I just got 9 chicks —Help

[Cryss]

I had them sitting on tile last night which was probably sapping the heat from the mat. It was high 70s in the box so they were packed tight when I woke this morning. Since then I’ve moved them and they have been pretty active.
I plan on getting feeders and waterers this morning. Also am going to get to work building a coop. I’m using MyOutdoorPlans for some coop ideas. They have quite a few designs.

So I’m probably looking at egg production in 5-6 months?

Yes egg production should begin when they aw around 20 weeks or 5 months old. It depends on breed.
HOWEVER you’re going to want them in their coop at least at about 5 WEEKS old. That coop needs to be raised FAST.

 

[aart]

Ok so rule of thumb is 95 degrees and -5/week right?

Kinda but not really.

Here's my notes on chick heat, hope something in there might help:

They need to be pretty warm(~85-90F on the brooder floor right under the lamp and 10-20 degrees cooler at the other end of brooder) for the first day or two, especially if they have been shipped, until they get to eating, drinking and moving around well. But after that it's best to keep them as cool as possible for optimal feather growth and quicker acclimation to outside temps. A lot of chick illnesses are attributed to too warm of a brooder. I do think it's a good idea to use a thermometer on the floor of the brooder to check the temps, especially when new at brooding, later I still use it but more out of curiosity than need.

The best indicator of heat levels is to watch their behavior:
-If they are huddled/piled up right under the lamp and cheeping very loudly, they are too cold.
-If they are spread out on the absolute edges of the brooder as far from the lamp as possible, panting and/or cheeping very loudly, they are too hot.
-If they sleep around the edge of the lamp calmly just next to each other and spend time running all around the brooder they are juuuust right!

The lamp is best at one end of the brooder with food/water at the other cooler end of the brooder, so they can get away from the heat or be under it as needed. Wattage of 'heat' bulb depends on size of brooder and ambient temperature of room brooder is in. Regular incandescent bulbs can be used, you might not need a 'heat bulb'. If you do use a heat bulb make sure it's specifically for poultry, some heat bulbs for food have teflon coatings that can kill birds. You can get red colored incandescent bulbs at a reptile supply source. A dimmer extension cord is an excellent way to adjust the output of the bulb to change the heat without changing the height of the lamp.


Or you could go with a heat plate, commercially made or DIY: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[BallsEleven]

Yes egg production should begin when they aw around 20 weeks or 5 months old. It depends on breed.
HOWEVER you’re going to want them in their coop at least at about 5 WEEKS old. That coop needs to be raised FAST.

Yeah I plan on getting the coop up next weekend and building a run around the garden to help with bugs.

It’s funny seeing their personalities already. We had them out in the grass yesterday for a while and most were huddled up against my wife but one went ballistic and was running all over the place and going under things. That one went back in the box to calm down.

So at what point do I start giving them grit and bribing them with meal worms?

 

[sealer39]

Just keep them on their chick starter for now and clean water. You can provide grit for them now, won’t hurt. Once they go outside where they have access to eat grass and other things that’s when they need grit. You can give them meal worms now too, just sparingly. General rule of thumb is that treats should not make up more than 10% of their diet.

 

[BallsEleven]

Just keep them on their chick starter for now and clean water. You can provide grit for them now, won’t hurt. Once they go outside where they have access to eat grass and other things that’s when they need grit. You can give them meal worms now too, just sparingly. General rule of thumb is that treats should not make up more than 10% of their diet.

Good deal.

Any way for a rookie to sex them yet or need to wait a while?

 

[sealer39]

Probably not this early. What are they?

 

[aart]

Any way for a rookie to sex them yet or need to wait a while?

No one but a 'a vent squeezing chick sexer' can sex most chicks at a few days old.
4-6 weeks will tell the tale on the males by size and color of combs/wattles.

 

[BallsEleven]

Probably not this early. What are they?

I know the hen was a Rhode Island Red. They said the male had white in its name and was all white.
Edit: White leghorn.

 

[hcdeshazer]

Ok so rule of thumb is 95 degrees and -5/week right?

How long until they are ready to be outside? When they no longer need the heat?

People usually say 6 weeks but I moved mine out at 4. Got a good shed, waited for a week with warmer weather and hung a heating lamp outside. They did just fine. There’s ways around the 6 week mark, you just have to make sure you account for them not having all their feathers yet

 

[BallsEleven]

People usually say 6 weeks but I moved mine out at 4. Got a good shed, waited for a week with warmer weather and hung a heating lamp outside. They did just fine. There’s ways around the 6 week mark, you just have to make sure you account for them not having all their feathers yet

Gotcha. I live in southern Louisiana so it should be plenty warm outside for them soon. That will be one thing I keep in mind when building my coop is ventilation since it gets so hot and humid here.