New to chickens & I went all out

[JulieZ]

Hi everyone. I've been reading the boards for about a month when the "Chicks are in Feb 3" sign went up at the local feed & seed store. I've NEVER raised chicks or chickens before and we are learning as we go.

My Light Braham's were 3 days old when I brought them home. Some may say I made a mistake with going all out but I am loving it. I bought 17, they gave me "sickly" because he looked pretty bad and no one thought he would make it and I accidently picked up a Brown Leghorn. So ... 19 babies later, we are moving fast to say the least. We have the money set to the side for them incase there is something I have to buy on a whim but all in all, I have it going on.

I've been reading all the posts I can, looking at poop photographs, learning about putty booty, nursing "sickly" and all the while working on the chicken coop. As soon as I can figure out how to upload photographs, I'll show off my babies, coop, incubators, etc. But to let everyone know ... Sickly is doing much better & although young, he has an appearance of a roo but I know that's just a wild guess. (He arrived with a lack of feathers around the neck/chest area, red skin and I did search for lice/mites to find nothing. He looks 3 days younger then the rest of the babies although he is the same age. His skin is no longer read. I wonder if he was getting plucked by the others because he does not pick at himself & now he's mean.)

The one thing I need help on is lighting for their incubators. I'm currently using a 60 watt (basic) bulb. They looked cold & shivery so I added another one (total of 120 watts) on the opposite side of the bin & now they are happy. I did buy a RED 100 watt bulb but it seemed so much hotter & the babies started breathing a little heavier then normal so I shut it off. I am on my way out the door to buy a thermostat for better reading but what does one suggest ... basic light bulb or the red one?

For the record since I went all out on the amount of babies I ordered ... EVEN if all our chicks turn out to be roo's ... we are NOT eating them.

All 3 of my kids have moved out in the last 4 months and now Rodney says I no longer have "empty nest".

Julie

 

[kelseygirl707]

I'm guessing you mean for the brooder, not the incubator. for the brooder, I have used both red and regular, I prefer regular, and it's just a matter of lowering the bulb if the temp is below 90 degrees, or raising the bulb if it's above 90 degree's, it may take a while to get it right, but your babies will be happier.

 

[Mahonri]

Julie,

WELCOME TO BYC from AZ!!

Wow you are brave. Straight run!

First week they need to have at least 90 degree temps in their brooder and I'd use the red lamp.

Then you lower the temp each week by five degrees, making certain you keep them warm even at night. If they are too warm they'll get pasty butt.

So glad you found us.

Happy Chicken Raising!

 

[kelseygirl707]

Oh and

 

[Bullwinkle]

Hi JulieZ:

Congrats on the new chicks! They are very addicting!

I would strongly recommend the red heat lamp. It cuts down a lot on the chicks picking at each other. The chicks will move to where they feel the most comfortable. If you use the red head bulb on one side of their brooder, if it gets too hot they can just move to the other side. Temps should be 95 degrees (Under the bulb, but not in the whole brooder) the first week with a 5 degree decrease each week. They just need to be able to move away from the heat if it gets too warm.

Sometimes chicks (and chickens when they are full grown) 'pick' on sick members of the flock so keep a close on on "sickly" to make sure he is ok. Last year I kept my sick ones in the brooder, but just put them in a small box to keep them from being trampled by the healthier chicks.

 

[danielle82]

Glad you are having fun with your chicks! I used a regular white light bulb when I brooded my babies. I just had to play with raising and lowering it ( the actual lightbulb being raised and lowered) If the brooder is big enough they can get away from the heat by moving away from the light if they get to hot, if they get too cold they will move closer to the light. It takes about 7 weeks or so for them to feather out.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

from Vermont!

I prefer the red light as well, for the same reason Bullwinkle mentions.

Good luck and keep us posted; I'd love to hear how many girls/boys you end up with!

 

[eponagirl]

I think the best thing to do is run out and get a thermometer to get an accurate read on the temp in the brooder. It should be 95 degrees the first week and then drop down 5 degrees each week thereafter until they don't need it. I personally used a ceramic heat lamp (no light) with a mesh cover to prevent the lamp from getting into the brooder if it should fall by accident:

To give you an idea, here was my set up when I started:

I would raise the lamp as needed to help regulate the temp. If the chicks are too cold, they'll peep more and huddle close the the heat source (light), if they are too hot, they'll move away from the source and possibly be lethargic. It's best to have the light at one end so they can get away from the light if they do get too warm.

Sometimes they will get pasty butt from the stress of unregulated temps.

Hope this helps some!

Oh, you probably won't need a 250watt light, go with 100 or 150 of the red bulb if you don't want to invest in the ceramic one (it is more expensive, but I liked not having a light so they would adjust to normal light hours faster)

 

[eponagirl]

 

[JulieZ]

Thanks yaw and yes ... brooder. : )

Forgot to mention that I'm from a small farming community in Florida ... Trenton if anyone has ever heard of it - Population of about 7,000 ... mostly cows. LOL

We indeed went all out. Wasn't suppose to be that way but when I laid eyes on them, I knew I wanted more then 12 & I thought 15 was drawing the line but when I went back to pick up shavings, everyone in the store was so irritated with the sounds the chicks were making & blah, blah, blah. They had even packed up the chicks in a "to go box" for a lady that had changed her mind. The babies were so stressed. Before I knew what was happening ... "I'll take the rest of them" slipped out of my mouth. So here I am. I DO think I took a huge bite but it's a done deal so moving along ... fast !!

Thanks for the light information. I will stick with the basic one's & see how it goes. I just don't want to make a mistake & hurt them which I may have been doing without a proper way to test the heat. I had to clean putty booty on several chicks today so I am going to Walmart tonight & I cut off the 2nd lamp for now. I placed the lid on the container side-ways to help hold in the heat for the loss lighting.

I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions before it's over & look forward to being part of the chicken community.

Julie