Irregularities of my Chickies? Plus Questions :D

[Quella]

1. Zeal and Meep are five weeks old, and we've just switched over to another feed. They have officially rejected it. Is it really reasonable to buy another bagful of the old kind? I did gradually switch over but they were smart enough just eat the old kind, there's a visual difference.
2. I know everyone thinks that sneezing is no big deal, when it's a little bit. When, however one is sneezing a lot, then what? Zeal is sneezing aplenty, and her nostrils are wet with discharge. (aka chicky snot) However, no, to anyone who says stinky discharge is bad, I have not smelled it, partially because Zeal likes to peck my nose every. single. time. my face gets near her.
3. My two chickies are hybrids, black sex links, so I know for sure that they're female. However they have little stub-like thingy-majigers on the back of their legs. Do all chickens have these, or not?
4. No, Washington isn't as cold as you think. So far, it seems that we're around the 50's range. When can they stay permanently outside? They've been taking short breaks outside since they were two weeks old. And if so, what type of coop should I have? Tractor or coop w/ run?
5. Zeal and Meep are residing in the garage currently with *before* a 100 watt lamp. I switched over to 60 when they were 3 weeks, they didn't seem to need that much heat. But if I turn the lamp off, even for a tiny bit, the garage goes pitch-black. So how am I supposed to rear them off the lamp?

List of my worries are above. Thanks very much. Plus, some of my questions were in other forums but I never saw any reply to them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. Zeal and Meep are five weeks old, and we've just switched over to another feed. They have officially rejected it. Is it really reasonable to buy another bagful of the old kind? I did gradually switch over but they were smart enough just eat the old kind, there's a visual difference.

If there is a visible difference, do you mean size difference? If the new feed is bigger chunks, you might try a food processor or blender to get it down to a size they are more comfortable with.

2. I know everyone thinks that sneezing is no big deal, when it's a little bit. When, however one is sneezing a lot, then what? Zeal is sneezing aplenty, and her nostrils are wet with discharge. (aka chicky snot) However, no, to anyone who says stinky discharge is bad, I have not smelled it, partially because Zeal likes to peck my nose every. single. time. my face gets near her.

You might check Rimshoes medical page to see if you can get a better handle on this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=15239

3. My two chickies are hybrids, black sex links, so I know for sure that they're female. However they have little stub-like thingy-majigers on the back of their legs. Do all chickens have these, or not?

Don't worry about his. Those stub-like thingy-majigers are normal.

4. No, Washington isn't as cold as you think. So far, it seems that we're around the 50's range. When can they stay permanently outside? They've been taking short breaks outside since they were two weeks old. And if so, what type of coop should I have? Tractor or coop w/ run?

They can stay outside when they are fully feathered out. If it is chilly or especially humid, I'd wait a while longer than that. The relevant temperature is not the daily high but the nightly low.

5. Zeal and Meep are residing in the garage currently with *before* a 100 watt lamp. I switched over to 60 when they were 3 weeks, they didn't seem to need that much heat. But if I turn the lamp off, even for a tiny bit, the garage goes pitch-black. So how am I supposed to rear them off the lamp?

Pitch black won't hurt them, although they will probably scream bloody murder for a while. You can try turning it off for 15 minutes at a time for a while to wean them, but it is your nerves that will be frayed more than any real damage to them. Of coure, I am cold and ruthless. I am the one that made my wife not pick our first child up when he screamed when we put him to bed. The first night, he cried for 45 minutes, the second night, 15 minutes, the third night, he just went ot sleep. Better than rocking him for two hours to get him to sleep. But that is just me.

 

[Redhead Hen]

Oh I am so glad you asked question #3!! My RIR pullets have small nubs on their legs too and I was worried that they were all roos!! To me the nubs look like pimples

 

[JennsPeeps]

You didn't say where in WA you are. I'm in Tacoma. My 2 "tweens" are 7 weeks old and have been outside in the coop for about a week not. They're fine, although they really dislike the rain.