We got our first chicks in 25 years 2 weeks ago and we are having so much fun! A couple of things we found:
Call the hatchery and verify the shipping date. Ours arrived 2 days before I was expecting them, on a Sunday, and if I hadn't called I wouldn't have had a clue, would have been at work, stuff not ready, etc. Turned out great, but...
They grow REALLY fast. Your initial brooder may look huge but within a few days it will be wall-to-wall fluffy babies. It's fun to have them in something small (we used a big feed trough)so that you can easily pick them up at first, but plan on something bigger after 3-4 days if it's small.
Pasting up: I tried gently dabbing at the hard little balls of poo that collected on a few bottoms, but finally found that a warm sitz bath - just sit that little chick butt down in a little bowl of warm water to soften and then gently remove - works much better. And they didn't seem to mind it after the first few seconds. They'll dry really fast under the light. My chicks were all active and healthy, eating and drinking, but still a few had some problems with this.
Get some chick grit. Not readily available at the feeds stores here, but if you are going to want to give your babies any treats (and you are!) you should have some to offer them, so see if you can find some. McMurray's has it, but expensive to ship. Its just like adult grit but smaller.
Don't plan on getting anything done for a while, watching the chicks is ALL I wanted to do for days. Have fun!
