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Spoiled1_629

Spoiled1_629

In the Brooder
8 Years
Jul 19, 2011
33
1
22
Midland, TX
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Well, I am proud to say I will finally be getting my chicks. My mother placed a large order of chicks and keets and I get a few of them. My husband has been cussing me this week while building the run for them. We had an old, old, old coop already set up in the back yard so I have been cleaning it out and prepping it for the new chickys. The chicks arrived at my moms on the 11th and the keets on the 13th. I will be bringing them from her house to mine on the 24th.

I think I have everything covered, but wanted to tell everything I have done so I can get some pointers in case I missed something. The coop is 6X10, so far no nest boxes, but I will work on getting those made soon. I have an old ladder I will be using as a roost and figured on putting som blocks of wood about 6 inches high while the chicks are young. I will be covering the bottom of the coop with pine shavings about 3" thick to start, I want to do the deep litter method. I think I will also add some higher roosts after a while out of tree branches.

The run is attached to the coop. It is 10x20. I bought some flatish rubber feeders and I had a bunch of 3 gallon buckets with lids that I had picked up earlier this year hoping I could put them to use. I am going to make the self waterer and feeder using those.... really it is already done, just need to drill the holes in the buckets. I also bought some chick grit. I will use a small bowl for that. Our ground is pretty sandy already, so I am not too concerned about the grit.

I got a general purpose starter feed. I have a feeling I will need something else for the guineas, even though the guy helping me at the store said it would work fine.

Couple of questions:
1. It has been approximately 75-80 degrees every night around here and at least 100 during the day. Do the chicks still need a heat lamp at night?
2. When can I start giving them treats such as stale bread and scratch?


I am so happy I have found this site! It answered so many of my questions already!

Andrea
 
Welcome! I'm new myself. The answers other members provide is what attracted me to this site
After speaking to a few I felt welcome. It is a good place. Have fun learn lots.

My chicks and duck are a few weeks old and will eat applesauce, lettuce, and greenbeans. I hear grapes (cut in half and seedless) are good too.
 
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Welcome to BYC. If the chicks are less than 3 weeks old, yes you will need the heat lamp at night. Dont know about keets. Your chicks should be fed starter/grower feed til they are at least 18-20 weeks old while they are in development, including internally. I dont recommemd giving them treats (bread and scratch) til after they are switched over to layer feed at about 20 weeks. Even then, giving treats should be given sparingly as there are little nutritional value in low protein scratch and stale bread, not good for egg laying purposes.
 
It looks like you have everything covered.... But yes, chicks do need a heat lamp at night, even if it is warm out. Good luck!
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Oh, and
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&
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from Alabama. Glad you joined us. Congrats on your chicks & keets & good luck
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The keets can be fed a chick starter & a lot of people do, but they do much better on a gamebird starter. When they're a little older, you can either sex them by appearance or by the calls they make. Females make a two syllable "buckwheat" call in addition to the normal guinea one. Also, when they're older, keep an eye on them (especially the males), because guineas can sometimes be bullies to chickens. We haven't had a whole lot of problems with bullying, but other people have. And, of course, most importantly enjoy them. They're sort of the comedians of the barnyard & never fail to make us laugh.
 

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