How close are you to Cackle Hatchery? We got our chicks two days after they shipped them . Be sure to let the Post Office know they are coming so they can call you to pick up your chicks.
Wife wants to order from Cackle....help!
- Thread starter Jeffross1968
- Start date
I live in Massachusetts, but apparently the postal service is VERY quick!
I live in the U.P. of Michigan My chicks shipped out on Weds and I had them at 8:30 am on Friday morning. All were alive and well, I ordered 25 and got 29. Since I did loose one but she got pasty butt really bad and I don't think I caught it in time.
When they came I had already set up my "brooder" I used a 150 gal water trough with pine shavings, a heat lamp at one end and their food and water at the other. They all ate and drank well right from the start. I'm new at this too but so far so good. Good luck to you as well...
When they came I had already set up my "brooder" I used a 150 gal water trough with pine shavings, a heat lamp at one end and their food and water at the other. They all ate and drank well right from the start. I'm new at this too but so far so good. Good luck to you as well...
Congrats--and have fun...any questions just ask...
Quote:
feathering out takes 4-6 weeks...then they can be put outside, or earlier if its still hot where you are.
good luck, we are all here to help, mine are just now starting to lay, my 2nd time around with chicks...so happy to get the eggs finally!
Its not that hard, and soooo fun!!
feathering out takes 4-6 weeks...then they can be put outside, or earlier if its still hot where you are.
good luck, we are all here to help, mine are just now starting to lay, my 2nd time around with chicks...so happy to get the eggs finally!
Its not that hard, and soooo fun!!
Common errors are too small of a brooder and too much heat (or not enough room to get away from the heat.) Much better for them to be a little cool than a little hot; a little hot can be lethal. Here's one guideline for brooder size:
0.5 sq ft per chick, up to 2 weeks
1 sq ft per chick up to 4 weeks
2.5 sq ft per chick for weeks 4-8
Just a guideline, but gives an idea. I've kept a few for a day in a cardboard box with food on their floor (no litter) and a waterer, before placing under a broody that night.
Hopefully you can get them outside at least during the day by 3 weeks or so, if not sooner, at least if it is hot there. They will let you know if they are too hot or too cold.
They don't necessarily have to be fully feathered to be outdoors. It depends a lot on what they are used to and, of course, the weather. Lots of people rig up a temporary pen and take very young chicks our for an outing. They like nothing better than to scratch and peck on grass. My broody raised chicks, in the coop in April, were out and about all day by day 3, which was by no means 95-100 all the time. If they got cool, they went under mama for a few minutes to warm up, then out again. My brooder raised chicks (still in the coop, I don't ever keep chickens in the house) at 3 weeks were sleeping as far away from the heat lamp as they could so I turned it off, even at night, and nighttime lows were in the 60's. So it's partly a matter of what they are used to, at least after the first few days while they are recovering from shipping stress. And again, just to give an idea. There are lots of ways to raise chicks safely and healthfully.
Good luck!
0.5 sq ft per chick, up to 2 weeks
1 sq ft per chick up to 4 weeks
2.5 sq ft per chick for weeks 4-8
Just a guideline, but gives an idea. I've kept a few for a day in a cardboard box with food on their floor (no litter) and a waterer, before placing under a broody that night.
Hopefully you can get them outside at least during the day by 3 weeks or so, if not sooner, at least if it is hot there. They will let you know if they are too hot or too cold.
They don't necessarily have to be fully feathered to be outdoors. It depends a lot on what they are used to and, of course, the weather. Lots of people rig up a temporary pen and take very young chicks our for an outing. They like nothing better than to scratch and peck on grass. My broody raised chicks, in the coop in April, were out and about all day by day 3, which was by no means 95-100 all the time. If they got cool, they went under mama for a few minutes to warm up, then out again. My brooder raised chicks (still in the coop, I don't ever keep chickens in the house) at 3 weeks were sleeping as far away from the heat lamp as they could so I turned it off, even at night, and nighttime lows were in the 60's. So it's partly a matter of what they are used to, at least after the first few days while they are recovering from shipping stress. And again, just to give an idea. There are lots of ways to raise chicks safely and healthfully.
Good luck!
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