silkies :D

[silkie101]

hi im getting silkies in a few days and i was wondering how do i prepare a brooder ? it is an indoor rabbit cage so please help me im new to this thanks

 

[mljohnson05]

You will want to make sure they cannot fit through bars on the cage....they are Super small.
you will also need a brood lamp and either a 125W or a 205 W heat lamp bulb for it (whatever is needed to maintain the correct temp.)
You will also need to make sure that there is plenty of room for them to get out from under the lamp if they are to hot.
Then you will need a feeder and water container (pick up from local TSC or feed store)
And I prefer to use Pine shavings (NEVER us cedar shavings it is harmful to the chicks)...but you can use shreded news paper...but I prefer the pine (you can get i a huge bag for $5 at TSC.
Make sure to clean the old poop regularly and keep an eye on the temperature (I use a thermometer in my box..it should be 95 degrees the first week, then drop it by 5 degrees ever week after that until they are at 70 degrees)

Keep dishes a little elevated (but not high enough they cannot reach it)...You can put marbles in the water dish too so they cannot drown.
Also until they know where their food and water is..you may have to sprinkle some of their chick starter on the ground and around the food bowl

If I missed anything, feel free to ask

Best wishes, and have fun...I LOVE MY SILKIES !!!!!!


--laura--

 

[Avienda]

For the first day or so you might want to give them room temp. water. Not cold because it can lower their body temp. Of course with these temps lately you might not have to worry about that. I found it easier for the first three days to just lay a bunch of paper towels in the cage and clean up as the day goes along. After a week though, it's way easier to use the shaving. I also found it was easier to keep their water and food dishes up on a wood board or on some plastic dishes to keep them higher. They don't poop in them as much if they're higher. Just be very careful that they can't fall over and squish anyone!!