chicken owner does when they discover mail-order and online hatcheries! I've got an order about that same size coming in April, but all of mine will be chickens. No ducklings or guineas.

First, like everyone else said, separate the ducklings and chicks. I'd separate the guineas as well though, just to have each species in it's own area.

Next, don't worry about a separate nest area. You'll come to realize that when a baby chick sleeps, they look dead. They just collapse where ever they are, and start snoozing. But it is SO relaxed, they will seriously look dead. Head is out, wings are sprawled, and feet go in which ever direction they want to. That being said, they really don't care about where they are. If they are sleepy and they are warm enough/cool enough, then that's where they'll sleep. If you make a bedding area, it won't really get used.

And roosting is out of the question for brooders too. You have mostly silkies, which aren't likely to go very far up for brooding at all (assuming they ever leave the nest). And even if they do roost, it will be MANY months before they do. Long after you move them outside, they'll probably still be piling up in a corner at night. So no need for a roosting bar in the brooder. Wait until they go outside to the coop for that.

As for going outside, wait until they are three days old, and then it's fine. Mommy hen only waits about 1-3 days after the first one hatches, to give other eggs a chance to hatch too. Then she starts taking them out of the nest to explore and eat and drink. All you have to watch for as a surrogate mommy, is whether or not they are able to stand up properly and walk yet. At that point, they are exposed to the elements if they are with mommy (well, not rain - she'll run for cover in that instance), so you are fine to do the same with your chicks. Ducklings too. Of course, don't keep them outside during the rain, but I don't think you'll want to be out playing with them then, even if they could handle it anyway.

Oh, and put the calculator away. It can not perform chicken math for you...

 

[donrae]

How big is this brooder? You're going to need at least 1 - 2 s.f. per chick, not to mention the ducks before you are done brooding them.

This is my question also. "Huge" can vary a lot from person to person. For those chicks alone, you're going to need around 50 square feet.......

 

[hunterkipferl]

What the heck are you doing? The same thing every other chicken owner does when they discover mail-order and online hatcheries! I've got an order about that same size coming in April, but all of mine will be chickens. No ducklings or guineas.

First, like everyone else said, separate the ducklings and chicks. I'd separate the guineas as well though, just to have each species in it's own area.

Next, don't worry about a separate nest area. You'll come to realize that when a baby chick sleeps, they look dead. They just collapse where ever they are, and start snoozing. But it is SO relaxed, they will seriously look dead. Head is out, wings are sprawled, and feet go in which ever direction they want to. That being said, they really don't care about where they are. If they are sleepy and they are warm enough/cool enough, then that's where they'll sleep. If you make a bedding area, it won't really get used.

And roosting is out of the question for brooders too. You have mostly silkies, which aren't likely to go very far up for brooding at all (assuming they ever leave the nest). And even if they do roost, it will be MANY months before they do. Long after you move them outside, they'll probably still be piling up in a corner at night. So no need for a roosting bar in the brooder. Wait until they go outside to the coop for that.

As for going outside, wait until they are three days old, and then it's fine. Mommy hen only waits about 1-3 days after the first one hatches, to give other eggs a chance to hatch too. Then she starts taking them out of the nest to explore and eat and drink. All you have to watch for as a surrogate mommy, is whether or not they are able to stand up properly and walk yet. At that point, they are exposed to the elements if they are with mommy (well, not rain - she'll run for cover in that instance), so you are fine to do the same with your chicks. Ducklings too. Of course, don't keep them outside during the rain, but I don't think you'll want to be out playing with them then, even if they could handle it anyway.

Oh, and put the calculator away. It can not perform chicken math for you...

HAHA calculator is in the trash! Thanks so much for the helpful insight!