Raising Urban Chickens

Buying chicks from an online hatchery will probably not be realistic for an urban chicken farm because they require you to purchase a minimum of about 30 chicks. According to your individual city laws, you might not be allowed to keep 30+ chickens.

So where can you, the urban chicken farmer, go get some baby chicks? First off, try looking for local feed stores. Most of them have a set of baby chicks and chick starter feed. If you don't have that option, try craigslist.com, which is where I got one of my baby chicks. If you want to dig into the chicken raising even more, you can even order fertilized chicken eggs from online and buy an egg incubator. That way, you can see your chicks pop out from their egg shells.

Note: Make sure you buy at least two baby chicks because chickens are very social animals. If a chick is raised alone, its mortality rate will be very high and its social skills will be diminished. Chicks learn from and support each other just like humans do!

Raising baby chicks is not as easy as you think. Chicks can die extremely fast for what seems like no reason at all. One day, they are happy and cute; the next day, they're sickly and not so cute. So you might need to do a little work to get the chicks as comfortable and healthy as possible.

Steps for Raising Chicks:
1. Set aside a warm, dry place in your house to place the chicks. If you have one of those large plastic storage containers, you can just line the bottom with newspaper and pine shavings. Pine shavings are the best choice for the chicks because it will deter a lot of the odor and can easily be purchased from any pet store.
2. Make sure you have a thermometer and a heat lamp or some kind of strong heat source that you can attach to the top of the container. Baby chicks require a 90-95 degree Fahrenheit temperature for their first week. Then, you must reduce the temperature by 5 degrees each week until it reaches room temperature.
3. Chicks always need a clean water and food source in sight. The thing with chickens is that they like to scratch their feet, which will throw the pine shavings into the water bowl. Additionally, if your water bowl is too deep, chicks can accidentally fall into the bowl and drown themselves. You can easily solve this water feeding problem by purchasing a "poultry waterer." This is the best way to provide the chicks with a clean source of water without having you constantly monitoring it. You can also buy a chick feeder which does the same purpose. As for the actual chick feed, you'll need to get a chick starter feed from a feed store. It provides the chicks with the best nutrition and most of the time, the the feed is medicated which is a plus for you.
4. Now that you've set your chicks into their clean, warm home, you can just sit and watch them play. You'll probably need to change the bedding once or twice a week depending on the size of your bin.

Note:
If you have a compost bin in your backyard, you can just throw the old chick bedding into the compost bin. Chicken manure is an excellent source of nitrogen and pine shavings provide carbon, which are the two main components for perfect compost.

If you notice that your chicks are not peeping and chirping, running around in its cage, or eating then you have a problem. You need to diagnose these problems quickly because chicks have low tolerance to illness and diseases and can quickly spread to the rest of the flock.

Troubleshooting:
-If your chick seems lethargic all the time, go to a feed store and buy some antibacterial liquid for your chick. Feed the chick the suggested dose with a small syringe. If your chick refuses to take its medicine, then you can put some of the liquid into the chicks' water.
-If your chicks' wings are constantly drooping to its sides, your chick might have a cold! You can try the same method above.

Tips:
-Even if your chick seems sick, as long as it is eating and drinking water, it will get better.
-Don't let your chick run around on the carpet where it can eat foreign items like metal pieces and plastic.
-If you're going to let your chick play out in the backyard, always keep a close eye on it. A predator can take advantage of your chick! Also, if you leave the chick out of its bin for long, its temperature might drop significantly and it can get sick.

You'll notice that your chicks grow extremely fast. In only about a week or two, your chick can double in size. After a couple weeks, your initial chick bin might not have sufficient space for them to live. The solution? Well, you'll need to make yourself a chicken coop!

When Can You Move the Chicks Out?
Usually, you can move your chicks outside to a chicken coop when they reach 6-8 weeks. More specifically, you can let them out when they've developed all of their adult feathers. If your chicks are not developed enough yet, you can still let them out into a bigger area as long as you provide them with a heat source for warmth.

Chicken Coop:
If you want to be creative, you can build yourself an awesome chicken coop from scratch. However, this may be too difficult for the average urban chicken farmer. One way you can put together a chicken home is if you have an old dog house. Just cover the bottom with some pine shavings and you're good to go. If the dog house doesn't have a bottom to it, you can just get a wood piece and bolt it on. Make sure the dog house is covered with extra wires so that rats and other predators can't get in. You'll also need to make a roosting post for your chickens, which is basically something that your chickens can perch on. Parrots don't like to sleep on the floor; neither do chickens.

If you don't have any of these options for a chicken coop, you can purchase a chicken coop from online. They're rather expensive but worth it if you have the money.

Chicken Manure and Odors:
You might notice that your chicken manure is building up in the coop and starting to smell. In that case, you can purchase a natural powder called edible grade diatomaceous earth or DE for short. It can be purchased from most feed stores or from online. DE is a naturally occuring rock sediment that acts as a pesticide and odor repellent. It will not harm your chickens, dogs, cats, or plants. It's as safe as ground up rocks...because that is what it is. Just spray the DE on the bedding when it starts to smell. That way, you don't have to change the bedding every week. In fact, you can leave it in for months and then throw it into your compost bin afterwards.

Nest Box:
Yes, you need a nest box for your chickens. Chickens like to have an isolated spot to lay their eggs. As long as you have some sort of box that a chicken can comfortably fit in, you're good. You'll need 1 nest box for every 2-3 chickens.

Now that your chickens are older, they need a more varied diet. Chickens need a good source of whole grain, protein, grit, and leafy greens. Here are some ways to provide your chickens with a nutritious food source.

Whole Grain:
-chicken feed from feed store
-corn kernels
-sunflower seeds
-wheat flour
-oatmeal
-seeds
-grit

Protein:
-mealworms
-tuna from tuna cans
-boiled beans
-any kind of bugs
-oyster shells

Leafy Greens and Vegetables:
-tomatoes
-lettuce and spinach
-various fruits
-grass

Note:
Don't ever feed your chickens rotten food or wilted greens because they will get sick from eating it. If you wouldn't eat it, why should they?