Ordered 25 buff orpington pullets from cackle hatchery Now what

[zabrielle23]

They will be here Friday morning around eight. I have a feeder for full grown birds and I have to get a water. I also have to get a thermometer and a red light. Should I do electrolyes and probiotic?????? I have chickens already but they were bought laying already. What are the must knows. I am going to use a galvnized cow water to place them in. I am in the south and we are averaging 90 and up daily and high 70s at night. How long til they can go outside. I have a coop for them where they will be alone that is closed in on all sides except for where the air comes in and it has 2 x 4 welded wire and its four feet in the air. I want my chicks to live long and happy lives. SO experts and anyone with more knowledge than me is an expert what do you say. Thank you all in advance.

 

[cutechick53]

Hi! First off just make sure the chicks cant fall into the water! I generally use a waterer for chicks, they aren't too expensive if you wanna go and buy one. If not, I would put marbles or pebbles into the water, they can get water without the risk of falling in. Just to be safe, I do put
Sav-a-Chick (The electrolytes) in the water. Up to you if you wanna spend the money but it does help them be healthy. I would probably wait a week until taking them outside, just make sure they are warm at night and not too hot in the day. Hope this helps! Happy chicken raising!

 

[sumi]

With those high temperatures they should be able to move outside after a week or two for day trips and permanently after 3 weeks, if not sooner.

Adding some chick saver to their drink water is a good idea, as they would probably be stressed from the shipping and possibly a bit dehydrated, if they travelled long and and on a hot day. Make sure the PO knows to let you know ASAP when the chicks arrived and are ready to be collected, or delivered.

I hope it will all go well for you.

 

[Jensownzoo]

If you can run electric to your coop, no reason not to start them off in there instead of the tub--just another option. With those ambient temps, you can go with a lower wattage red bulb, a 150W ceramic heat emitter (lets them sleep at night), or a heating pad cave (lower risk of fire) for warmth. I've used all three options, and my favorite is the heating pad by far.

I give my chicks all poultry nutri-drench in their water upon arrival to counteract shipping stress. It has sugars, essential vitamins, and nutrients that don't require any digestion--can just be absorbed immediately into the bloodstream from the gut. After 12-24 hours, I switch to regular water since I do fermented feed (which IS a probiotic), but you could either add a probiotic to the water or a powdered form to their crumble (my favorite product is ProBios powder).

Good luck with your chickies! I have a few BOs and I adore them!