How would you start these chicks?

[Chick15]

We had leftover puppy training mats from our dog who refused to use them. They worked perfectly! We just rolled them up when they got soiled and threw them in the trash!

 

[urbancountrygal]

I would keep them close. You have to clean out the feeders and waters often and change the bedding out. It would be more convenient to keep them by you. Plus you want to check on them and such

 

[Tikkijane]

I will say that we ♥♥♥ chick tv and think there is nothing better!

We also have them inside the house right now. You may think about sand for bedding if the breathing is irritated by the pine; there are also threads that suggest the pellets, which aren't dusty.

We here have eyes on them all the time. Well, we have the potential to have eyes on them all the time, lol. We don't watch them all night.

We've always APd our kids and figure the chicks fall into the same category.

But, that's us.

If you can't have them in the house, my suggestion would be to have the option to check on them frequently during the day- babies can get stuck or fall into the water, etc. I personally want to be around in the event they needed help in a hurry (which we did have when one chick got her foot stuck in the feeder and flopped over backwards- you couldn't ignore that peeping!) We also socialize our chicks quite a bit, and are having great fun with them!

Fwiw; ymmv.

 

[gale65]

We should be able to check on them pretty frequently. I don't work and we homeschool so the kids and I are here most of the day. They have activities a couple of days a week but only for a couple of hours at a time and dh should be around (once they get the crops out, which seems to be taking forever this year). The breathing issue inside isn't so much the bedding but the chicks themselves. I think they'll be fine out in the coop in the yard. We're using a waterer that has a narrow trough so they shouldn't have trouble that way (and I can add some clean marbles or rocks to it) and the feeder is just the kind that attaches to a canning jar-but we may use the 3" pvc pipe method with it.

 

[MamaHynne]

I've enjoyed haviing my babies inside for 4-5 weeks. <3 I never thought I would allow live chickens to take up sanctuary inside with me, but my strong maternal instincts took hold when those precious little fuzzy butts arrived! Today, they are moving out to the pullet palace with the older birds.

My advice is to keep your eye on them frequently. Do what you are coomfortable with as far as housing is concerned. Remember, they don't take up a lot of room for the first 2-3 weeks, so you could keep them in the garage, then move them to the coop.

Good luck with them.