HELP!!! Picking up 6 baby chickens in 48 hours - What am I forgetting?

[Jim19053]

Ordered (6) 17 week old chickens from Moyers Chicks in Quakertown, PA and will be picking them up in 2 days. They are a cross between RIR and White Rock egg layers. I am finishing up my coop (44"by5ft) with a 10 ft run totally enclosed with 19 gauge 1/2" hardware cloth. I incorporated a lot of ideas that I read on this great site. Will have pics up soon. I just purchased 50lbs of feed recommended for this age chicken. I have pine chips to put in the coop. I have a feeder and water bowl. What else do I need? What should I be aware of when bringing these little guys home? I have a 4ft fence around the yard- are these girls going to fly away as soon as I let them out? Should I put them right in the coop or run? Go easy on me- just a city boy new to raising chickens! Thanks for any and all info.

Jim

 

[TallChickMagnet]

With a 4ft fence, you will be chasing chicken all over the place. I have a six foot fence and I still chase sometimes. Learn to clip thier wings, There are videos on Youtube

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Sounds like you did good so far!
17 weeks... I would keep them in the coop and run for a few days- a week so they know where "home" is before letting them free range. Mine put themselves to bed every night, but it took a few days of catching them and putting them in the coop through the pop door before they got it.
Raise up/ hang the waterer and feeder... This will keep the chips out and chickens that like to scratch in the feed.
Make sure they have some sort of grit... whether this be dirt/ sand/ gravel...

Oh! You need grapes and mealworms! Mmmmmmm!
And you need a chair to sit and watch them in!

Have fun! Good luck!

 

[Jim19053]

Thanks for the info- I will put them right in the coop/run and let them acclimate for a week and take it from there. I will try to hand feed them and get them used to me before I get the scissors out and clip away- That should be interesting!

 

[CGinJCMO]

I'd clip wings before letting them loose. Take each one out of the box/carrier and clip one wing, release, repeat. I'd also do it with an assistant (one to hold, one to cut). If you can't cllip first thing after they arrive, I wouldn't allow them out of the coop at all for the first day or they will be flying over the fence.

Sounds like you got good advice. I forgot, did you mention nest boxes? 17 weeks, they'll be laying soon.

CG

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Your run is totally enclosed? Including a roof? So no hurry to clip wings. Personally, I don't clip because I free range and they use those wings, my heavy hens don't fly much but do hop and push with wings for speed...they are too tame and lazy to go far. Sounds like you have everything you need to start out with, good luck and have fun!

 

[Jim19053]

I will be finishing up the coop today- need to put hinges on the doors, build nesting boxes, and finish installing the hardware cloth. I have 40 inches of width to work with. Can I squeeze 3 in there or only two? I have looked at hundreds of coop pics but did not really see any dimensions. I am thinking 3 should fit fine @ 13" wide. How about height and depth? Make them square?

As far as the wing clipping goes I am going to do it until they get fatter, heavier, and less agile. If they go over the fence they may not be welcome in my one neighbors yard. My other neighbors will welcome them, feed them, return them- but there is always that one miserable person in the neighborhood.

Thanks again for everyones help and suggestions!
Jim

 

[Jim19053]

I just asked the question about the nesting boxes on the coop design part of the forum. So much to read here on BYC!!!!

Thanks,
Jim

 

[RonC]

I have always let mine free range in my yard with supervision from the time they were about 3 weeks old. At six months old one figured out she could fly up to the top of my 4 ft fence. She looked around for a minute, looked her friends in the yard and jumped back down in the yard. I don't leave them unattended for more than a couple of minutes because all my neighbors have dogs and cats and fear of them flying over the fence. Haven't clipped their wings before but might have to consider it now.

 

[Jim19053]

Still under construction but getting there. It is 10 ft long, 4 ft high- 6.5ft high at the roof peak. Half the run is under the coop, the other half is open. I will be putting perches in there also. Will upload more pics when it is completed. The fence in the background is 6 ft tall for size reference. The rest of the yard only has a 4ft fence which is my concern. Back to work!