mrseggy Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 We have three almost 3 week old chicks (3wks on thursday) that have been hatched by my sons nursery, and will eventually live on our allotment with our other hens. They currently live in the house. We have loaned an electric hen from the farm where the eggs came from, its adjusted to full height and the chicks are all doing well, infact im sure i heard one attempting to crow this morning! I currently have them on heat day and night, with the weather being so hot atm i think i should be starting to take them off heat. Will it be ok to turn it off during the day? I'd like to get them up on the allotment as soon as it would appear that the **** (if indeed s/he is) is going to be an early crower! We're also not sure what breed/cross they are but a little research tells me they're possibly sex linked, rhode island reds x light sussex. We have one white/yellow with black flecks on his wings but non on his neck (yet?), which i believe to be a **** and two slightly bigger amber/redish coloured ones with brownish feathers. The light one is certainly the bravest of the 3 and spends most of his day perched on top of the electric hen the other two just dont seem as forwards as him, tho he has alot more feathers than the other 2 (i though females developed quickest?) s/he's comb is also more developed and is already quite red. Its not a problem btw if s/he is a cockerel it can live on the allotment, no problem, we have no intention of culling or eating him. My little boy has lovingly watched and waited for these to hatch, sadly they only actually had 3 eggs from 12 hatch . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez2 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Different breeds feather up at different speeds. I have chicks about 6 weeks old and these are the fastest to feather up due to warm weather. It can drop cold at night so I would offer night heat for a while. How well feathered up are they and how big are they? They need night heat so but if it drops cooler any daytime they will still need access to heat so take care if withdrawing heat. The electric hen should be set so it reaches the chicks back when its stood up and not above its head height. Remember it has to be warm whenits laid on the floor. If they are sexed lined you can sex them at day old from the colour of their down. The light sussex / Rhodie cross only gives sex linked one way round. I can't remember which way round the **** and hen need to be for parents but when done the correct way round the males have pale down and the females are 'gingery' commercial layers. Males combs develop quicker. I keep LF pure breeds, hybrids and some random crosses. The males sometimes feather up slightly earlier but not by much, its hard to tell unless they are side by side. Sounds like you have a **** and two hens. These are hybrids and will not breed true if you breed them on further. Iguess you know this anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrseggy Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Different breeds feather up at different speeds. I have chicks about 6 weeks old and these are the fastest to feather up due to warm weather. It can drop cold at night so I would offer night heat for a while. How well feathered up are they and how big are they? They need night heat so but if it drops cooler any daytime they will still need access to heat so take care if withdrawing heat. The electric hen should be set so it reaches the chicks back when its stood up and not above its head height. Remember it has to be warm whenits laid on the floor. If they are sexed lined you can sex them at day old from the colour of their down. The light sussex / Rhodie cross only gives sex linked one way round. I can't remember which way round the **** and hen need to be for parents but when done the correct way round the males have pale down and the females are 'gingery' commercial layers. Males combs develop quicker. I keep LF pure breeds, hybrids and some random crosses. The males sometimes feather up slightly earlier but not by much, its hard to tell unless they are side by side. Sounds like you have a **** and two hens. These are hybrids and will not breed true if you breed them on further. Iguess you know this anyway. Thanks for your reply Re the electric hen they've never had it that low its always been set at the maximum height, we only got them Friday. Im assuming they must be fine with it set to this height as ive not seen them all huggled together or anything. They're a good size they stand at around 7/8 inches when stood. They lighter covered (the ****) is really well feathered on his wings back and chest. The 2 amber/red ones are less feathered they have just started getting their chest feathers. Oh and we have not intention of breeding them on further, im hoping to add another 3 or 4 girls to this flock when they're ready to live outside. We just got 8 POL warrens that are in with our 4 old girls and pyscho pekin cockerel . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez2 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 You are lucky that you hatched in summer. If you had young chicks earlier in the year they would have been far too cold and could have died. The E/H has been far too high up for them. The reason you can alter the height is to suit the size of the chicks. Young growers can be introduced to adults at about 20 weeks old. I do mix mine at about 12-15 weeks but it can delay laying a bit. I wouldn't mix the cockerel with the Pekin **** unless you want a bloodbath. You can somthimes keep young males together for the first year if they have been hatched together but it always ends in tears sooner or later. Once chickens get a taste of blood they can continue to attack each other. They are carnivores and will eat each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrseggy Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Yes i thought that with EH im annoyed actually that the farm where the hatching eggs and incubator EH came from didnt leave the nursery with proper instructions!!! its a very well known childrens farm too!! i shall leave the EH as it is atm and re asses if the weather drops cold. I put it back in last nigh, they have plenty of room to escape the heat if they get to warm. The chicks and new cockerel wont be going in with our other flock (at any point) we have the space to have two separate flocks. Do you think its best to add a few more pullets when they're ready to live out? we could add more now, but i dont want to end up with another **** and i know its difficult to sex them at this age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parcher Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I generally take my chicks guidance for the height of the hen (it should be about the height of their back when they are standing up). I don't take them off heat until they are completely feathered and by that time, they are more interested in perching on top than sitting underneath. I have two that are 3 weeks old at the moment and they are still nipping under at night. As to male or female, I haven't been much good at feather sexing when they are very young but their comb is more pronounced in cocks and they seem to have stronger, thicker legs. I put mine out when they are too big for their inside cage (usually about 7 weeks) but they don't join the main flock until they are a similar size otherwise they get bullied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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