Order has been Shipped!! OMG! They Are Here ( with PICS!)...

[columbiacritter]

OMG! I ordered from Ideal for a 3-16 delivery. Maybe I better get my brooder set up too.

 

[catdaddy66]

WOOHOO they are HERE!!!! I am the proud parent of: 4 Black Australorp pullets, 4 Ameraucana pullets, 4 Golden Sex Link pullets, and 4 Delaware pullets. Also there seems to be 8-9 hitchhikers along for the trip!

Came home and helped my cousin assemble the brooder. Some cuts here, a few screws there and... Viola`!! The first of two brooders, the second of which to be for the last 3 weeks in the brooders as one box will not be enough (it never is)!

Will have some pics up very soon, though these will be taken with the wife as a hostile participant.

The brooder pics are to be taken outside in the dark, so be warned.

Now we watch them grow!

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Congratulations!

 

[CowgirlPenny]

You and I might have sibling hens,lol. My Ideal order shipped on the 22nd as well. I got 3 black Australorps among others!


Congrats on your new flock!

 

[nurseronda]

I just got my chick order today (I am a first time chicken woman). My husband had told me he ordered 5-month old chickens. What a suprise for me! I had no brooder, no baby food, no clue how to care for new borns. There were 5 chicks, but one came hen-pecked pretty badly and now she's almost dead. The other 4 seem to be doing great---eating, drinking, well. They arrived just as a couple young kids came over to my house and they were so excited to hold them. It was later I read about not handling them the first 24 hours, and I realized they were only a day old. Woah! Am I green or what! I nearly killed them before I got them warmed up enough. Whew! I have learned my lesson--- I buy the chickens from now on

So could someone tell me, how long do I keep them under a heat lamp?

 

[bock]

Congrats! I just picked mine up about 2 hours ago! They are all doing great! Very active, they got the hang of eating and drinking right away! Gotta love those fuzzbutts!

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Quote:
The temperature under the lamp should be approximately 95 degrees at first and then decreased by 5 degrees each week. The chicks should be able to snuggle under the lamp or move to other areas of the brooder to cool off (if necessary) or eat/drink. The first thing they should do is drink, so if one isn't drinking by now, then gently dip its beak into the water. They should be provided chick starter feed (made specifically for young chicks) and this should be freely provided. You should probably purchase chick feeders/waterers as soon as possible. Chicks can drown in less than an inch of water! Watch the one that was pecked to make sure that the other chicks don't continue pecking her. There is a lot of information online about caring for new chicks (in addition to BYC). Share some pictures with us.

Good luck!

 

[catdaddy66]

Here are the pics as promised! I have some of my new brooder, and I will make another like it to hold them as they grow and need to be separated. The individual shots were tough because they would not stand still! It was like herding...chickens!!

and here are the occupants/tenants

And now for the portraits...

a fine GSL chick

the prettiest EE chick in the box

an Australorp and Delaware babies

I ordered 16 birds but got 25 or so in the box. I think the extras are RIR's or something like that.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Great pics of your beautiful babies! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Momagain1]

very cute!