Should I, or shouldn't I get chicks?

[bigredfeather]

25 chicks will be delivered tomorrow. I'm very excited as well as nervous. I hope I haven't gotten myself into something I can't handle. I spent the day yesterday preparing a new area in the barn for them. It turned out pretty cool. I hope all this work is worth it!

 

[bheila]

Quote:
You are asking us chicken addicts if you should order chicks?

Of coarse you should. I'm not sure how they'll do it this colder weather but as long as you give them a light for warmth they should do fine. I can't really say at what age they won't need the light anymore because we raised ours in the summer. I'm sure you'll be able to tell just from your everday observation. Good luck, I'm sure they'll be tasty. I know ours were.

 

[lovemychix]

I just got chicks 3 weeks ago and I love it. They are inside now but I love it since I really don't have anything else going on at the time I can really take time with them. Of course mine are pet layers. Usually I'm in my garden or ball games and this has been perfect.

 

[bigredfeather]

I've had my chicks for a week now. I ordered 25 and received 26. All are alive and well. They sure don't stay cute and fuzzy very long. They all have some white wing feathers coming in, and they losing their yellow fuzz exposing pink skin. They look kinda nasty, but I assume that is normal. They will be making their move to the outside coop this weekend which is good because the basement is starting to stink a bit despite using pine shavings and DE Powder. All they do is eat, sleep, and poo. I saw a few of them sleeping with their heads in the feeder.

Is it necessary at this age (1 week) to deprive them from food? Or should they have a constant supply at this age. If I were to reduce their feed, at what age is it good to start this?

 

[chickorama]

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY GET THEM!!!!!

Here are some tips.

1. Give them a heat lamp, they need heat. However, if they get too hot, it is bad too, so keep half of the brooder shady, so if they get too hot they can cool off.

2. Don't bother getting fancy expensive brooders, they prefer a cardboard box. Even if you get a huge box, they all huddle in a corner of it and take up one inch. (That is how they keep warm, and how they sleep)

3. Put a top on the box. They grow up very fast and learn to fly in about 2 and a half weeks. We usually use a window screen so we can check on them when we walk by.

4. They sometimes drown in their water by falling asleep in it. To prevent this, you should put marbles in their water. The marbles are too big for them to swallow, so they cannot choke on them.

 

[bigredfeather]

It's almost 2 weeks now. I moved them outside to the coop Saturday. The gas grill box I was using to house them in my basement was getting a bit crowded. Not to mention, it was starting to stink up the house. They now have a 8'x14' area to live in the rest of their life. I have two heat lamps set up about 20" off the floor, and they are about 3' apart. They really seem to be enjoying their larger area. They stayed huddled up quite a bit Saturday, but this morning they were spread out, eating and drinking.

So far, so good. I would be somewhat proud of myself if I end up with all 26 ending up in my freezer.