My name is Dizzie and I am thinking of adding to my flock, this time ordering day old chicks. Advice?

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Hello Dizzie and Welcome to BYC. Glad you joined this poultry loving Community. If you have the brooder setup and the space to grow out more chicks in a see but don't touch pen setup then it's a great idea to get the chicks and breeds you want. Better to buy pullets than straight runs as you will still most likely get a rooster or two because sexing is a 75-90% accuracy rating most of the time. Good luck with you expansion plans.

One more thing. If you do decide to order chicks order early. Some breeds are sold out now for 2024 at some hatcheries.
 
Hello Dizzie and welcome to BYC! :frow

So glad you decided to join us. If you have never brooded chicks, you might stop by this article on brooding chicks the first 6 weeks... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/brooding-chicks-the-first-6-weeks.74640/

I suggest when they are ready to head out to the coop, you keep them in a separate area of the coop however you want all the adults and chicks to see each other, see but can't touch. Keep the chicks this way until they are 3 months old, if you mix them earlier, they are small enough to become injured or killed. At mixing time, put out extra feed and water stations so the chicks don't get starved out. Make hidy places and such to escape, (cages, levels, roosts, ladders, etc...) so they can get away from the adults. There will be squabbles, unless it turns bloody, let them work it out. If an adult becomes too violent or a big bully, cage them for a while so the chicks have time to adapt to their environment.

Good luck and welcome to our community!
 
Salve (Latin for hello)! :frow Definitely do your research and have a list of nonnegotiable points you want in a chicken. Otherwise when you sit down to order you may not only be overwhelmed by the number of beautiful breeds available but also fall victim to chicken math :).
 

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