Starting first bantam coop

[aart]

Possibly I’m looking on other threads it seems that may be the case, should i throw a bowl of play sand in there?

You could do that. A flat pan(cake pan shape) with maybe a 1/2" of sandy dirt.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Maybe she's trying to dust bathe?

x2, that's the most likely scenario. Their instinct to do it is quite strong. They'll enjoy a shallow pan of plain dirt from the yard to roll around in.

 

[Fdny11Bravo]

even that young i can put regular dirt in there ? They are a week old tomorrow, i gave them tiny wet meal worms in a can they went absolutely crazy gonna do it once a week to give them a treat. I’m giving them chick grit in another small little dish that they seem to being going to town on as well

 

[rosemarythyme]

even that young i can put regular dirt in there ? They are a week old tomorrow, i gave them tiny wet meal worms in a can they went absolutely crazy gonna do it once a week to give them a treat. I’m giving them chick grit in another small little dish that they seem to being going to town on as well

I personally believe in exposing them to your yard environment early - it'll give them a small dose of whatever germs exist in the yard, and help toughen them up against them. I brood outdoors from the start so my chicks are exposed to everything in the environment from 2-3 days old. BTW don't be surprised if they eat some of the dirt, it's a normal curiosity response for them to put things in their mouth that are unfamiliar.

 

[aart]

They are a week old tomorrow, i gave them tiny wet meal worms in a can they went absolutely crazy gonna do it once a week to give them a treat. I’m giving them chick grit in another small little dish that they seem to being going to town on as well

I'd go easy on mealworms, and grit, you don't want them to gorge on either.
What they need most now is a good chick starter and plain fresh water.

I start my chicks on with just a bit of chick sized grit sprinkled on a chunk of sod from the yard.

 

[Fdny11Bravo]

yea i figured I’d give it a go today but I’m going to stop, they went crazy over the meal worms i did a few each out of my hand but that’s about it

 

[NatJ]

You can also offer them wet food (chick starter + water).
They go crazy for it too, so it's fun to give them, but of course it's got all the right nutrients so you don't have to worry about overdoing it.

 

[Fdny11Bravo]

just an update i had an extra ring camera laying around so i set it up, just from the last few hours they barely spend any time under the brooder plate room temp is about 68 in the basement i think they are acclimating pretty well and officially 1 week old today

 

[Fdny11Bravo]

So i made the mama heating pad to get them ready to start using it so i can put them in the garage they keep pecking at the glad press and seal that i saw you should use over the towel, is that bad?

 

[aart]

keep pecking at the glad press and seal that i saw you should use over the towel, is that bad?

It will be if they start tearing it.
There are other options.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate.67729/
I just put a piece of cardboard over mine, with a piece of heavy plastic between pad and cardboard for any soak thrus.