Raising Baby Chicks

1. Are they allowed in your town? Most towns allow chickens, but no roosters. Check it out ahead of time.

2. If you don't want your neighbors to hate you...don't get a rooster.

3. Do you have time to take care of them? Baby chicks are adorable, but they need supervision (they are very naughty).

4. Where will you put them? They will need a safe place while growing up, and a coop for when they are grown up.

Your local farm supply store or...the mail! Yes, you can have day old chicks shipped to you directly from the hatchery. They are sent in special boxes via overnight mail. I have only found one hatchery with a minimum order of less than 25 chicks. 25 chicks might be a bit much for your first try, so I like My Pet Chicken, with a minimum order of 8 if you live in a rural order, and 3 if you live in a major city.

The 25 order minimum is to protect the chicks. They need to be very warm their first few weeks, so body heat keeps them warm during shipping. My Pet Chicken has special packaging (which you will be charged for) that keeps them warm and safe, which is why they allow smaller orders.

You will need to know what day they are arriving, and have the day off to make sure you can pick up your peeping package from the Post Office.

I recommend buying the biggest plastic bin (with the highest sides) that you can find. When they are little the big bin may seem unecessary, but they grow very fast. Once the little buggers get their feathers they can fly too! This is when the tall sides become necessary. An old screen that you can lay across the top will be helpful once they can fly. They like to perch on top of things, and they will find a way to escape if they can.

Chances are, if you are getting chickens, you are probably an animal lover. Most likely you already have another furry creature in your home. That other furry creature must now be considered a predator! Your chicks need to be kept AWAY from any dog/cat/ferret or whatever else you have. In the blink of an eye you could lose your babies, so PLEASE protect them!

You will need a heat lamp, not a 60 watt bulb, but a heat lamp. I recommend a red bulb, because it makes it easier for the chicks to sleep (and you if they are in your room).

Using your thermometer, make sure that the lamp is keeping the bin at the correct temperature. About 95 degrees for the first two weeks. 5 degrees less each week or two thereafter. Move the lamp closer or further away to adjust temperature.

We keep our chicks in our bedroom so that we can watch them. If you have them anywhere that the heat could be affected by the weather, you will need to take extra care. If you have them in a basement the heat should be fairly constant. My dad came up with a great way to regulate the temperature: a home thermostat connected to an outlet. All I do is plug the lamp into the outlet and I can control the temperature using the thermostat dial...more on that later.

SAFETY:
Heat lamps are a fire hazard. You must do everything in your power to keep the lamp from falling. I do not trust the clips that most of them come with. A sturdy hook in the ceiling (or more than one) looped through the hanging loop on the lamp with chain is safer. I use two hooks, two chains and looped through two different parts of the lamp just as an extra precaution. Make sure the cord is no where that it could be tripped over, a piece of duct tape on the ceiling to keep the cord from being jarred is also a good idea. [This probably sounds like overkill, but better safe than sorry.]

The thermometer need not be anything fancy, just something accurate that can be placed into the plastic bin (if it lands on the ground it will get pooped on, keep that in mind). Or you can make what my dad made for me, a thermostat wired to an outlet (shown in photo). I will see if I can get him to give me easy to follow instructions on how to make one of those, because it sure is handy.

Just remember about 95 degrees the first week or two, five degrees less every week or so after that. It isn't an exact science. Watch the chicks: if they are huddled in piles looking cold, they might be cold. If they are as far away from each other as possible (or worse, panting) they are too hot.

You need a chick waterer. Not a hampster waterer, not a bowl. Chicks could drown in a bowl, please do not use one. If the chicks can find a way to kick their bedding into the water, they will do it. You will need to change the water often. Once they learn how to fly they will perch on top of the waterer, and poop into the water.

Dishes very similar to the waterer or ones sort of like troughs with covers work fairly well. If you must use a bowl make sure it is one that is very shallow, so that if if flipped a baby couldn't be trapped underneath. The chicks are trouble makers though and they will stand in the dish, poop in it and kick the food all over the ground. [See the chicks demonstrating on why a feeder is a good idea]

At the feed store you will find that there are several options for feeding chicks. Each life stage has a different formulation and there are different brands and preperations for each stage. You can also get organic or not. For babies we like chick crumbles. It doesn't get soggy so there is less waste. You may decide to feed medicated feed at first. As much as I don't like overuse of anti-biotics, it is hard to protect babies that will sleep in their own poo, kick their food on the ground and then eat it. You will also need to give them grit. Chickens don't have teeth, so they use small stones to grind down their food. A bit of sand sprinkled over their food will suffice for the little ones.

Chicks are little but they eat a LOT! Let them eat all that they want.

Absolutely no newspaper! Chicks need bedding that is not slippery. They can get a condition that ruins their legs if they are on slippery surfaces, and they will die. Wood shavings are nice an cushy, but the chicks will kick them all over the place. My favorite solution is a nice layer of wood shavings, a couple inches deep, topped with paper towels. The towels make less of a mess and are easy to clean, but the wood shavings make a soft, non-slip surface.

If you have children, you may not want to tell them how many chicks you ordered or when they are coming. This will prepare for any that might not have made it through their first day. Many hatcheries will include an extra chick or two in case something happens.

When they arrive, check them for "pasting up". If any poo is stuck to their bum, they could die. See if you can wipe it off, if it doesn't come off then soak the chicks rear end in warm water first. It will complain, but you must remove the blockage or the chick will die. I have not had this happen yet, but you should be prepared.

See if the chicks are drinking their water. If they don't, pick a spritely one and dip its beak gently in the water. They usually get the idea, and monkey see monkey do. DO NOT give them water with an eye dropper. They could choke. If your chicks seem very lethargic you may want to add a pinch of sugar to their first water. So far mine have been quite lively and ready to explore.

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