New chicken owner! :)

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iBoodle

iBoodle

Songster
8 Years
May 10, 2011
147
10
101
Idaho
Hi all!
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I bought my first 2 chicks 7 weeks ago. They are now 8 weeks old, one black and one white.
I'm such a n00b that I don't even know what kind of chickens they are!
They live inside at night, and run free outside during the day.
I ran out of food for about a week and they were living on oatmeal and cereal, but they didn't seem to mind.
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I guess I have a few questions:

1. If I post a picture would any of you be able to tell me what breed of chicken they are?

2. How warm does it have to be for them to live outside in their coop at night? They are getting too big for their little box!

Thanks!
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iBoodle
 
Welcome from Northern California.
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Your chicks should be able to go out at night as soon as they are fully feathered. You really should try to find a source of a good feed. The oatmeal will be ok for the short term but it is a bit lacking in total nutrition.
 
Don't worry, I bought some chick crumbles today
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I will be buying chicken scratch as soon as they run out of this bag of food!

I think they are fully feathered...I am about to venture out and put another towel out there for them!


iBoodle
 
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Congratulations on your new chicks! Try to keep a good supply of feed so they stay heathy and happy. They can sleep in the coop as long as they have all of their feathers and it is not really cold. My grown birds shiver if the temp goes below 55 but they are spoiled Florida chickens.
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Maybe one of our northern BYC members can give you a minimum temperature for young birds.

You might also want to watch for predators if the chicks are freeranging. There are a lot of animals/birds of prey that love chicken dinners. 8 week olds are a pretty easy target.
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Edited to say: Scratch is ok as a treat every now and then but it is not substitute for a good chicken feed.
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Last edited:
Thanks for your replies!

I believe they have all of their feathers, they don't look like the cute fluffy babies I had just 4 weeks ago! They look like mini-adults.

Thanks for the word on chicken scratch, I'm such a n00b. What kind of feed should I get them?

They run free during the day but are (starting tonight!) going to sleep in their rabbit-hutch-turned-chicken-coop. It is about 4x4, raised 4 feet off the ground, with 3 chicken wire walls, a chicken wire floor (half covered with a board so they can walk easier), and a back wall. I covered the three wire walls with old beach towels so in case there is a draft, they won't be too chilly.

Sorry for the rambling! I just want to make sure I wake up to 2 not frozen chickens!

iBoodle
 
Welcome to BYC! You have come to the coolest place on the internet for chicken knowledge.

I started with chickens last summer and the people of BYC have been great. This year I have tried hatching and buying chicks for even more chickeny joy. Please visit my BYC Page for my blog links that you may find informative or amusing.
 

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