New here, got my chicks today :)

[jessied1227]

Well, I went and got myself a baker's dozen of week old chicks today from a local farm, and OMG, they are so cute!! I have them all settled in their box, and they are all happy and cheeping away.

My queston is this: do I leave their light on all the time? They are in our kitchen, and we keep the house at 70 degrees or so all the time.

All in all, they're a bunch of chubby, active chicks. We've all ready named two of them, LOL.

I plan on getting some pictures up tomorrow. I know of the 13 we got, 8 of them are barred rockies (sp?) The other 5 are a nice buff color and for the life of me, I can't remember what the guy told me they were.

I have to say, I came here tonight with a ton of questions, and just by looking through the boards, had them all answered. You all seem like a great bunch.

Jessica

 

[equine chick]

Welcome jessi!

 

[Llysse]

Your new chicks need to have a temperature of 95 degrees for the first week, and the temperature can go down about 5 degrees each week thereafter until your chicks are fully feathered at 5 to 8 weeks old... so, yes, you'll need to leave the light on to keep them warm. You can tell if they're too cold because they'll all huddle up directly under the light. If they're too hot, they'll go as far as they can away from the light and pant with their beaks open. If they're just right, they'll wander around comfortably in their brooder.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Welcome!!!

 

[bayouchica]

Hi there welcome to BYC !

Miriam

 

[Mechanic1987]

Welcome; You will enjoy the forum. Congrtulations on the chicks. You've already have been given good advise, so good luck.

Ray

 

[Rooster01]

Welcome!

What Llysse said was right on but also, you'll need to cut off the light a night as you go to bed. They will get in one corner and will keep warm enough till morning. Most chickens won't sleep till it is dark.

Also the Buff color ones are probably Buff Orpingtons.

 

[jessied1227]

Thanks everyone.

As for the temp, they must be comfortable, because they just seem to wander around, some of them eating, some sleeping, sometimes they'll all pile up and sleep on each other, sometimes, they're all piling into the food dish and it's like a peep mosh pit!

And yes, thanks for the name : Buff Orpingtons. I have taken pictures, but we are in the process of moving and I have misplaced my digital's transfer cable.

I did notice one had what is called "poopy butt" here

I cleaned it up, but boy she was not a happy camper about it!

Anyway, I find I am spending way too much time standing at my brooder box and watching them, lol.
I had no idea chicks were so much fun!

Jessica

 

[chickenmama]

Hi Jessica and everyone!

I'm new here too and this is my first post. We just got our three chicks the other day. I've been lurking here for months and we've been talking about keeping chickens for quite a while. In the end it was a quick decison as a friend of a friend had ordered sixteen chicks and they could only keep a few in the city. So before we knew it (forty five minutes after the call came) there they were on my kitchen counter. Their still there actually... we made a brooder with a glass aquarium, a light, and a feeder and water container (the exact one's pictured on this site) that another friend gave us. They seem to be very happy and healthy so far. They play, eat and sleep all around their house. The kids love them and the older two are able to handle them a little. We've been feeding them a little bit by hand so that they get used to us. quite honestly with five kids and two adults who are fascinated with them I think they will grow up to be pretty used to people.

So my questions are: is the aquarium okay for another week or so till their a little bigger? We have a cage ready for when their older but they look too small for it right now.

As long as we all wash hands alot are they okay in the kitchen? I don't want to pass germs in either direction if that's not a good idea, but if it's okay, it's a good spot where I can keep them safe from little hands easily.

And.... thank you all for being here! This web site really gave me the courage and information that we needed to take on this fun adventure! As much as we love this cute little chick stage, I'm excited to seeing these guys grown up into beautiful chickens!

Chickenmama