4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[karen333]

i have some week old beautiful silver sebright chicks.

at the moment they are in a wooden blanket box with a 60 watt reflector bulb.

how old do they have to be before i can a/ turn down the heat and B/ move them outside to their own coup?

[Christian]

I have no experience with chicks but I think it is 6 weeks off heat??

 

Don't you have a book or something?

[Egluntyne]

Some info **here**.

 

It's best to do your research in advance.

[craftyhunnypie]

Hiya - get yourself a cheap thermometer - a fridge magnet one or a little digital one / garden type & put it in with the chicks, under the lamp - where they sit. FOr the first weeks I have it at about 36 - 35 degrees C. Each week I raise the lamp so that the temperature is 2 - 3 degrees lower - until it's at about 23 - 21 degrees C - Usually at 6 weeks. From 4 and a half to 5 weeks, I turn the lamp off for little bits in the day & just put on at night & assess their behaviour - ie: if they huddle together wanting heat. Usually by this time they don't need the heat as much - as by 5 weeks they are quite feathered up. 6 weeks & they didn't have heat. This was May time, so it was warm at night also. Mine then went out at 7 weeks of age, in their eglu with run, unitl grown to a decent size. They will be let out to free range with the others in their enclosure next week (13 weeks old).

 

Good luck!

 

Emma.x

[superjules]

Sebrights? You're brave!

 

(Hope you don't mind having your ankles pecked! )

[Egluntyne]

Have you made arrangements for new homes for any cockerels?

 

As you will have noticed when you studied the FAQ section, we have a policy of not assisting with the rehoming of cockerels, so won't be able to help.

[buffie]

Yes it's really best to have all the info before even contemplating hatching, it's not something many of us have experience of on the forum.

 

Buffie x

[Helen&Lee]

The Practical Poultry forum and the River Cottage forum can probably give you much more advice than many of us..

[craftyhunnypie]

I'm sure any responsible owner or hatcher will have made suitable arrangements for any cockerels. It's common sense!

 

If you haven't got any common sense & can't make arrangements for cockerels, then please don't hatch!

 

I'm sure you have thought about this with your seabrights - stunning little beauties they are.

 

Emma.x

[Gallina]

Good luck, Karen! It's too late now to tell you what you should have done.

 

I am sure you will cope: there is so much information available on the internet. Here is a link that might help:

http://www.poultryclub.org/ACHatch.htm

It implies that chicks need heat for eight weeks. It's a pity the weather is so strange and cold for July.

 

You are brave to do this. I chickened out of borrowing my neighbour's incubator because it sounded so difficult to bring up chicks without a mother hen; and then one of my hens went extremely broody and I succumbed and bought fertilized eggs for her (due to hatch on Monday week). I just hope that my hen knows what to do, because I am getting nervous myself.

[craftyhunnypie]

That sounds a bit abrupt! I'm sure that you are doing everything right, I have every faith in you Karen.

 

Emma.x

[karen333]

Thank you for all your coments.The chicks were 4 days old when i got them and are growing very well.They are now two weeks old and seem to be happy chirping and running about.

There is not much information that i have come accross on the net about raising chicks yourself,there is plenty of information on incubation,but not what to do with them afterwards.

As for the cockrels I have an allotment and a wonderful bunch of neighbouring gardeners who are all itching to have some of their own so I can't see rehoming being a problem.

Sebrights are inquisitive funny little characters who seem to have a whole personality of their own.I do have other chickens on my allotment but they are currently sitting on eggs of their own (hence the problem of me raising these chicks myself).

[karen333]

Sebrights are so beautiful and have so much character.

I also wear boots when going in the pens!!!

[Karen Pimlott]

10 - 12 weeks before birds are off heat by 14 weeks they are out on the pasture. make sure you wean them off heat slowly by raising the lamp slightly every other day but not yet, wait till they feather up, 4 - 6 weeks ish. this weather does not help weaning birds off heat either as its cold at night.

[Nuggywoo]

Hi Karen333

 

When I hatched my chicks last year I used a 150 watt heat lamp on them in the box, when they were about 4wks I started raising the lamp a bit each day. I let them tell me if they were too cold/hot and acted accordingly.

Mine went out when they were about 8 wks but obviously it depends on the weather!