How To Care For Baby Chickens

You need to find a place to setup your nursery. In a garage, warm work shop or porch. Try to pick a place where the temperature doesn't swing drastically from hot to cold , this will make it harder for you. You can put them in a laundry room at first, but they will start to get a little stinky. You need to get the nursery setup BEFORE you get your chickens, so that you can get the temperature regulated and everything warmed up before they arrive.

Baby chickens need to be kept between 90-95 degrees for the first week. Then slowly reduce the heat over the course of the next few weeks by 5 degrees a week, until the are fully feathered and can keep warm.

Do not exceed temperatures above 95 or they could die from heat. ( They can be too hot as well as too cold.)

Why do I like a cardboard box? It is insulating, the sides should be high enough to keep any draft out and it's diposable once your done. The box should be big enough that your chicks can adjust their temperature. If it is cold they will get closer to the light. If it is warm they need room to get away from the light. They know when they are comfortable.

Why take the clip off the light? So you can raise or lower the light easily to adjust the temperature. The light should always be at LEAST 15 inches from the floor. If your are not getting enough heat from there, get a bigger bulb. It depends on the conditions where you put your chicks as to what size bulb you need. A heat lamp bulb will probably be a good one to start with. If the ambient temperature is warm then a 100 watt bulb might be enough. This will all depend on your personal conditions.

What's the woodsahvings for? Your babies feet need to stay as dry as possible. I personally am not crazy about wood shavings,( we always used sand) but that is the recommended material nowadays.
Now your asking how are their feet going to get wet? They just do! They will make a mess with the water and poop everywhere, I don't know why or how, I just know it happens. Hence the news paper. You can pull it up,and put down fresh paper and shavings as needed.

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What is the grit for? Chickens don't have teeth! They cannot chew their food, so they ingest grit with their food and it is "ground up" in their gizzard, then digested. Without grit your chicks would starve to death. They would not be able to get the nutrients out of the food they are eating.

Bring your baby chickens home, and introduce them to their new home. You must take each baby chicken and dip its beak in the water. Someone will probably shriek when I say this, but we always put a LITTLE sugar in the water. Maybe 1/2 cup in a Gallon. Don't make it syrup, but a little sugar will give them a boost. After all they haven't had anything to eat or drink yet. Do this for the first three days. You must change the water and give them fresh water everyday! (Maybe twice a day if it gets dirty.)

Remember, you are the momma chicken you have to show how to get started. If you get your chicks from a store and they are more than a day old this step should not be necessary. (Some one should have done this already) But, it is a good idea to show them where the water is anyway.

You should have food in the feeder, but these guys are small and may have a hard time reaching the openings. Use flat container (saucer, lid, just something flat) and put a little grit down then put the food on top of that. When they eat they will pick up small amounts of grit to grind their food.

If necessary, take your finger and scratch at the food and make chicken sounds. I know this sounds crazy! But it is usually effective.