supplies neede

[dntd]

ok I'm hoping to get my chick order for march what are the things I neew so far I have:
a large rabbit cage for the brooder
a heat lamp with 100 w bulb
a chick waterer
is there anything else I should have on hand for 16-18 chicks

 

[ZaneyMama]

A chick feeder?

 

[bigstack]

Cardboard to keep drafts out of the sides, front and back. if its a deep waterer you may need to add marbles to keep the chicks from drowning. I keep the radio on Jimmy Swaggert when im gone. That way they are used to talking, music etc.... I bought some Blue Kote just incase of picking! I also got some liquid baby no iron-vitamins from wally world, just in case some one looks a lil off. you can also get some vitamins and electrolites in a package from TSC just in case. Shipping can be stressful on the lil guys. I would give pure water the first day. then if they look ragged or weak I would then give electrolite mixture for 1 day and then see how they do.

Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[bigstack]

You can also get plain white yogurt with live cultures. It helps jump start their digestive system. enzymes and such. just go easy on the amount of yogurt it can cause squirts. and not very nutritional.

 

[BarredBuff]

A spare bulb and a chick water mix (Quick Chick or something similar)

 

[thechickonthehill]

You will also need:

- chick starter (buy twice what you think you will need as they will scratch half of it out of the feeder and mix it into the bedding - see below)

- bedding to put on the brooder floor (usually pine shavings or pelleted horse bedding, place paper towels over the top for a few days to prevent spraddle leg) so the chicks can scratch around in it and make lots of dust and fill up their waterer with it. This also helps absorb moisture and odor from the large amounts of chick poo that will be deposited in your brooder.

- chick feeder for the chicks to spill, oh, I mean eat, the chick starter out of

- chick grit (when you start feeding treats they will need this so they can scratch it out all over the place for entertainment, oh, and they eat some of it to aid in digestion too)

if your chicks are bantams you might want to put marbles in your waterer until the chicks get big enough not to fall in and accidentally drown (not joking about this - it does happen sometimes)

Make sure to put a thermometer down on the bedding underneath the heat lamp(before the chicks arrive) to make sure it will be warm enough or not too warm - should start out around 95 degrees. That's all I can think of at the moment. Oh yeah, a camera to take lots of pics to post on BYC! Hope this helps some.

 

[ozarkmomma]

chickie feed

You will be surprised at how much the little buggars eat.

 

[LittleFeat]

FEED When I got my first chicks, I had put off getting their Start and Grow and a few days before their arrival, went to the feed store to get it. Of course they were out and I was worried they wouldn't get it in time. It did come in ok but I did have a few days of unnecessary worry. AND believe me I'd already figured out every possible thing I could find to worry about and didn't need one more thing!!

I would have an extra bulb on hand too. I used a red bulb and had to make a quick trip out one night after it burned out.

AND most important: A big sign: BREATHE - RELAX - ENJOY - POST TONS OF PICS!!!!!