Uh Oh...

[Amatsukaze]

Greetings folks!

I have been ghosting this site for a couple of months with the intention of getting some chicks in the spring.

I drew up my plans for a coup & made a material list. I intend to start building it the 1st week of March & have it done that very same week (I am a former carpenter with all the tools so the building phase will be a snap).

In my zeal to get everything started I went & ordered 25 Plymouth Rock chicks from eFowl.com thinking I would get the 1st hatch in the spring. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when a couple of days later I get an email from them telling me my chicks will arrive on 12/21 or 12/22!
After the initial panic wore off I started thinking my way through it & think I will be OK. I already have everything I need for the brooder except the food & water dishes which I will buy in the coming days.

The chicks will be kept inside for the 1st several weeks & that is where my plan ends & my question’s start.
Subsequent to getting the email I discovered a negative posting about eFowl on this site that got me worrying. Chicks arriving in the dead of winter need to ship fast & I am worried about the bad rep of eFowl. I try to console myself knowing that someone that has been wronged hollers loud & long while folks that have a good experience usually just don’t say anything. Since this will be my very 1st time with chickens I am worried about getting sick chicks & wonder if their reputation in conjunction with the time of year is sufficient motive to cancel the order.

Assuming my chicks arrive in good shape I think I read they should be in the brooder/indoors until they are fully feathered which is roughly 2 months? February/March is still plenty cold here in the Bluegrass. Will the young birds be able to handle it if they are fully feathered? I intend to put 2 heat lamps in the coup when it is constructed but I am still unsure if that is enough for young birds. What would ya’ll recommend?
If it is still too cold for the birds I could always clean out my 2 car garage & keep them in there.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Many thanks,

 

[mississippifarmboy]

first off

from Mississippi. You need to keep the chicks at 95% the first week then drop the temp down 5% each week until the temps match the outside temps or the chicks are fully feathered. It being Feb. I'd add a little heat to the coop even after they go outside for at least a few more weeks just to be sure.
Can't advise on eFowl because I've never used them.
Good luck!

 

[Robo]

I keep all of my chicks in the garage. I have never bought from e-fowl, but I would leave them in the garage until they look fully feathered. I would set up a heat lamp in the coop with some pine shavings under it. Do you have a coop where they can get out of rain and drafts?