Raising chicks

[Mad Chick]

Hi all

The petting farm where my daughter works would like some more chickens as their current ones are all getting quite old. My daughter has persuaded them to get some day old chicks to rear. This will be her project for them so they have given her free range (and a very limited budget) to do this. Cockerels will not be a problem as the farm is large enough to accommodate and they will have enough hens to please (having said that the breeder we have found is fairly confident at sexing them so hopefully they can end up with 6-8 hens and 1 or 2 cockerels).

We have kept chickens in the past but always bought them at Point-of-Lay so have never had the pleasure of chicks (or the knowledge).

Izzy is currently building a brooder box with a heat lamp at one end approx 1.5m x 1m - will this be big enough for 8-10 chicks?

Also, how long should they stay under heat for? And at what point can they start venturing outside?

TIA

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi , surprised , did not get a cockeral and hatch your own . cheap as chips.
Bob

[kitla]

how exiting! I would think the brooder will be big enough. Has she thought about hatching some instead? I have a mini incubator & an electric hen nearly new collecting dust. But I suppose there would be a bigger chance of too many cockerels that way. I've only ever hatched using a broody hen, they stayed in the box for a day or two, then ventured out in an indoor run - regularly returning to the nest, at about 10 days old I moved them to a small run on the grass, still with mum & regularly sleeping in her feathers. 3 weeks old they were off round the garden with mum, by 4 weeks they were partially feathered & wandering off alone sometimes but still snuggling with mum sometimes & at night.
I suppose it depends how quick they feather up & how the weather is, I'd think that once they go outside they may need to come in at night until they're feathered up.
If she gives them a snuggly toy/feather duster at the start they will probably always snuggle up to it to sleep & when they are outside she could put a heatpad or warm beany by it.

[Mad Chick]

They have two chicken areas - a large walk in enclosure that is split into three sections each with a breeding group in, silkies, buff Sussex's and RIR. All of these chickens are on loan from a breeder and any chicks born go back to them.

Then they have another walk in run of their own hybrid chickens who free range around the farm all day. They do have a cockerel but we think he's shooting duds as none of the eggs have hatched. They're hoping that the chicks Izzy raises this year will go on to breed next year. The chicks she is getting are from a Light Sussex mum and a Welsummer dad.

They have an enclosed barn for the indoor animals and it also has pens indoor pens with pop-holes to outside pens for the rabbits etc so they plan on giving them one of these as they get old enough to venture out.

I am very excited as I get to have the chicks at home for a couple of days before we take them to the farm

[kitla]

And your job in those couple of days is to make them really really tame ready for the petting zoo! hmmm...I think that might involve alot of cuddling!