New chick mom :) Hello everyone !!

[newBonboard]

Hi everyone, I am a new chick owner and would love some ideas !! I just brought home 4 ( 3 week old ) barred chickens today. I have them all situated with a heat lamp and the signs they are showing seem to be that everything is fine...knock on wood. My ( first ) question haha I'm sure I'll have many .. I have not yet prepared the outside coop - at the moment that are staying inside. I was reading that by age 4 - 5 weeks the chicks can go in their outside coop with no heat lamp..is this the case ? I am in NB Canada and want to know when it's time to safely move them out so I can have the area all ready for them.

Thank You

 

[gryeyes]

When they are fully feathered, which is usually around 7 or 8 weeks of age.

Of course, if you can secure a heat lamp or other supplemental heat source so it cannot fall and start a fire in the bedding (or get splashed by water and explode), inside the coop, you can move them outside with that heat at night.

Oh, and

from California!

 

[GiddyMoon]

 

[newBonboard]

Thanks so much !! I LOVE this site... Here is another question already lol

I and my family is 100% new at this and as mentioned above our chicks just arrived home today so we have given them their space to get accustomed to their new home before we bug them too much so for now I am running and checking on them but not handling. About handling..... because I have never owned birds it doesn't feel natural right now and it's hard to know how to handle.. do they mind being handled..do they like it ?? Also for some reason I wasn't expecting their poo to be so large at 3 weeks HAHA If you have them up will they just do their business on you ?? Any comments or tips you have to share on handling the chicks right into adult hood would be much appreciated !! I have read so much and so much info warns about salmonella but I am of the feeling that proper hand washing should be sufficient with this.. am I correct ? I want this to be the best healthy experience for both us and the chickens so I really appreciate feed back !

Thanks in advance... So much to learn !!

 

[newBonboard]

And California.. WOW .. you have nice temps !!

 

[crtrlovr]

Hi there!

Welcome from western Kentucky! I'm glad you decided to join us.

You'll meet lots of friendly folks, find lots of helpful, valuable information, come across lots of good-natured ribbing and witty banter, -- in short, you'll soon discover this is a GREAT PLACE to spend an hour or two! (or four, or seven...

!! ) Pull up a comfortable chair and let's get acquainted!

 

[cochicks]

The more you handle your chicks, the friendlier they will be later on. We hold ours a lot. I put a rag on my lap for messes and then I set them on my lap an pet them a bunch. It doesn't guarantee they'll like being pet later on, but at least they won't run from you when you go out to the coop. It make inspection and health maintenance much easier when they are used to you. When my girls were chicks, we held them each once a day. I plan to do the same with this new bunch.

http://ourbackyardhens.blogspot.com/