New to chickens

[bphillipsgo]

Hi there, I'm a backyard chicken newbie, and the chicks are coming in 2 weeks! I'm excited to learn. Any helpful hints during this strange spring? What do I need to have ready for chicks?

Thanks so much!
Becky

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens Becky, I think you're gonna love this place. We do.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

A big welcome to you @bphillipsgo and welcome to the wonderful world of chicken keeping! My advice is to research predator prevention - quadruple check any fencing when they get ready to go outdoors and try and make it where nothing can get in. Get yourself a game camera to monitor their pen for any unwanted guests. There's so many great articles and old forum posts here to look at- chances are if you Google search a question, it'll bring you back to here, so just use the handy Search bar for any questions or make a post in the appropriate forum and these knowledgeable, friendly folks are quick to help! Ensure proper temperatures and diets for your newcoming chicks, and all in all enjoy your chicken caretaking experience!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Becky and welcome to BYC. Here are some helpful links:

• Great go-to resource - Articles
• Insightful feedback on how members manage their flocks - Topic of the Week back-catalogue
• Good link to read before building a coop / run - Space requirements

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, Becky, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Have your coop and run ready ASAP. Make sure you do your research to make it the correct size with correct ventilation. I highly recommend walk in style for both coop and run. There should be no openings greater than 1/2" into the coop and preferably the run too.
If you are setup in time with your coop, I strongly recommend brooding in the coop using a momma heat pad or brooder plate.
Make one of these for your chick waterer to keep the brooder dry and the water clean.

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

First thing you need to know is always plan for more chickens than you currently want. "I wanted 10 chickens, but god wanted me to have 20, so now I have 40." Just do your basic research and learn as issues pop up. Have a heating lamp and a backup lamp and bulb, food, water, thermometer, bedding, enclosure, and if you have cats and dogs in the house, have a screen or something to cover the enclosure. Happy chickening! You'll fall in love <3

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal community!
We are excited to have you here with us!

 

[AllenK RGV]

I agree with the plan for more when building a coop as @humblehillsfarm mentioned. I started with 10 now I'm up to 2 coops and around 25, 1 dedicated grow out area, a bathtub in a spare run for initial brooding. 2 2x2x4' broody prisons, 1 large dog air transport box set up for a broody on eggs, and finally 4 dedicated nesting/layer boxes up on the porch.

Extra coop space is not wasted space as with time your plans will most likely change, or simply to prevent chicken violence inside the coop. Welcome to BYC How many chicks did you order? If you don't have a coop set up yet I can tell you from my initial experience you are behind the curve on this one item.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

How many chicks did you order? If you don't have a coop set up yet I can tell you from my initial experience you are behind the curve on this one item.

By four weeks old my last batch of chicks were flying out of my 2.5' tall enclosure and were wreaking havoc on my bathroom. They could jump out but weren't quite bright enough to figure out how to get back in (at the time I didn't have a cover but now I do for future brooding) Thankfully I had already built a small A-frame brooder enclosure for outdoors in addition to the regular coop so I agree 100%. If you don't have a coop you're way behind!!