How big are chicks at 21 days?

[Casnz10]

Where my daughter works they have paid to have eggs in an incubator so they can watch chicks develop, then after 21 days you can either keep the chicks or return them and they cull them, how awful. She had nothing to do with this as shes new there. Well she's already told them I'll have the chickens. 7 have hatched already, I've seen a video of one hatching .
How big will they be at 21 days? Apparently they're warrens.

[Steve the Gas]

Still an egg or after hatching? I presume after, they will be small birds - are you worried how to house and keep warm?

[Casnz10]

Yes after hatching, well I don't know anything about little ones, I haven't agreed yet but she's already putting on the pressure,"mum you can't let them die" .
Presume theyl need to be separate from the big girls until they're bigger, Ill have to look into it.

[Steve the Gas]

What about the males?

Dom and those who have raised chicks will help on that..

[Totally Scrambled]

cas,
They won't be full grown until about 19 weeks old.
They should have heat available (heat lamp or a 60watt bulb you can adjust the height of) until they are fully feathered which is about 5-6 weeks old.
They will need to be on chick crumb upto 5-6 weeks old and then growers pellets until they are about 16 weeks old.
They shouldn't be with adults untill they are at least 16 weeks old when they should be big enough to look after themselves.
That's the basics
Dom

[Annie]

Caz , I can't help with the question you are raising but can't help the disgust I feel at this lesson,experiment whatever the correct name is ? To my mind the object to demonstrate the egg - chick process is completely useless if the consequence of what then happens to the chick is so callous. Really hope you are able to take the chicks on but understand this is a commitment you weren't prepared for and it takes a bit of thinking about and planning . Tell me to mind my own business and I take no offence but what is yours daughters job/workplace ?

[Casnz10]

I agree I too am horrified and so was she but straight away she has told them they're not going to be culled, I never knew such a thing happened. But not sure I can take them, i definitely haven't bargained on taking another 11 and 5 or 6 could be males. By the time I was to have them I still wouldn't know how many of what s.ex. Talk about tugging on my heartstrings.
Don't think it's a good idea to say the type of place she works in as it could get her in to trouble with me posting, and I definately don't want that.

[stace]

Hi Cas

If they are the same that we hatched at my workplace, they will be auto s.ex.ing warrens. We had five hens and 4 boys, the boys they took back with them, and we kept the girls. To be honest i don't agree with what they do, and they charge over £200 for doing it, but nothing we can do about that. Think hard about what you are doing, i hatched my own last year, and enjoyed every moment, but with the help from others on here i was prepared for it. Make the right decision for you, if you have the room and the spare time to do it, then go for it, if not don't feel bad that you can't help

[AL37]

Hi cas, at 21 days I would say they would be roughly the size of a black bird.
Hatching your own eggs always brings the issue of what to do with the boys.
Before I did my last hatching I did a deal with a local breeder to do a like for like swap so we both eneded up with unrelated birds to breed from, well that fell through and at one point I had nine boys.
I am lucky that I have plenty of people localy who have poultry and I have plenty of farmer friends so seven of the boys now have good homes. I am now left with Cassius the rhode island red and one araucana who as yet doesnt have a name.
I doubt I will be hatching any chicken eggs this year.