Ready? Set? Go?

[Rhoise]

Hi Folks,
At the rate I'm going my pullet eggs are up to about $25 a doz if we ever get any hee hee, it's ok this is a hobby and an adventure, for fun. As a young kid our family always had a few poor chickens that roosted high up in the top of the white pines on our property froze their combs off, had no coop, often had no food only table scraps, drank out of puddles or sawed off 5 gallon buckets, more often than not ended up dead by a predator or the neighbors dog, to say the least, it was awful!! As an adult I 'm trying to do it "right" raise a few hens and let my kids experience the joy of chickens, and how to raise them responsibly.
I never new about things like DE?, waters, feeders, DLM vs biweekly cleaning, vs Sweet pdz for litter?, so as I get ready to put my chicks out in their beautiful new coop(with or without heat source?), I am finding daily, more and more things that I'm not sure are essentials, basics, extras or just plain spoiling stuff(which is cool too!) I'm reading about vinegar or bleach in the water, DE for mites, heat vs no heat, oyster shells, and feeling a bit overwhelmed and nervous about getting this right.
So.......if you would be so kind to let me know some of the absolute necessities to get going and the basics as we grow(chicks are about 5-6 weeks old getting ready to move outside finally my dining room is starting to stink hee hee!) I would be very greatfull!!!
Thank You!!!
Julie

Here is a list of what we have so far....
At the moment we have (9) 5.5 week old chicks, hoping to end up with 6 hens
A beautiful new safe wooden coop 4x4 inside, 10x4 outside, three exterior 15x15x15 nest boxes
A 1/4 acre (6ft high)fenced yard to free range in the afternoons and weekends
1 large bag (1/4 gone)chick starter
16 gal galvanized metal cans(2) for food supplies etc
10 lb plastic 4h hanging feeder(not used yet)
3gal galvanized metal can waterer(not used yet)
1 bail pine shavings
250 watt red heat lamp from dog crate converted brooder (built from a copy i saw on this web site absolutley genius!)
small chick size mason jar waterer
small chick size galvanized 7 hole feeder
freezer thermometer

 

[nivtup]

It looks like you are well on your way to having things under control.

At six weeks they should be able to go out without light. Assuming the outside temps are reasonable.

I would suggest to not over complicate things. Keep them on starter until point of lay, and then change them over to a layer feed and you can forget about oyster shells.

If they have some free range access, they will find whatever they need in the way of grit.

Good luck, and remember to pile all those expenses into the first dozen eggs, (probably $250) and then the rest of the eggs are a better bargain.

 

[Mykee]

After they have some of their feathers (six weeks), they can go without the heat lamp. Don't heat their coop; the chicken's feathers are insulation enough. Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions you have! (I was in your place six years ago!)

 

[Rhoise]

Thanks!! you both hit on my biggest concern! heat or no heat, i guess what is reasonable? 60-80 degree days, 40-60 degree nights here now, the chicks have great feathering, even the five weekers have more covering than the sexlinks at 6weeks, gonna shut them in at night till they figure things out and it warms up at night a bit, they've been in the house around 68-72 degrees for over a week now, and outside in the run late afternoons till dusk, supposed to be a mild weekend, so perfect! Thanks again glad to have the reasurrance!!