Little chicks - help

Ilovecubbage

I am just about to get little chicks a few days old. Would anybody give me any advise what to feed them and where to get it?
How long before they give me nice eggs?:)
I will have them in some box at home for a while before getting them out.
I haven`t investigated yet, but would like to hear peps opinions on having little chicks.

amcluesent

>How long before they give me nice eggs?<

Approx. 20 weeks to first laying for most breeds.

Money_maker

Normally they have a heat lamp or mum to keep them warm. Will eat chick crumbs til big enough for mash/pellets.

Are you ready for this, you don't seem to have done much research? Have they been sexed, if not, have you got a home for cockerals?

Ilovecubbage

They have been sexed. Would it be easier to get them @20 when they start laying?
Would they stink if I have them home for a few weeks?
It seems like a good idea.

chelms38

Money_maker wrote: »

Normally they have a heat lamp or mum to keep them warm. Will eat chick crumbs til big enough for mash/pellets.

Are you ready for this, you don't seem to have done much research? Have they been sexed, if not, have you got a home for cockerals?

Seconded. :eek:

Primrose

I'm very shocked that you seem to be going into this venture without having done very much homework on how to care for these vulnerable little creatures. Have you got the right sort of housing for them? Have your researched how they need to be care for? Have you got any books out of the library so you know about their illnesses and what type of food to give them and the pests they might suffer from?
Please delay getting these creatures until you're responsible enough to care for them properly. You honestly don't sound as if you're ready for them yet. They are living creatures who deserve to be treated with respect.

Lotus-eater

You need a box, a heat lamp with chain so you can have it at different levels (and something to hang it off.
A feeder for chicks, something to give them water in (a plate with stones in it so they don't drown.
And yes it stinks if you have it inside and attracts rats if in a shed.

I don't judge you as some people seem to, everyone has to start somewhere and it's not exactly brain surgery.
But, two things, 1. Getting your first chickens at laying age (about 18 weeks) is the best way to start and get a book and do some research on the web.

giantmutantbroccoli

Ilovecubbage wrote: »

I am just about to get little chicks a few days old. Would anybody give me any advise what to feed them and where to get it?
How long before they give me nice eggs?:)
I will have them in some box at home for a while before getting them out.
I haven`t investigated yet, but would like to hear peps opinions on having little chicks.

At that age, feed them chick crumb. You can supplement with a bit of boiled egg and give them some vegetables for them to peck at, but the chick crumb should have everything they need. Look up animal feed suppliers, equestrian suppliers or farming suppliers near you, or ask at the place you're buying them.
It takes approx. 21 weeks for chickens to reach sexual maturity, but that's an estimate. Smaller breeds of chicken, known as bantams, tend to mature a bit earlier. Larger breeds can take longer. And sometimes they just take longer anyway
Use wood shavings (the sort you get for rabbits etc) for bedding while they're small. When they get bigger you can use straw. Never use hay as bedding, even for adult chickens - they'll eat it, and it can tangle up inside their crops and choke them.

Your chickens will need an enclosure of some kind with a shelter and nest boxes for egg-laying. The chicks will smell, so you won't want to keep them inside for long.

Chicks are a pain in the bum to rear yourself. They are either incredibly stupid, or incredibly inventive but suicidal! They can drown themselves in a water dish. They can choke themselves on their food. They can die if the temperature is too cold or too warm. I personally wouldn't start off with little chicks. Have you considered getting a broody hen on some eggs instead? A broody hen will:
Regulate the chicks temperature so you don't have to get a heat lamp
Show the chicks where the food and water is. Newly hatched chicks can be pretty dumb about these things.
Look after the chicks outside and do its best to shoo off any predators.

If you have a broody hen it makes looking after the chicks a lot simpler. It also means you have an adult chicken right away, so you can have an idea of what it's going to be like when the little ones grow up. I'd recommend getting a good book out from the library on the subject to help you, and make sure you have the outdoor shelter and food sorted out before you bring any birds home.

If you're more interested in the eggs than cute little chicks, you could get ex-battery hens that've already started laying, or you could get point of lay pullets (pullet means young hen) often abbreviated to POL. You can end up waiting a month or so for POL pullets to actually start laying, but it's still quicker than waiting for chicks. Buy them from a farmer or breeder and have a good look over them before you agree to anything.
Check for the following:
1. Sneezing, discharge/snotty looking beaks, coughing/rattling breath noises - all pretty easy to spot, definitely signs of some infection (not necessarily bird flu but still bad)
2. Dirty feet or feathers - Feet should be scaly, clean and shiny looking although the colour depends on the breed. Crusty, crumbly or chalky looking patches on the leg scales is a sign of scaly leg mite, a common skin problem that can be hard to get rid of. Dirty feathers round the bum area suggst the bird has gut problems, probably worms.
3.Drooping head or wings - birds that are in pain, very sick or suffering adopt a hunched posture with ruffled feathers, head tucked into the neck or drooping, and wings drooping.
4."Panting" birds -birds don't pant to cool down! If a chicken is standing about with it's beak gaping open it probably has gape-worm, a nasty parasitic infection. Open its beak and have a look inside, and smell its breath. If its breath smells rotten or cheesy, or if there's mucus covering the throat inside, the bird's sick. Also look out for "snicking" - the brid jerks its head back or to the side suddenly, as if it had the hiccups, and sometimes makes a snicking noise. This is a sure sign of gape-worm.

Hope that's of some help!

chrisaj

I aggree with whats already been said, but would like to add.......Don't forget when you put them outside.....please make sure that they're in a fox proof place.
Have you looked at practical poultry online, loads of help on there.......sorry but I don't know if I should mention another site.:o

Ilovecubbage

Thank you for some of the valuable input. Some of you made me lought realy , thanks for that too.
It is not a brainstorm to look after animals , only if you want to do it though.
My parents and me as a younger girl had all sort of animals loooooots even wild ones and never needed a book for that! Well there was no book then , they all survived and some of them we eat and some we let out into the wild when they were strong enough.

BTW I do have a place for them outside , but it is not quite finished yet.
I just wanted to know whether to get them that young or wait for the older ones.

paulofessex

There a few sites around which are informative, this one for example www.urban-chickens.com