Random newbie chicks questions

[citykitty]

I'm getting ready to bring home my first babies, they will range from 2-6 weeks old.

• Can I put the younger ones that are a couple weeks in with the older chicks?
• How old do chicks have to be for the threat of pasty butt to pass?
• How long do I feed them medicated chick starter?
• I'm going to get a large cage for them, like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4UNCG/?tag=backy-20
• Heater will be a heat plate, I'm researching brands/types now.
  
• What am I missing? I know they need water, I've got that covered.

Thanks, I'm sure I'll have more questions.

 

[paneubert]

How many? That cage is both expensive, and small. Especially if some of them are six weeks old before you even stick them in there.

 

[Kelliejanine]

Most chicks are fully feathered by 6 weeks, meaning they can be weaned off the heat sources. As far as having them in the same area it really depends on their size difference. If the 6 week chicks are noticeably bigger you should separate them. Smaller chicks can be trampled causing injuries or death. I just recently had to separate some chicks for this reason. They were the same age but one is a cockerel so he started trampling the pullets. Look on Pinterest for some diy stuff. We made our brooder. It doesn’t have to be expensive to work

 

[citykitty]

I'll pay more for wheels so I can move it around and it's easy clean since it will be in the house for now.

4-8-10 chicks, I'm not 100% sure yet. They will need to stay inside until probably April. Some are rescue/returns from a breeder friend that doesn't have room. I should have mentioned they are silkies, so smaller. Any roos will go back to her once they move outside, I'm not allowed to have them (only allowed hens).

 

[Stephine]

Hi!
I highly recommend just rigging a brooder (or several) with cardboard boxes or anything you have on hand. That is both more adequate and cheaper than the cage, since you will only need it for a short time. That cage is too drafty, you would have to cover it in cardboard anyway, so why not just start out that way. How many are you getting? You need 1 sqft per chick in the brooder. If you are getting 6 weeks old ones, they might be fully feathered already, in which case they can go straight out to the coop (where you’ll need 4sqft per chicken).
It’s not a good idea to put chicks together that are more than 2 weeks apart. Besides bullying of the little ones, adjusting the heat plate so it accommodates large differences in size will be impossible. When you introduce, make sure to put the smallest ones in the space first, then add bigger ones, one by one, so larger chicks don’t gang up on smaller ones in their territory.
I HIGHLY recommend getting a good book on backyard chicken keeping right now and read it, and then come back and ask any remaining questions. It’ll be so much easier for you and safer for your new charges.

 

[citykitty]

I already have full sized chickens, I've never had chicks before (got them as pullets), so I want to make sure I have everything I'm going to need. Thanks all.

 

[paneubert]

What is the timeline for them arriving? I am just trying to get an idea of how long you will have them inside before the April date you mention that they can go out. If you are getting a range of 2-6 week old chicks soon, and they will be inside until April, and you are getting 4-10 chicks, I really hope you have the patience and cleaning supplies to clean out whatever brooder you use most likely daily. Whether it is one of those Amazon rolling cages or not. I would not wish 4-10 "large" (when compared to tiny chicks) birds on my worst enemy inside my house for what sounds like it may be 2-3 months. Haha

 

[Mimi13]

Please save the money you were planning on spending for that cage. It only affords 7.5 square feet of space. Chicks of the same age will begin picking on each other because they’re crowded, much less if you add the older chicks to the cage. I consider that a disaster waiting to happen.

Go to an appliance store and get a couple of refrigerator boxes and tape them together on the long edge. That would give you approximately 36 sf, which will much better suit your needs, making the chicks much happier and healthier. You might even keep the chicks separate in the box by putting some chick netting up so they can “grow up” together before actually being put together.

Generally pasty butt is only a problem the first week or so, until the chicks learn to keep themselves tidy.

They will need their Chick feed until they approach 18 weeks, at which time you will be ready to switch them over to layer feed.

You will need a type of litter (bedding) for them. Pine shavings is a very absorbent material a lot of chicken keepers use.

 

[Isilvertoes]

Im on the same boat as the others thay have commented here, I wouldnt buy that cage if I were you, save your money. That cage is too small anyway. Its also a pain to clean it out when that time comes around. Cardboard boxes is your best bet.

It really depends on how big the chicks are, I know when I got my 2day old chicks and put them with my other 2week old chicks, they were being abused which prompted me to separate them. Sizes does matter lol.


Pasty butt, put some lotion around the butt because I lost 2 ayam cemani due to that problem. Also, if you clean their butt, make sure you dry them properly and not leave them with wet back.

Goodluck!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I agree that that cage is small (especially since you mentioned having up to 10 chicks) and it's also overall not designed for chickens, that ramp is unusable and just takes up space. You can save some serious money by just using large cardboard boxes taped together for space, and topped with some wire mesh as a cover. I mean, unless you were about to get a ferret too - I suppose in that case the ferret would get the cage after??

IF you do end up using that cage and have mixed ages, keep some wire or even cardboard scrap around so you can fashion a divider in case the older birds cause trouble for the younger ones.

Pasty butt IMO isn't really an issue after the first week or two, at least I no longer check for it at that time.