HELP.... SO MANY chick QUESTIONS!!!

[ann11e]

yeah they deffo look and act evil when broody! haha but she will be eating trust me and dont worry she will be back to her usual self once her eggs have hatched

Yeh I hope so it's a long wait lol I can't wait for them just want them to hurry up so I can see what they are like hehe

 

[Wyochick98]

First to tell when to change feeds from starter, grower and then layer feeds check out this site on 'age appropriate chicken feeds'. 

http://www.chickenforum.com/age-app...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

You have to make sure the chickens have feed in front of them at all times 24/7.

As for how much feed always keep food in the feeders.  This will give you an idea how much they'll eat:

Chicks that will turn into 6 pound chickens need about an ounce of feed per day for the first couple weeks.  A coffee scoop of feed a day.
By the time they are 19 weeks they need 3 to 4 ounces a day.  That's 1/3 to 1/2 cup a day, per chicken. 

If you have the ability to use apps there is a app to calculate how much feed and water chickens need. You just need to punch in the ages and number of chickens you have and it will tell you how much feed your flock needs per day.  Its called Cluck-ulator. They are still working on a couple features like figures the numbers for individual breeds but the other features work well.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chickenwaterer.p5618jj

I took advantage of the cluck-ulator to figure out when my 40 pound bag of chick starter would run out ( week 9 ) and how many pounds of grower feed i would probably need to buy to make it to when the chickens will need to switch to layer feed ( 70 pounds ).  Its a great app.

You keep the heat lamp on until the chicks are fully feathered out.  Until the downy feathers are all gone.
But as a rule you start the chicks at 95*F and lower the temperature 5* per week.  As the chicks get older they will move farther from the light.  If they are in a tote where they can't get away from the light you will need to move the light further from the chicks.

When adding chicks to an existing flock i wait until they look like they are about half grown.  But never sooner than 6 weeks.  It is recommended you put the new chicks where the old ones can see them for a week before putting the birds together in the same inclosure. 

Vaccinating is a expensive choice for only a few birds.  When you have a small home flock its rare for the chicks to get sick past the one month quarantine time that is recommended to help prevent illness spreading.  So going to the expense of buying vaccine and doing it yourself could be prohibitive when the vaccine comes in 100 chick doses. 

When buying chicks from a large farm that supply's stores the chicks are usually vaccinated at the hatchery before you get them.

Thanks for all the info evemfoster! There is so much to learn but all in all it doesn't seem to hard. And thanks for the cluckulator link. Very helpful.

 

[hxgumdrop]

Yeh I hope so it's a long wait lol I can't wait for them just want them to hurry up so I can see what they are like hehe

Have just swapped sally's ping pong balls to her chicks all is going well atm but will be watching constantly to make sure!

 

[ann11e]

Have just swapped sally's ping pong balls to her chicks all is going well atm but will be watching constantly to make sure!

Aww they are so cute bless her hope she starts to mothers them and finally after worrying too much came into garden to let the girls out and looked in Torres pen and a big poop I was so happy to see a poop I can now relax lol x

 

[hxgumdrop]

and if shes pooping she must be eating! haha Sally has done a poop but i cant find it, just stinks! The chicks are trying to get under her and shes let them a little but she doesnt seem overly interested but shes not attacking them which is a good sign....