Total Newbie getting chicks on Thurs - Help!!!

[Mummylonglegs]

So my daughter's school has hatched some chicks and I have agreed to take on four (female) chicks, arriving on Thursday 11
By the time I get them on Thursday they will be one week old. The chicks are Rhode Island Red Cross Hybrids, apparently bred to be excellent layers.
I have a number of questions...

I am in Beckenham, Kent (BR3), although I tend to shop online. What is the cheapest/best value place for chick crumbs, esp online?

I have been told that I should feed 'chick crumbs' up to 8 weeks, then switch to 'growers pellets'. If I get them at 1 week old, approx. how much chick crumb would each chick eat in the remaining 7 weeks? 1kg each? More?
Are there any differences to watch out for in the chick crumb, or special ingredients that are important?

We plan to buy an Eglu cube on ebay because I have heard that the plastic will 1) make cleaning easier and 2) reduce red mite - is that right?
If not, which is the easiest coop to keep clean and minimise mites/other problems?

Any advice gratefully accepted!
Thanking you in advance,
Mummylonglegs

 

[Marigold]

Hi Mummylonglegs and welcome to the Forum.
I bet you are all excited about the chicks! What an interesting project. I'm glad they will all be girls, and the advice you've been given about feeding is correct. Young chicks won't eat an enormous amount of crumb, just get a 2- kilo bag today from your local Pets at Home or agricultural store and see how it goes. Cost of chick feed isn't a big factor compared with the price of setting up with the other necessary equipment. Make sure the crumb is well within date as this is important.
Plastic coops are very good, I have one myself and find it easy to clean and have never had redmite. I would advise you to research other makes as well as Omlet, though, as Omlet are good coops but very pricey compared with equally satisfactory or better brands now on the market, such as my Green Frog, Solway, or Brinsea, Carefree Coops. If you intend keeping four full- sized hybrid hens you will really need a much bigger run than the Cube will give you, even if you fit the extension to it. I look after my friend's hens sometimes in a Cube and know you can't even get into the run to catch a hen, and also the run space would be inadequate for four hens shut up in there. You would be best to consider building a walk-in run with a roof and a freestanding coop, giving an absolute minimum of two square metres of run space per bird, ie 8 sq. metres fir your four girls. If this isn't possible, consider getting fewer chicks. You will be able to get in for daily poo picking (hens poo a lot!) and coop cleaning, the hens will be easy to catch, inspect and tame, and most importantly they won't fight, feather-peck or get stressed from too close confinement. Also they will be safe from foxes when not let out, and you can let them out if you want to, when under supervision, if you are prepared to say goodbye to a tidy garden and a nice lawn!
One-week-old chicks will still need to be kept in a brooder for a week or so, so this is more urgent than getting the coop and run sorted out immediately. A large box will do, with mesh over the top and a heat lamp suspended over the top, which you can raise or lower when you see they are huddled together (cold) or scattering to the edges (too hot.) alternatively they will need an Ecoglow heat pad to snuggle under http://www.brinsea.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=587
, ie an 'electric hen' , which you can buy on eBay or Amazon, but don't take the chicks until you have some kind if heat set up for them. They will need indoor temperatures overnight for a while until properly feathered up, but could go out in a small covered rabbit run on grass on warm days, protected from wind and rain, from about 3-4 weeks old. They will need a small chick drinker and feeder, and some woodshavings as bedding in the box .
There's more info on raising chicks and keeping hens on the main Poultrykeeper site, which you may find helpful, here http://poultrykeeper.com/raising-chicks/ see also link at the bottom of the page.

 

[dinosaw]

Excellent advice from Marigold. Will just add that with regards to online shopping poultry feed is one of the few items left nowadays that works out cheaper to buy in person rather than online due to the high delivery costs.

 

[Marigold]

You may be interested in this thread http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8635
Which was started by Eirwen when she was about to raise a batch if chicks last year. She had problems because she was raising them in the cold months, but did so successfully, and they're all grown up and happy and healthy now. Some of the advice given won't apply to yours, eg the need for Vit.D when there's no sunshine, but you may find some of the stuff about setting up a brooder helpful. She needed yo keep them indoors for longer than you will, because in midsummer the temperature outside should be higher than in February, but you will still need heat until they get feathered up in a few weeks. Eirwen's were three weeks old to start with, though, you will need to be careful if yours are younger.

 

[Marigold]

Excellent advice from Marigold. Will just add that with regards to online shopping poultry feed is one of the few items left nowadays that works out cheaper to buy in person rather than online due to the high delivery costs.

Agreed, though I buy Dodson &Horrell layers pellets from Pets at Home because they give free delivery if the order is over £30 and this helps me because of less need to carry heavy bags in and out of the car.