1st Time Raising Baby Chicks

[Just-Moxie]

Hmmm. I suspect a 50 gal fish tank won't be big enough for very long. They still need space and ventilation. And, they could use a chunk of dirt from where ever the location is that you plan to keep them. It inoculates them, gives them some grit, and maybe some bugs.

The few chicks I had to raise I kept in a cardboard box...as big as I could find. I put the heat lamp on the back of a chair, not too close. You don't want a fire or dried up chicks. Cover the top of the box with chicken wire.

Good luck with the babies! They are great entertainment too!

 

[catjac1975]

The Co-op recommended wood stove pellets. That was nice, but as they got older, OH MY GOSH the dust as the pellets broke down from their scratching!

I don't think the dust is from the pellets. I use newspaper. And when they reach a certain the birds seems to produce dust. It seems to bee whatever they are shedding with growth.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

The pellets broke down to dust. There was hardly a pellet left after two weeks, which was about how often I changed it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My next book will be on taking them outside. You are raising them fairly late and your climate is colder than what I saw in Arkansas. I raised fall chicks one time when dogs wiped out most of my flock and I wanted more chickens the next year. Every year I hatched chicks in February when it was often well below freezing and I raised them outside.

You can run into some issues when keeping chicks in the house. They might be noisy. Usually if you keep them somewhat dark and don't disturb them they are pretty quiet at night. This probably will not be an issue but it bothers some people. Some people keep them right in the bedroom.

You probably have dogs roaming around. They might be a risk to the chicks. You might consider keeping them in a room the dogs cant get in, maybe a spare bedroom or bathroom.

As mentioned, they can raise a lot of dust. Some of that is dander from their down, feathers, and skin. Hopefully no one is allergic to chicken dander. Some of that dust is from scratching whatever bedding they have into tiny bits. Some of that is from scratching their dried poop. That's another reason to keep them in their own room. You might be doing some serious cleaning in that room when you are finished.

They might stink. If you keep the brooder dry and don't allow the poop to build up it should not. A wet brooder will be unhealthy and stink. A dry brooder is healthy and should not smell.

Those are some of the reasons some people want the chicks outside as soon as possible. Others really enjoy keeping the chicks in the house. We are all unique and have our own reasons. You can probably guess which side of the coin I'm on.

One of the things that affects when chicks can go to the coop is the coop. Your coop needs to have good ventilation to get moisture out. At the same time it needs to block breezes where the chickens are. To me the easiest way to accomplish this is to have openings up at the top so any breezes go over their heads in winter. I think we covered this in another thread. Anyway if they have good ventilation and breeze protection you are way head of the game. Life has a way of getting in the way of schedules. Get your coop ready as soon as you can.

The chicks need to be fully feathered out. Most chicks are fully feathered at 4 to 5 weeks. It helps them to feather out faster if they have a reasonably high protein diet. That's why chick Starter is usually in the range of 18% to 20% protein. So make sure chick Starter is a prominent part of their diet. Don't water it down with a lot of low protein treats. Some people like to add extra protein to their diet. I don't but that's my opinion. Others have different opinions.

Exposure to cool conditions help them acclimate. In my brooder in the coop that was easy. You will have more issues. Some people lock them in a room and open the windows to expose them to cold. Some people take them outside to play. As long as they are kept out of the wind even pretty young chicks can stay out in colder weather a surprising length of time. Going from a sub-tropical climate like inside your house to freezing conditions would shock my system. By the time they are feathered out they will be wearing a down coat all the time but still a little acclimation helps. If your coop is ready you can maybe put them outside during the day when it has warmed up some and take them back inside when it cools off. If you can safely provide electricity out there you can provide a heat source and finish raising them out there.

My chicks were acclimated since they were raised in that brooder in the coop. They ate nothing except a good chick Starter. The grow-out coop they went to had great ventilation up high and real good breeze protection down low where they were. A couple of times I had chicks go through nights in the mid 20's Fahrenheit when they were 5-1/2 weeks old with no supplemental heat. I'm not saying yours can go outside that young in the conditions you will see in NY in December but get the coop ready. You may be able to use it sooner than expected.

 

[Nyboy]

I believe they are day old. I will have them at work inside in heated break room ( no dogs there) Ridge you are good my bulb for heat lamp is 250, easy enough to get another. Coccidiosis is my big worry. I test all my dogs 2 x a year for it. Can chickens pass it to dogs ? All animals here have their water changed 2x a day early morning then before leaving for night. I know this is not the smartest time of year but was disapointed withe the older birds I had looked at.

 

[catjac1975]

I believe they are day old. I will have them at work inside in heated break room ( no dogs there) Ridge you are good my bulb for heat lamp is 250, easy enough to get another. Coccidiosis is my big worry. I test all my dogs 2 x a year for it. Can chickens pass it to dogs ? All animals here have their water changed 2x a day early morning then before leaving for night. I know this is not the smartest time of year but was disapointed withe the older birds I had looked at.

I would suggest that you use 2 heat lamps if that does not make it too hot. If one burns out your chicks won't die over night the you are gone.

 

[Nyboy]

Good idea cat

 

[Nyboy]

https://featherloverfarms.com/colle...ather-lover-farms-ayam-cemani-bloodline-chick

 

[canesisters]

You've gotten GREAT instructions/advice here already - but, as any thread about chickens seems to make us ALL need to post , here's my $0.02.

My setup is a HUGE wooden box outside - but any container that is big enough for the chicks to be able to get away from the light will work. It's not like they're going to try to escape (before they have feathers).
I keep a lamp pointed into one corner - that way there is a definite difference in temperature 'zones'. Since you're keeping them inside, temp won't be as much of an issue as it is for me with my outside chicks. A spring day can swing from the 40's at night to 80+ in the afternoon and they NEED to be able to huddle under the lamp and then to move to the coolest corner later.
I keep the food and water in the middle in typical 'chick feeder' and 'chick waterer' containers (quart jar, red plastic bottom). They make some specifically for baby chicks that have VERY small space for drinking out of. That way they can't fall in. I use this until they start to get their first feathers and start jumping around. Then I move both the feeder and water up onto bricks to keep them from kicking bedding in. I feed "Poultry Starter" that is made for all types of backyard birds - turkeys, chickens, ducks, pheasants, etc. They seem to grow/gain slower at first - then make up for it around 16 weeks. Mine always outgrow the friend's when we split orders.
Keep it clean. Keep them in an even temp. Feed them treats - worms are great fun. Hold them a lot. Take lots of pictures and have fun.

 

[seedcorn]

https://featherloverfarms.com/colle...ather-lover-farms-ayam-cemani-bloodline-chick

I’m glad you like them. To me, looks like they fell in a tar pit.