Need some direction!

[lnm03]

Hello All! I am new to this site and new to chickens. I am getting 20 black sexlink and 5 leghorns. Are these just good for laying or can they be used for both. I have made my box (48'' x 30'') for them to stay in inside until they get feathers. I have bought 50lbs of chick starter feed. I also bought crushed granite grit for them. I was told I need to put terramycin into their water for the first 2 weeks. I was also told that I could use ground corn cobb for bedding.

Is this all ok? Do I need to do something different? Please give some imput!!

Also any suggestions on how big the coop needs to be once they are big enough to go outside?

How many roosters do I need for this many layers to get more chicks and How do I know which hens eggs are fertilized once they start laying?

Thank you so much for all your feedback!!!!
~leslie

 

[gritsar]

Hi Leslie, I'm going to try and answer some of your questions.
Your chicks won't need the grit until you are feeding them things other than their chick starter.
Please don't put terramycin in their water! Terramycin is an antibiotic best used only when you have a bona fide illness to treat. Using it prophylaticly can cause it to be ineffective if and when you do have an illness to treat.
If the kind of corn cob bedding you are talking about is the kind I'm thinking of, I wouldn't use it for bedding. It looks quite a lot like chick starter and you don't want your chicks to eat it. Try pine shavings instead.
One or two roosters would be fine with 25 hens, but you wouldn't want more than two. With two roosters and 25 hens you can count on pretty much every egg to be fertilized.
Oh, and for coop size plan on at least 4 sq. feet per chicken.
Good luck!

 

[Chicabee19]

Hope you find a lot of laughs and good info here!

 

[hatchaholic]

Hey, Leslie. I have 18 black sexlinks. They are 21 weeks today and hopefully, will be laying anyday.

We use pine shavings for bedding. It works very well. And, we've never given them any antibiotics. From what I've read, you don't want to give antibiotics unless they are sick.

I believe they should be a good dual purpose bird, but we've not tried them yet.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your chicks!

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Welcome! The black sex links are a great choice - wonderful, reliable egg layers. Don't know about the leghorns so I can't comment on those. We haven't tried eating them but they aren't as large as some others, like the barred rocks.

I use pine shavings in my coop and it works great.

I don't usually give my chicks anything other than their feed for the first few weeks. Once they start getting anything other than their feed, I used the small parakeet grit until they were bigger. Then I switched to the regular grit.

 

[needmorechickens!]

Here's a great link about fertility....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

Good luck!!!

~Rebecca

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

Hi!
Your chick starter may already be medicated...so no more medicine, maybe just sugar water for the first few days...i'd say two roos are plenty otherwise the hens just get abused...i'd stay away from the corn cob bedding unrtil they are grown up...then they won't be naive enough to fill up on it hopefully... i know alot of people who eat the extra roosters of all varieties, but i don't know if they'd be as big as a supermarket broiler...that's ok though people eat quail and seem to get something off of them! Leghorns i've heard lay alot for a few years, but then stop pretty early and do nothing...the sexlinks might be a little more long in production, but you can let some hatch out replacements if they'll sit...The second generation won't be sexlinked though so don't cull based on color

 

[lnm03]

Such great information!! Thank you all so much! We are excited to get our babies!

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

Also forgot to mention to put the starter food out on paper towels for the first couple of days, then take away the towels and use just a feeder...I'm sure you'll do fine with them, but if you have more ???s you know where we are!

 

[lnm03]

I know I have several weeks yet but, we are coming into the winter months. I am in Indiana and it can get cold. How do I handle putting my chicks outside when the time comes? I know they need to be fully feathered and I will need to put them out for a little at a time gradually working up to leaving them out all night and I will still need a light on them. Is there anything else that I should do or have for them when the time comes?

Oh I was also told that they will start laying around 19wks. or shortly after and if I want them to lay they need 17 hours of daylight so I need to set up a light on timer in their coop. Is this correct?

This site is wonderful and I thank every one of you for all your help & support!!!!!!
~Leslie