New Chicken owner , please help....

[MROO]

I would love to find that out. I'll be working on the enclosure a little bit this weekend. I'll work on taking better pictures. I have videos but for some reason I can not attach them. Thank you for the welcome.

You'll need to upload your videos to YouTube, then link them here. In the meantime ... WELCOME ABOARD!
Oh - and as long as you have a draft-free coop, your birds don't really need heat. First off, it can be a serious fire hazard, especially if you're using a lamp. Second, even though your birds enjoy the heat, be careful that they don't become dependent on it. Keep the temp no higher than about 40F. Otherwise, if and when the power goes out (and that never happens in upstate NY, right? ), they won't have the resources to stay warm.
Here's another thought, though. Since you have electric in your barn, consider a heated waterer - not for your birds' comfort and convenience ... for YOURS! When the power inevitably takes a dive, dealing with a water issue is easier than dealing with frozen, feathered chicken!

 

[Knobby]

Welcome aboard..I see a few other members have already got you going in the right direction to help you out.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Another important thing is dust baths.
That's how they keep themselves clean and get rid of external parasites on them. They dust bathe daily, so they need to have access to dry dirt at any given time in daylight.

They'll find their own while free ranging, and you can opt to provide it for them.
Just make sure it's free of fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Just good "clean" dirt.

I don't recommend a dust bath in the coop

 

[sourland]

Hello, scottie, and welcome to the BYC community. Excellent advice from @DobieLover and others. Good luck with your flock.

 

[triciayoung]

Morning,
Thank you for the response. This really was a very spontaneous moment of recieving them but it was very unlikely they would of survived much longer where they were. I have them in my large barn as of right now and building as I go. I was told to keep them cooped up for at least a week or 2 before giving them more freedom because there were free ranging at one point. Its decently vented, I'm working on the bedding and need to get another roost on there. Why do you say pull the heat source ? We're going in the negative temperatures and honestly they seem to enjoy it at night.

Welcome. Scottie, I use heat as well as many members here. I always keep my coop above 40 degrees. I use a safe radiant heat, so no fire danger. You don't know how old your flock is, and most definitely, the older chickens and those sick absolutely need to use their energy to get healthy, not to warm themselves. Your rooster looks like my black copper maran rooster, and the hen to his right as you are looking at the picture, definitely has some light sussex in her.

If you want the remainder to survive, do not free range. You can make them a large covered run.

 

[Bsmac]

Thank you much for that information, I messed up with that one i have to look at the bag , I do believe its a layer feed for them but I also been incorporating the pumpkin, lettuce, red pepper flakes,just very little apple cider vinegar in the water too. I planned on getting some crackle corn feed and grit.

Your`e welcome! We all had to start somewhere! This is a great place to learn! Best of luck with your flock!

 

[Debbie292d]

I use heat as well as many members here. I always keep my coop above 40 degrees. I use a safe radiant heat, so no fire danger.

Same.

 

[FEATHERFIELD]

Hey guys I'm scottie, so I did a thing. Im upstate ny the winter is here and I ended up getting these free range birds that are the only survivors of a huge flock. I dont know the breeds yet. The only one I think i know is a Rhode Island red rooster . Lol. I've done a temporary enclosure, gave em a little heat, bedding , layers feed, ive been giving water multiple times a day because eventually it freezes. Its been a few days for them getting used to there spot . Supposedly I'm the only one that really held / handled them. Ive witnessed a light pecking order in place but otherwise friendly for the most part as of now. They had a treat today a smashed pumpkin. Maybe they'll consider me a friend. I'll post some videos and maybe some of you can help me figure out if I'm on the right direction, change things , knowing the type of birds I have would be awesome. I'll include everyone in this new journey. Thank you all in advance and enjoy the weekend.View attachment 4262051

Welcome to chicken keeping!