She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[NTBugtraq]

There is no way I would ever leave town when I have chicks less than 8 weeks old.

I would never make such a distinctive statement as it precludes ever hatching eggs...we never know what will happen tomorrow, ergo we can never be sure we will be totally available to chicks for 8 weeks. Its a wonderful ideal, and there's lots of ways to achieve it...especially with hindsight...but we all must learn the mistakes we can make and move on. Hopefully we will have fewer variables in future, but we can never eliminate them all.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Lolz, the BYC store will let me state my country is Canada in creating an account, but still insist on me stating a region. All regions offered, are American...so I'm supposed to just lie?

 

[sjturner79]

I would never make such a distinctive statement as it precludes ever hatching eggs...we never know what will happen tomorrow, ergo we can never be sure we will be totally available to chicks for 8 weeks. Its a wonderful ideal, and there's lots of ways to achieve it...especially with hindsight...but we all must learn the mistakes we can make and move on. Hopefully we will have fewer variables in future, but we can never eliminate them all.

I can't garunantee I'll be available but I can make sure I don't leave town.

 

[RubyNala97]

That's a very pretty coop!  I'd temporarily add a light, 25-40 watts, inside to help them transition.  Leave it on all night the first night, and perhaps the second night.  Help them roost, find food, and find water.  After a couple of days, turn the light off mid-afternoon, so there is an early dusk inside.  You may want to switch the brighter light out for a nightlight so it's not completely dark.  After a couple of days, remove the nightlight in the afternoon.  

That's how I condition my chicks and poults when I move them from the house to the brooder pen in the coop.

I agree, that looks very nice! What kind is it? Dont think I've ever seen one like it.
I do the same, put a low-watt light inside for the first few nights, so they can get their bearings. Afterward, I have a small light outside (its for the duck, but bleeds over to the baby chick coop) I dont lock them in for a whole week though. Usually 2 nights will get them into a routine of going in nightly. But after that, I don't even close the coop door at night. They just stay in there.

Is this one of those cool plastic snap together ones? I like it! Let me know how it works out!

Thank you all, for the much appreciated advice. I didn't think it would be so hard to put them outside. They really have become my babies. Especially since they are the first I ever hatched!! I will run a light out there and do a couple test runs before the big night. The coop is heavy duty plastic. So I don't want it to melt. But that's a great idea. It's the Formex Large snap & lock. It got great reviews on BYC, I searched a million coops before making the decision. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again!

 

[NTBugtraq]

I can't garunantee I'll be available but I can make sure I don't leave town.

This is the time I really should leave this alone, but this thread has been enormously helpful to me and I really feel your post is not being helpful at all. If you are not available to chicks during a torrential downpour, why does it make any difference that you are in town? I live alone, and my neighbors are not chicken people or readily able to care for my flocks. Should I have some reason to go into hospital, it might be days before I could talk to anyone (who is far from me, not near) to do anything on my property. Maybe that's irresponsible, but its my life atm.

@mother of many has stated her chagrin, and admitted she wished she'd done it differently, but @sjturner79 , you just seem to be piling on. You've asserted nobody should hatch chicks if they're going on vacation within 8 weeks of hatch, you'd probably say don't set chicks within 11 weeks of a vacation...thanks, laudable, but not a law, and especially harsh when someone is expressing grief over their loss.

Not all chickens are pets, and not all hatches go well. I applaud @mother of many for looking for ways to do things better...as I have...by coming here and telling the story of the mistake. @sjturner79 don't make people regret doing that.

 

[NTBugtraq]

The coop is heavy duty plastic. So I don't want it to melt. But that's a great idea. It's the Formex Large snap & lock. It got great reviews on BYC, I searched a million coops before making the decision. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again!

Ruby, remember, use CFL's, they don't need heat, just lumens for a bit.

 

[WalnutHill]

Ruby, remember, use CFL's, they don't need heat, just lumens for a bit.

That's correct. Unless they are less than 3 weeks old and the temps are under 60F, the light is just for their peace of mind.

 

[RubyNala97]

Ruby, remember, use CFL's, they don't need heat, just lumens for a bit.

Yes! Thank you for saying that. It's quite obvious now that you said it. I was thinking of transferring the red light out there. I guess I had a "duh" moment! I'm glad you said it!

 

[sideWing]

Had one that was getting shrink wrapped and had to have a little help out at the end. Zipped 3/4 of the way and stopped for 24 hours so daughter helped it. She said its legs are shaking and it can't or won't get up. Cull? Anyone seen this? Others are all great including one other shrink wrap she had to help.

 

[holm25]

Had one that was getting shrink wrapped and had to have a little help out at the end. Zipped 3/4 of the way and stopped for 24 hours so daughter helped it. She said its legs are shaking and it can't or won't get up. Cull? Anyone seen this? Others are all great including one other shrink wrap she had to help.

If she has access to electolytes have her make him a jar. That will perk him up. I have helped bear dead chicks with just a dip of the beak in that stuff.