Tons of questions for 1st timer!

[ThatBlondeChick]

I have been lurking around the board for a few weeks now and I have already learned alot!
But I still have a ton of questions. No we dont have any chicks YET, but I am on the search for them! (We live in Okinawa Japan

)

~What are good starter foods for baby chicks? (I will be ordering from the web, but it takes about 7-10 days to get here and we might be able to get a few chicks this weekend!)

~When is it ok for the babies to be outside? (our weather right now is low 90's and nights are mid 80's with very high humidity)

~Are the babys very loud and do they sleep at night or do I have to help them learn their sleep scheduals

~I would like to build a small coop w/ my children. We are only getting a couple of chicks and since I have NEVER built anything, I really need a BASIC design! any help here? pics? links?

~What are the "no-no's" of baby chicks.

Thank you, im sure more questions will come to me...

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Baby chicks sleep at night, even though you'll have the light on them.

Never let chicks get chilled.
Never let them play in the yard without you right there. And they scatter everywhere real fast, so you couldn't protect them all from a dog, most likely. Hawks love chicks.


They are very loud if you have 40 of them. 5, not so much.

Chick start is the normal first food.

There are so many people on here who know so much more. Look around, have fun!

And

from Yuma, Arizona!

 

[danielle82]

Quote:
First,

I am a newbie myself, but I will try to answer some questions...I am positive you will get tons of good answers from experienced chickeneers

~ I have mine on medicated, I think its 20%
~I have mine in the house, I am worried how they will do with the variances in the temperature myself
~Mine sleep well at night, they are peeping, except for when they are sleeping, and they bed down at dark. I have a regular light bulb on mine at night for warmth, I'm not sure, but I think they sleep through red light? I may have read something on here about that
~Go to the coop section of the page, you will have soooo many ideas on coops!
~I have no clues on the no-nos of chicks, so far I'm just keeping mine clean, with fresh clean water, and fresh food, and checking their little bums for pasty butt, and they are doing magnificent!

 

[giasmom]

from Alabama. I used to live in Japan when I was a kid. Almost35 years ago now. Been to Okinawa several times. I often wonder how much that place has changed since we lelt. Anywho, Are you asking what can you feed your chicks until your feed arrives ??? I put my chicks out in the main coop between 2 and 3 weeks, alot of folks on here will tell you that is way to early. I haven't had any problems doing it this way.Basically our temps this time of year are close to what you stated yours are. Keep them dry ,for sure. They will sleep all night usually. Do a search on coops and you will find many on here,from the basics to the more elite. Heck you can even use a plan ole dog kennel in a small run if you like. There are so many options ! Good luck, Have fun & enjoy the chicken life !

 

[MommaHen23]

Hello!!

Congrats on the decision to keep chics!!! They are alot of love!!

1. I use a basic medicated chic starter. I haven't had any problems yet (cross your fingers) After a few months I start mixing it up with grain.

2. I don't take babies outside until they have full feathers. However with your climate, it seems that they might do fine around 2 months. - you might want to medicate them for worms.

If the only chickens you have are these babies, I would leave a heat lamp on outside, just in case they need to seek warmth. Older chickens will not appreciate this, because they want it as cool as possible.

3. a) babies get loud when they are COLD. make sure they don't get cold. They will also cry out if their 'mother' (if thats you or another chicken) is out of their sight.
b) They will sleep at night only if they are exposed to daylight and night. Once I allowed a window into the room, the sun took care of the rest on teaching them day and night.

4. In the beginning I would suggest building a simple pen. 4 corner posts with wire all around it. (be sure to use small wire on the bottom so chics can't squeeze through (we call it hardware cloth the squares are only 1/2 in wide). You can add posts in between the main post to help support. That will keep the big predators out if it has a top!! Snakes however we treat them with a nice thick hemp rope wrapped around the pen. The snakes won't crawl over the very coarse rope, therefore keeping them out!! Have some kind of shelter inside the pen so they feel safe. Then add a small peice of wood across the wire so they can perch.

5. The only no-nos that i know about chics is:

a) Don't let them get too hot or too cold!!!
b) Always make sure they have enough food for all of them.

Hope this helps!

 

[pixie74943]

Building is easy... build a box, put walls on it..

That is literally what I did.. there is a rail running along the middle as a roost, and an extra piece of wood ran along one side of the roof to give it a slope.

Cut a hole in a wall and viola, youve got a door

Then just build a couple more boxes with wire mesh and the sides, and bam, youve got a run...




But then again, this is suburban South Australia.. My first chickens had NO enclosed area, they had a high fence on 2 sides and a shed on another. They never got touched, no predators for me

 

[Silkiefan]

Feed medicated chick starter - and yogurt for good digestion... scrambled eggs, spinach... pretty much anything you eat except for potatoes! Potatoes are toxic to chickens like chocolate is to dogs. Ask around for other potentially toxic foods - in fact, there's a recent post on that subject.
They "peep" and poop constantly. Handle them a lot so they become tame & snuggly! My Silkie sits on our laps and likes to watch tv! I started mine out in one of those ugly plastic airplane safe dog kennels (halved) and now they have the run of the yard with a wire bunny cage with the bottom cut off... mine though, have the luxury of being indoor pets and coming in from the weather whenever they want. Mine go to bed pretty much when the sky starts to go from blue to indigo - if that makes sense... and they like to sleep up off the ground. Have fun!

 

[ThatBlondeChick]

wow, thank you everyone I have learned SO much in this one post!
I am on my way (around the web) to find a red light and some started food!
Anyone have ideas of what I can feed baby chicks untill my food comes???
Again, THANK U!

 

[MommaHen23]

Quote:
How old do they have to be to bring them in the airconditioning although they snuggle up to you?? I don't want to hurt em but I should would like to cuddle with one ASAP!!