So I take their food away tonight?

[GC-Raptor]

Ugh first night on their own, I’m so worried.

Yeah, I like to check on them during the first night or two.
I have a headlight that has red LEDs. It disturbs them less than a brite light. GC

 

[RebelEgger]

I literally just recorded a video on transitioning them to a horizontal nipple bucket waterer At 10 days old, I’ll get it uploaded and a link on this thread ASAP.

here are the feeders. The hen feeder is in coop where it always is , the teenager feeder is in the run because the 6 week olds are mixed with hens and I wanted them to have their feeder a litter farther from the hens to be able to eat in peace. The coffee can feeder will be what I give my chicks in 4-5 days. They are all sizes of the same thing.


View attachment 2191499View attachment 2191500View attachment 2191502View attachment 2191504

Those are great, we can totally make those. And yes, please post that video! Any tips you can give before the video is posted?

 

[Doc7]

Those are great, we can totally make those. And yes, please post that video! Any tips you can give before the video is posted?

#1 Tip : Fill their feeder, change their waterer, show them how to use it and ignore them for 1-2 days. So many folks stare and stare and post, "My chicks wont use their new waterer!" These animals know how to find water and food.

 

[RebelEgger]

Yeah, I like to check on them during the first night or two.
I have a headlight that has red LEDs. It disturbs them less than a brite light.View attachment 2191513View attachment 2191514 GC

Oh that’s a good idea. I don’t have anything like that, my guys will be blinded by the light!

 

[RebelEgger]

#1 Tip : Fill their feeder, change their waterer, show them how to use it and ignore them for 1-2 days. So many folks stare and stare and post, "My chicks wont use their new waterer!" These animals know how to find water and food.

I’m laughing because I am such a helicopter mom lol
Chickens are so new to me, I just worry about them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks Rose, he (the dog, Corona - poor guy such an unfortunate name right now) was very concerned that his chickens were in a new spot!)
I feel we have our coop like Fort Knox for rodents, hopefully we are correct!
So the nipples, how long have you been training them to them? Do they seem to be taking to it ok?

Aww, well he's still a cute pup even if his name is a little unfortunate at the moment!

So I started the nipple training yesterday morning. I'm a hands on type, so I picked up each chick and used its beak to toggle the nipple, and let it drink a bit. Came back in early afternoon, repeated the process. Did it again in evening just before their bedtime.

I did it again this morning, much more briefly, and while cleaning up and doing other stuff in the run I saw the chicks returnig to the bucket to drink without further prompting, so while I'll keep an eye on them to make sure they're successfully getting enough, they've at least proven that they 1) know where the water is and 2) that they need to trigger to nipple to get water.

 

[RebelEgger]

Aww, well he's still a cute pup even if his name is a little unfortunate at the moment!

So I started the nipple training yesterday morning. I'm a hands on type, so I picked up each chick and used its beak to toggle the nipple, and let it drink a bit. Came back in early afternoon, repeated the process. Did it again in evening just before their bedtime.

I did it again this morning, much more briefly, and while cleaning up and doing other stuff in the run I saw the chicks returnig to the bucket to drink without further prompting, so while I'll keep an eye on them to make sure they're successfully getting enough, they've at least proven that they 1) know where the water is and 2) that they need to trigger to nipple to get water.

Awesome. I start working again on Monday (been home since March 20!) so I have the weekend to work with them and make sure they are all set.

 

[Doc7]

We are making a bucket watered tomorrow with horizontal nipples... then I need to train them to it (I am not crazy about this water set up)
Do you have pics of your feeders?

Here is my video on transitioning waters. I have some other chick videos on my profile also.

@rosemarythyme is more patient than me - I only show them once

 

[rosemarythyme]

@rosemarythyme is more patient than me - I only show them once

I'm more patient since I had a hen that took weeks to finally catch on to using the horizontal nipples (she was using vertical just fine, but winter was coming...). She only didn't die of thirst because she learned to run in while someone else was drinking and steal any drops that dribbled out... she was literally camping by the waterer to do so. I finally had it with that and started picking her up a couple times a day and making her toggle for water herself, and then one day it finally dawned on her to hit the SILVER toggle and not the red surrounding plastic that she kept smashing her beak against.

 

[Kaesi2020]

There is absolutely no need to take it in and out. I leave my food in the coop and water in the run year round. Pick where you want it and that’s where it goes. I fill my feeders the first Sunday of every month and thats the only time I touch a feeder.

Chicks have a tractor supply chick feeder (similar to your waterer, a style that I avoid) until about 16 days old and then switch to a maxwell house coffee can with 1” PVC elbows (no waste feeder.). After 5-6 days of that, they go to a 1.5” elbow cat litter box no waste feeder. By 8 weeks they switch to the adult feeder with 2” pvc elbows.

Hi doc7! Do you happen to have a picture of the feeder you use for your adult chickens with the pvc elbows?