There are many here with much more experience than me...I have been thier student here for the last year
Last August I started with five day old chickds purchased from my local feed store. It went easy & well - and I was HOOKED! On February 18th I received my order for 16 chicks from Ideal....then bought 10 more from my feed store...then bought 2 more from the feed store the next week - for a total of 28 right now (plus the 5 older girls)
Here is what I have done:
* I kept all my chicks in 2'x3' cages leftover from when my husband was a small child (there were two cages). They were crude, but were sturdy and safe - made with wood and hardware cloth.
* I hung an infrared heat lamp and adjusted it so one side was @ 90F and raised it up each week to lower the temp by 5F each week. They are at 3 weeks old today & my temp is at 80F and will stay there until they finish feathering out.
* The chicks stayed in the above mentioned cage until 2 and a half weeks - then I moved them to a larger "grow out" coop/run. They have 25square feet of space & plenty of room to grow and move around.
* I moved the heat lamp out with them (like I said, still at 80F) to this bigger nursery area.
* I have a hanging chick waterer and a hanging chick feeder....it's important to have chick sized items so they don't drown in their waterer - or even just get wet/chilled in it.
* I use pine shavings on the floor (beginning around the 3rd day). Prior to their 3rd day, I just used old towels so they could get thier legs under them...newspaper is slippery and shavings can be a challenge for their strength and coordination.
* I use chick starter WITH antibiotic (to prevent coccidiosis).
* I clean their waterer twice per day and bleach it once per day.
* I offer them a little bit of chick grit once per day.
* Keep drafts off the babies.
* Watch for poopy butts and clean with warm, wet washclothe as needed if needed.
* The sleep frequently for short naps during the day. When they sleep, they look dead...but they're fine.
* Sometimes you do everything right and you still lose some. It happens.
