Total novice in need of help

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ScottishLass

ScottishLass

Hatching
Apr 10, 2017
8
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Bonnie Scotland
Hi all!

On Thursday we inherited 9 week old chicks who were going to be "disposed" of if we hadn't taken them. So they moved in with us in a tub with a water dish.

We live in Scotland and are lucky enough to have a lot of land so space isn't an issue. We are planning the building of a run and I've been browsing the forums for ideas on how to build the most suitable run.

The chicks are now almost 2 weeks. They are living in our utility room which my husband is not very happy about and they are getting a little large for the cage I managed to source for them.

They all have wing feathers and some are getting tail feathers.

I have no idea what I'm doing. I've read up a lot and am feeding them twice a day with chick crumbs from a pet store. They have water all of the time and I use a heat lamp at night (it's a massive one, 250v).

I'd like to get them out of the utility room asap as they are smelly, the cat is after them and they are making a mess. Plus my husband is not pleased that farm animals are in the house.

Is there a total beginners guide to how to raise baby chicks? Any help and advice would be very very welcome. We want to make sure these wee balls of fluff have the best life possible.
 
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Today it's a high of 10 degrees Celsius which is 50 Fahrenheit I believe. Tonight it's to be a low of 6 Celsius/42 Fahrenheit.

We have a small 'room' in a barn that I could move the run we have inherited (small and portable, it won't last them as I reckon it would house only 2 fully grown hens but it will do for a few weeks until the new run is built) into and there is a plug available for the heat lamp if needed. But it's dark and damp and I know there are rodents in there.
 
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Greetings, ScottishLass, and :welcome! Happy you joined our community! I don't know about a beginners guide but I'm sure the answers you seek can be found on BYC? :caf. Here are a couple links that may assist you:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-your-baby-chicks
and
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens
I hope you can find some useful information in those articles. Hang in there....chickens are quite adaptable! Best wishes and th ask for joining BYC! :woot
 
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This is the cage we have for them. They have been in that for 2 days. They need more space though as it's cramped. Just now I have them outside in an old rabbit run that my husband found in one of the barns. I am keeping a close watch on them and my children are playing outside bedside them. They will have to come in soon though as I worry they will be cold (it's 11am here).

Who knew chickens were so stressful!
 
There are quite a few here who brood outside, even when it's cold. We use a mama heating pad (MHP) and some use a wooly hen.

The MHP is basically a heating pad (that doesn't have auto shut off) for the chick's to duck under when Chilly. Mine have been using it since they were 1 week old, night time Temps in the 30s (F) and days anywhere 60 to 80. I use the heating pad plus rigid foam to act like a cave that retains heat quite nicely. There are several great threads with better instructions than this and pictures.

One of my favorite reasons for using it is the chick's put themselves to bed, sleep all night and get them selves up in the morning.
 
Rwood5093 said:
There are quite a few here who brood outside, even when it's cold. We use a mama heating pad (MHP) and some use a wooly hen.

The MHP is basically a heating pad (that doesn't have auto shut off) for the chick's to duck under when Chilly. Mine have been using it since they were 1 week old, night time Temps in the 30s (F) and days anywhere 60 to 80. I use the heating pad plus rigid foam to act like a cave that retains heat quite nicely. There are several great threads with better instructions than this and pictures.

One of my favorite reasons for using it is the chick's put themselves to bed, sleep all night and get them selves up in the morning.
Click to expand...


Oh that is very helpful! Where can we buy these heat pads and how are they powered? I could easily move the mini run to the back door but I would struggle to run power to it. Though it's not impossible.. perhaps husband would help me with an extension cord rather than have them inside.

I don't put the chicks to bed, just turn on the heat lamp before I go to bed and they seem to go to sleep. If you could send me photos of your set up that would be super. Is there a better forum to be asking these questions in?
 

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