Need some help new chick owner

[jace2]

Hello, can anyone help me, I have some question, my chicks will be 6 weeks old should I keep then in side at night and when I am home let then out side and what about bedding I keep hearing use hay and saw bedding. And for feeding what kind of brand do anyone suggest me buying, I be getting my chicks this week.

Thank you
Jace2

 

[chickzndahood]

i started letting my my chicks my chicks outside at the age of around 2 or 3weeks. and if there six weeks old you better start niether build their coop or buy it cause my chicks are already in the coop. ( there are six weeks to)
and no dont keep them inside at nigh. but if they seem cold put in a heat bulb in there for them. for me i have 75 wattage.

 

[jace2]

I am getting them Thru,my daughter and I are finishing the coop tomorrow I have a friend that has a kennel to for them. Thank you for your help.
Jace2

 

[blondiebee181]

Hello, can anyone help me, I have some question, my chicks will be 6 weeks old should I keep then in side at night and when I am home let then out side and what about bedding I keep hearing use hay and saw bedding. And for feeding what kind of brand do anyone suggest me buying, I be getting my chicks this week.

Thank you
Jace2

6 weeks should be decently fledged out. At 6 weeks I let my girls outside in their run for most of the day and brought them in the garage at night for a few nights with the lamp pretty far away from the brooder. They need to start getting used to outside temps. After a few nights of that I left them out day and night as long as the temps did not get below 45 or 50 at night. Where are you located? That will make some difference...here in Boise the temps are starting to warm nicely.

As far as brooder bedding I would honestly use pine shavings or wood pellets....chopped straw is ok too, but I think it's messier....I only use it in winter as insulation. As far as bedding in your coop....how is your coop designed? That may influence your decision a bit....feel free to post some pics if you can.

With feed you will want to get either medicated or non-medicated chick starter/grower crumbles. There are a lot of arguements for medicated vs. non-medicated feed, but in short the medication is really to help control a bacterial infection that sme chicks can come down with called coccidiosis....it's a gut infection. Coccidia are found in almost all soil types so they are fairly common but more likely found where there are or already have been lots of animal or livestock activity. I went non-medicated and just introduced my chicks gradually to their outdoor surroundings, slowly building their immunity and I raised ducklings and medicated feed is toxic. There are lots of threads explaining more about it, but your chicks are older and whether you decide to medicate or not will also depend on where you are getting them from and how they have been reared for the past 6 weeks. If you are raising layers, they can be transferred over to lay feed at about 16 weeks, or after they finish their starter bag, respectively. If you have roosters involved, a regular maintenance feed with a seperate dish of oyster shells for the hens is usually prefferable. Also do remember that if chicks are given anything besides crumble to eat,they must have access to grit in order to digest properly. If you go to the learning center of this site, there is a wealth of information on all these topics as well that are probably more detailed, but I hope this helps. Happy chick raising!

 

[jace2]

I live in Ma,I will post pictures when out coop is don,the cool thing about the coop it was all free material.
Jace2