My 1st chicks arrived

[Amatsukaze]

Howdy folks,

I ordered 25 Plymouth Rock chics from efowl & they arrived yesterday. This is my 1st time raising chickens so I am a bit nervous.
I was surprise that they only sent 25 but was glad that all of them were alive & in what appears to be good health. I am using a large Styrofoam cooler as a a brooder & have a 100watt bulb as a heater.

The chicks seem to like their new digs but now I find myself wondering about their diet & health so I have a couple of questions.

I am feeding them Manna Pro medicated crumbs. Should I be giving them anything else or is this the proper & appropriate feed? Their stool while loose I would not call diarrheal but some is clinging around the vent. Will this firm up as they become accustomed to the feed or is it a reaction to the feed?

What about grit? At what point should I give the birds grit for their gullets?

Any words of wisdom for a 1st time chicken farmer?

Many thanks,
Bob

 

[ghillie]

If you go to the Learning Center, top of page, all of these questions and some more guidelines you need will be available.....good luck with the little ones

 

[chickensrfood]

Grit is not necessary at this age. The starter feed is all they require and make sure you keep their rears clean if droppings are accumulating around their vents. Grit is really helpful when the chickens eat whole grains or shelled seeds. The crumbles are already ground up.

 

[Chickenkate17]

- That is the appropriate feed to be feeding them, make sure they always have it available. Soon you will be able to give them little treats too!
- Any baby anything can have inconsistent stools just because they are so sensitive. Make sure that they are eating, drinking, and pooping. Make sure that their poop doesn't get dried around their bottom.
- By the time grit is necessary, they will probably have access to other alternative sources.

Good luck!
Here's Lola, my Barred Rock:

 

[henhound]

You'll have to post some pics of the fuzzy butts!

 

[Jessiewoodard57]

Also a little sugar in the water will help with the shipping stress. Good luck with your chicks. BTW you have just embarked on an additive "hobby" and will soon learn about "chicken math"...enjoy them. welcome to BYCs and have a Merry Christmas!

 

[Amatsukaze]

Thanks guys,

I am already starting to see some personalities emerge on these little chics. Some come running soon as they see me, others run away.

I ordered just 25chics without sexing them. I hope I have an pretty close to an even split but I guess time will tell. I have already ID'd 2 that I am certain are roo's as they are kinda aggressive. The rest seem to go with the flow.

Here are 2 pics.

When we 1st opened the box (you can tell my daughter had to be in on the action

)

Here they are just a few min's after being introduced to their 1st home.

I had hoped to he able to keep them in that small brooder for 3-4 weeks & now 3 days into having the chicks I see that aint gonna happen! I swear they are an inch taller than when I got them & for such little things they are going through an amazing amount of feed & water.

 

[jomoncon]

They are so cute!!

I got my little chickies when they were about 10 days old, so I missed that cute little day-old chick stage!

 

[new4eggs]

I am new to the chicks as well, I got 20 day olds from Efowl on the 22nd and they are doing well. They are not as fragile as I was thinking my major concern was the heat as they don't seem to need it as much as they did the first day so I expanded there Brooder so they can venture further away. I am using paper towel as there floor and will go to shavings after they are a week old. they should have there feet foundation by then.

 

[BooBear]

They do grow like weeds. So adorable at the fuzzy stage. Ofcourse, I think they are adorable at all their stages.