Panicking about my watering setup, picking up chicks in half an hour HALP!

[medusine]

Hi, I know I should have figured this more out in advance but I kind of... did a bunch of reading, bought all the stuff, and thought I was basically all set. Now that they're almost here and I've finished putting everything together & contemplated actually using it, I'm second guessing EVERYTHING!

I got the waterer a local chicken breeder recommended to me for baby chicks, along with the small animal cage she recommended for a brooder. Now that I've put the waterer on the cage, a possible problem emerges: Due to the height of the cage bottom's lip (before the side turns from "wall" to "wire cage") it seemed like the watering bowl might be too tall for the chicks to reach when they first arrive. So I put it up on the "2nd floor/loft" area of the cage (see photo). I have 2 concerns still:

1) Will day-old chicks be able to make it up that ramp, even with the paper towel I added to reduce slipperiness? Even if they can, is it a bad idea to have their water so far away from the brooder? Should I even have that little shelf in there, or is it inviting injury from falls? (I'll only have 6 babies in there at once)

2) The waterer assembles by putting the tank on the outside of the cage, and inserting the spout from WITHIN the cage, and then you have to tighten a little rubber gasket and washer/nut thing onto the inside-part of the spout, from WITHIN the water tank. How the heck am I supposed to clean that??? It seems like you're intended to just keep adding water through the flap in the top-- It was not easy to screw the washer on to put it together on the cage, and you'd have to wait until it's completely empty or else have the old water spill out everywhere. And you're supposed to clean waterers daily?

While I'm here I'll mention my mash plan in case anyone wants to warn me I'm doing it all wrong: I bought Manna Organic Starter feed in advance before learning that feed ought to be bought & used FRESH. Based on reviews this feed is kind of dusty and not great anyway. While I wait for my fancier Scratch & Peck starter feed to arrive (in 2 days), I plan to supplement my sad dusty feed with mashed egg and cooked farro (possibly with minced kale?). I know it's considered risky to wing it on feed, because you might throw off their nutritional balance but it seems like a lot of people improvise with a variety of grain/egg/green mixtures with plenty of success? Fingers crossed.

 

[Kiki]

Get rid of the ramp/shelf thingie and lower the waterer.

 

[SueT]

I also think you need to eliminate the shelf and lower the waterer.

 

[K0k0shka]

My biggest red flag is the size of the cage. It's tiny and they will outgrow it very fast. That paper towel on the ramp won't last long - it will be kicked out of place and the ramp will be slippery again. You can cut a brick-shaped piece of 2x4 and use that instead of the ramp, as a stepping stone to get up to the platform. The platform is kinda cool - gives them another dimension of space. Mine loved climbing right from the start and had no issue hopping up 3-4 inches at a couple days old.

Also, nothing wrong with the Manna Pro feed. That's what mine ate (well, the regular, not the organic). When they ate all the crumbles and there was only the dust left, I made a wet mash out of the dust and they LOVED it! They still love wet feed.

 

[K0k0shka]

For the first week or two, I used this kind of basic waterer elevated on a wooden block, and the water stayed pretty clean:

This one is very easy to clean and refill. After that I switched them to a nipple waterer and they did fine.

 

[K0k0shka]

I got one of Mypetchicken.com's cardboard panel brooders

Much better. Make sure you cover the top though, or they will fly out.

Your babies look adorable!

 

[Kiraeh]

I think keeping the water away from the heat is always best, that doesn't look like a drownable waterer but the further it is from anywhere they're likely to randomly fall asleep the better.

Your babies are gonna teach you way more about how good your set up is than any of us haha. I see a few potential issues but nothing worth panicking over.

Try mixing that dusty feed with water in a small dish, my chicks loooooove wet feed its their favourite treat. And then if some of them don't figure out the waterer right away you know they're still getting some moisture.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You're going to need a bigger cage very soon, unless these are all bantams (and bantams could probably squirt out between those bars, if they can get up there).

I'd scrap the shelf. Does the waterer auto refill or does it have a toggle they need to press? If it has a toggle you need to train them to use it, and that might be tough with very young chicks, so imperative that you keep an eye on them and make sure they can adequately get water from it.

As far as the feed, do not use farro or kale - they really need grit before they attempt to eat that stuff. Some cooked egg, chopped finely, would be fine as it has the proper nutrients a chick needs.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've given them grit, should they not have it so young? The improved starter feed arrived, which has visible whole grains/seeds in it & advises to offer grit.

The water auto refills but it seems like it would be too tall if I remove the shelf & place the waterer as low as possible along the bottom of the cage bars.

I always give grit right from the get go.

One alternative to the shelf for the water is a few bricks stacked to make a staircase up to the waterer.

 

[medusine]

Love the brick step idea for the too-tall waterer-- I may move it down to the first level and do that eventually.

I've had the babies since Tuesday and so far so good.

They have figured out how to climb to the 2nd level and seem to enjoy it--the paper towel on the ramp is held down with double-sided tape. I removed the towel when it got dirty and left it bare for a bit. They weren't able to climb up the bare ramp but clearly wanted to, so I replaced a fresh paper towel-tape layer.

It did take them time to get comfortable going up to the "loft", so during that time I gave them water in little egg cups (the kind you eat soft-boiled eggs out of) with marbles in the bottom. So far they haven't tipped them over, and I guess the same amount of bedding would get kicked into the real waterer's cup. Since they are used to their little cup waterers, they haven't touched the "real" one even though they are now happily going to that part of the cage.

The only issue is that I have to refill the cups by hand a few times per day, but honestly, I think that even so, it might be easier than the "real" waterer, which as mentioned, will be impossible to clean out or even to dump old water to replace entirely with fresh, unless I disassemble the whole thing by unscrewing the spout from inside the tank. And then whatever water is still in it will come pouring out. Shaking my head at the design on that, are people really meant to just refill without ever cleaning it? Or let it go completely empty before every cleaning?

They seem to like their Scratch & Peck starter feed so I'll probably stick to that. I've stopped giving them anything else but their grit, and a little mashed egg in the morning for a treat, plus the occasional ant I find in the house. They were eating the Manna Pro during the first day or two, but I feel like they were a bit less enthusiastic about it. Could have just been my imagination or that they hadn't fully gotten used to the feeder yet. Anyways, aside from the Manna looking less like "real" food, I was concerned that I bought it several months ago, so it's not the freshest. Lots of folks seem to recommend that you buy feed with the intent of using it within 2-3 months of the mill date.