Need some major help

[joeyfender]

I was told that i was able to get two chicks yesterday. I will be receiving them next week. They will be a week old by the time i get them. I am going into this completley blind. I don't know what they need for housing, what they need for housing when they get older, what they need in their houses or anything. Please help.

 

[4 the Birds]

I was told that i was able to get two chicks yesterday. I will be receiving them next week. They will be a week old by the time i get them. I am going into this completley blind. I don't know what they need for housing, what they need for housing when they get older, what they need in their houses or anything. Please help.

Do alot of reading here in the forums. It puzzles me somewhat when people get chickens or livestock without the housing and fencing all in place!

You have about 6 weeks to get a coop set-up. In the meantime, make a 3x4 pen in the garage or basement (out of cardboard or whatever) and add some pine chips as bedding. Chick feed, water pales, and a brooder lamp and you will be mama for the next 6 weeks or so. They need warmth so hang the brooder lamp at one end (Week 1 90 deg, week 2 85 deg, etc... decrease 5 deg per week by increasing the height of the lamp). Have fun!

 

[dadtochickenfan]

Quote: A common rule of thumb with the heat lamp is if the chicks are bunched (or paired in your case) together, then its too cold so move the lamp closer. If the chicks are staying out of the direct light of the lamp, then its too hot so move the lamp away. As far as a brooder, boxes from the grocery store, changed out every few days, will work until you have something more solid. Enjoy! What breed did you get?

 

[joeyfender]

A common rule of thumb with the heat lamp is if the chicks are bunched (or paired in your case) together, then its too cold so move the lamp closer.  If the chicks are staying out of the direct light of the lamp, then its too hot so move the lamp away.  As far as a brooder, boxes from the grocery store, changed out every few days, will work until you have something more solid.  Enjoy!  What breed did you get?

I believe they are Rhode Island Reds but there are two black chicks in the mix. Why are those chicks black and why are they different from the rest of their group?

 

[joeyfender]

For a brooder I was thinking of 8 thin pieces of plywood wrapped with chicken wire with a door at the top so I can access the chicks

 

[Dutchchick]

This site has helped me out on a regular base when i started my chicken raising adventures so do a bit of browsing into previous posts. As to your question, It also depends a bit on where you live as far as outside temperatures is concerned. My first batch hatched in october last year. I raised them initially in an old aquarium for the first 4 weeks in the lounge room until they got too big. Then they moved into a wire enclosure i made with wood chips with an old lamp until they were about 6 week and then i put them outside cause they were getting too noisy. By then they had their adult feathers and were fine to join the rest of the girls outside. It was getting towards summer here by then ( i live in Australia) and they were fine. They are now about 5 months and they still know me! We also let mum hatch two eggs themselves and now were expecting some more hatchlings from our incubator hopefully next week. Enjoy, they are so much fun to have inside..

 

[Trefoil]

For a brooder I was thinking of 8 thin pieces of plywood wrapped with chicken wire with a door at the top so I can access the chicks

It so much depends on your circumstances. Are you going to brood them in the house? Are there predators where you intend to brood them? Common predators for chicks are pretty close to any animal that's bigger than they are. If you will be brooding them in the house where cats,dogs, or other animals can't get them, the easiest and cheapest brooder is a box, easily and freely obtained from your local grocery store. Put wire over the top because they very soon will fly/jump out and be exploring.. If you brood where the ambient temperature is in the 70's, then you wouldn't need to get a heat lamp, a regular, maybe 100 watt bulb will give them the heat they need. Raise or lower the bulb until it maintains at 95º (directly under the bulb) for the 1st week and usually lowering the temperature 5º every week after that. They must be able to move away from the heat if they need to. Always give them warm water to drink, cold water may give them poppy butt. If they get poppy butt, clean it off immediately and apply some olive oil to their butt, that will make it much easier to clean them off the next time. Give them chick starter, medicated. If you don't like the idea of mmedicated starter, then the next time try using without, but for your first time you want to be successful and doing everything by the book is safer until you get a feel for how things work. I don't bed new chicks on sawdust because I sprinkle their feed on the floor of the brooder( for the first couple of days) because it gets them eating right away. So I bed with puppy pads or textured paper towels. As you put the chicks in the brooder take a minute and dip their beaks in the water to get them drinking.They just need to get the water on their beaks, then they will tip their heads back to drink.

If you are going to brood anywhere other than the house then your idea of the plywood pen covered in wire is a good idea, just make sure its draft and predator proof and that you can maintain the temperatures for them. You will also probably have to get a heat lamp & bulb. Make sure its not teflon coated. The teflon coated ones emit toxic fumes when they are heated. Good luck and enjoy your chicks.

 

[rendezvous1838]

I was told that i was able to get two chicks yesterday. I will be receiving them next week. They will be a week old by the time i get them. I am going into this completley blind. I don't know what they need for housing, what they need for housing when they get older, what they need in their houses or anything. Please help.

You came to the right place.
Here you will find many answers to any question you can imagine.
The chickens are pretty easy, don't stress out too much.
have fun!

 

[joeyfender]

It so much depends on your circumstances.  Are you going to brood them in the house?  Are there predators where you intend to brood them?  Common predators for chicks are pretty close to any animal that's bigger than they are.  If you will be brooding them in the house where cats,dogs, or other animals can't get them, the easiest and cheapest brooder is a box, easily and freely obtained from your local grocery store.  Put wire over the top because they very soon will fly/jump out and be exploring.. If you brood where the ambient temperature is in the 70's, then you wouldn't need to get a heat lamp, a regular, maybe 100 watt bulb will give them the heat they need.  Raise or lower the bulb until it maintains at 95º (directly under the bulb) for the 1st week and usually lowering the temperature 5º every week after that.  They must be able to move away from the heat if they need to.  Always give them warm water to drink, cold water may give them poppy butt.  If they get poppy butt, clean it off immediately and apply some olive oil to their butt, that will make it much easier to clean them off the next time. Give them chick starter, medicated.  If you don't like the idea of mmedicated starter, then the next time try using without, but for your first time you want to be successful and doing everything by the book is safer until you get a feel for how things work.  I don't bed new chicks on sawdust because I sprinkle their feed on the floor of the brooder( for the first couple of days) because it gets them eating right away.  So I bed with puppy pads or textured paper towels.  As you put the chicks in the brooder take a minute and dip their beaks in the water to get them drinking.They just need to get the water on their beaks, then they will tip their heads back to drink.

If you are going to brood anywhere other than the house then your idea of the plywood pen covered in wire is a good idea, just make sure its draft and predator proof and that you can maintain the temperatures for them. You will also probably have to get a heat lamp & bulb.  Make sure its not teflon coated.  The teflon coated ones emit toxic fumes when they are heated. Good luck and enjoy your chicks.

Since I will only have 2 chicks, I will use a ten gallon aquarium that I haven't used for years. I will cover the top with chicken wire. I'm lucky I have a lot of pets because some of the stuff I used for them, I can use for the chicks!