Hey I'm new...& confused!

[BrainyChicken8761]

Hi Lauren,

Hello to the forum, you're new just like me

I found this useful:
https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...are/chapter-4-caring-for-baby-chicks.aspx?t=1

Best of luck

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
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Jump right in and make yourself at home.

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[Joeschooks]

It looks like many of your questions are being answered so I'll just say Hi and Theres a wealth of information on this site and lots of helpful, experienced members who are always happy to give friendly advice. I hope you enjoy the site

 

[Laurenwasha2014]

Sorry to put up poo pics but I'm starting to see this A Lot but this morning until about noon they seemed like typical bird poos... I made a chicken feeder & waterer & they did have unrestricted access to both the water & crumbles all day. I'm just worried I'm doing Something wrong! Any help is Much Appreciated y'all!!!

 

[Laurenwasha2014]

Also should I let them have unrestricted access to the food & water 24/7 or just during the day or?? They're really pretty active, seem to be eating/drinking well, & don't make too much racket when they're "contained" unless one jumps on the other one. I feel like I'm missing something important LOL.

 

[rjohns39]

babies should have unrestricted access 24/7. I also give mine chick grit early on.

 

[Speedychicken27]

Hi welcome if you go to the little thing that looks like a paper on the top then scroll down until you get to an article called Raising Chickens it is really helpful good luck!

 

[Laurenwasha2014]

Hey I can't find out if the Rhode island reds have feathers this color? & Why does my white one have tail feathers but not the red?

 

[lazy gardener]

Welcome, Lauren. What are you using for heat? I scanned through your thread. But have had a migraine all day, so not seeing nor processing well. The liquid poo you posted may indicate that they are overheated. It's practically impossible to provide correct warm/cool spots if you are using a heat lamp/plastic tote combination. The chicks need a tiny little footprint of warm space, and the remainder of the brooder should be as cool as your room temperature, if not even cooler! Any time you have a chick flopped down with wings spread or panting, you have a near crisis of overheating on your hands. By the time your chicks are 2 - 3 weeks old, they should have a minimum of 2 s.f./bird. And your chicks will need more space than that b/c of the need for warm/cool zones. If you have not yet looked at the Mama Heating pad brooding system, you might want to take a peek. @Blooie has 2 articles and 1 thread dedicated to the concept.

 

[Kat C]

You mentioned worries about a dog pack. You probably won't know if your dogs are chicken killers until they have the opportunity. Even if they seem fine when you are holding a chick and introducing them it is no guarantee about what they will do when you turn your back. Dogs that kill chickens can be rather resourceful about getting in to them. We finally stopped our dog and fox problem with a chicken netting fence, but it is a pricey solution. Chicken wire won't keep out some dogs. Hardware cloth is better at least up 3 or 4 feet. We had a wonderful rat terrier that lived with our chickens for 10 years but we bought her from someone who raised her with chickens. Whatever you build for them be sure it is dog proof from your dogs (and perhaps others that might be around). We had a neighbor have a visitor with two dogs. We asked them to keep the dogs tied. They didn't. We lost 30 chickens in 1 hour (it was storming and we didn't hear what was going on). Thus the investment in electric poultry netting. But for starters with two chicks a good sturdy run should suffice.