In hindsight...

[Missjlee4377]

I dont know if you're getting RTL or chicks but in hindsight.. @Punkybrewster said it really well! Get them OUT. This is my first rodeo when it comes to chickens and I thought I was prepared for how messy they are, and I was not. No regrets just a learning experience! Also at 7 weeks I'm just putting the finishing touches on the coop so definitely start building early.
As soon as I could set up food and water away from bedding the better! They are MESSY. (I also have 31 nuggets in my house... I wanted 6....)

And I have ducks in the incubator and I hear they're worse...

 

[Djgm]

Welcome!
Build BIG! Your are starting with six, and already are thinking of more, and you will be getting more if you keep your birds forever.
Do you have a coop plan? Post for comments on the coops thread too.
I have chicks in the garage for about 2.5 weeks, and then they move to a separate coop section with their heat source. Messy doesn't describe it! Inhaling that dust isn't good, so having them out as soon as possible is best.
You have a nice mix of chicks coming too.
Mary

Yup! My first step (after making sure they were legal in my town) was making sure I had a coop plan. I figured I can't get chicks without a home for them lol. Didn't even order the girls before I had that.

 

[Criticalicious]

Although the vertical nipple waterers were easier for young chicks to use, they leak and make a mess versus the horizontal ones. PVC feeder seemed great until chicks grew up and learned how to dump the feed everywhere, encouraging mice. Regularly inspect around the coop for places that mice or rats can hide because they move in fast! Pick things up and look underneath regularly. Under that hay bale you used as a winter wind block, under the water bucket inside the concrete block you used to elevate it (even though you filled it with dirt), etc. Mice love making feather beds. If you notice fewer feathers around the run, something may be taking them for nests. Electric fence and automatic coop door are lifesavers. If you don't have them, consider investing in some.

 

[rosemarythyme]

As much as I like having 21 (really more than we need and this is the max I'd ever consider keeping up with), I kind of wish we had started with about 1/3 that many, and then added a new batch each year. This would have allowed us to have more consistent egg production, some occasional meat yield, and we'd get to raise chicks each year. Having ordered all at once, there will come a point where we'll just have to start over.

Good advice! I'm glad I started slow - still not going to max out for another... oh, 3 years? And by then some of my older girls will likely have passed on.

If I had started at full capacity I would've been flooded with way, way too many eggs for 2 years or so, then by this point production could've dropped to the point where I'd have to buy eggs sometimes to help fill in the gap.