Getting baby chicks

[TheChickenChaser]

Hello! I know it's been a while since I have last posted, but my birthday is next weekend and I will be getting 3 baby chicks from rural king! I have some questions though, what should I look for in a healthy chick? Can rural king sex them? And finally, what are some good bonding experiences I can do with them early on? I bought a cat backpack so that they could go on walks? Please keep me updated!!!

 

[nuthatched]

Take back the backpack, chickens aren't that type of pet.
Chickens need to stay in their area, your yard/coop so they don't catch disease, they also stress out with new environments and new things. Constantly putting them in a new environment will ruin their mental and physical health.

You want to look for active, perky chicks, the feed store can't sex them but they likely have batches of sexed (with 90% accuracy) chicks or sex linked chicks. (Comets, stars, red, gold, blue, black sex links etc)
Bantams typically aren't sexed, they're too small to do it without hurting them.

With the money returned from the back pack, you want to get some grower feed, a heat lamp, small feeder and waterer and a bedding material. most places have big bales of pine shaving, I use pee pads.
Not cedar shavings.
They don't need toys or those mini perches or treats. colored ping pong balls, a hand mirror from the dollar store make good toys
They're too little for treats until about 3-4 weeks old, then you want to give them a little chick grit before and during. Pieces of fruit and vegetables are good treats. A good treat is to add warm water to their feed in a small dish so its like thick oatmeal, they'll go nuts. Make sure the pieces of fruit are big enough do they don't swallow them.
Your brooder can be a large cardboard box, a stock tank, or a large storage tub.
You want the heat pointing to one end so they can cool off and warm up if needed.
I'd cut out one side of the brooder and replace it with something they can see through, like hardware mesh, screen, plexiglass, plastic, etc and have the brooder up on a table so they can see you coming and don't suddenly appear over head.
Since it's warmer, you can move them out to the coop in about 2 weeks and keep the heat with them until 4 weeks.

You can hand feed them, or just leave your hand there so the get used to it.
You can say the same thing every time you feed them or treat them (i.e hey girls, time to eat, here's some treats!)
Don't let them ride on your shoulders.
just sit with them quietly.
You can let them outside for trips when it's warm, with supervision.
Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

what should I look for in a healthy chick?

It's more what not to look for. If the chick is lethargic, standing around and fluffed up, avoid it. If it is normally active and looking alert, good.

Males are naturally curious and bold. If any come out to meet you avoid them if you want girls. Boys tend to stand erect, upright and tall. Girls tend to be more bent over.

Can rural king sex them?

The people working there probably cannot but as Nuthatched said, sometimes they get in chicks that are supposedly sexed at the hatchery. See what they have to offer.

 

[FrostRanger]

I second the backpack being a terrible idea, mine didn't even like being in my cat carrier for the brief amount of time it took me to transport them for trips to spend time outside in their run and they were only in it for like 3-5 minutes so they definitely wouldn't enjoy a walk around the block in a backpack. Aside from what Ridgerunner said, think about what breeds you want to get and if you're getting multiple breeds, whether they'll be compatable with each other eg, don't put very docile breeds polishs and buff orpingtons with more bossy breeds like Rhode island reds. I am biased, but when in doubt you can't go wrong with an easter egger, and if you see something labeled as an ameraucana there, it's almost guaranteed to not be a purebred and is actually an easter egger (they're still very good birds and if I had went with getting my birds from tractor supply rather than ordering them from a hatchery, I would have gotten more). If you want females, buy pullets, they have a 90% of being female. Have your coop ready before you get them 'cause if you wait life will happen. I literally got sick with 3 different things the week I was planning on completing my coop expansion and putting this batch outside. I did put them outside the following week, but if it had been ready then I could have had them in that and they wouldn't have had a boring week in the brooder. As for bonding, just hand feed them wet chick feed and spend time every day sitting and talking with them and keep that up even after they go outside. If possible, get to know some of the other chicken owners in your area and ask them questions about what predators and disease they've dealt with, if any, and of course, ask away here if you have any questions too! Welcome to the forums and to chicken keeping!