I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. Full Disclosure
With the price of eggs beginning to skyrocket all over the country, I am willing to bet that there will be a rise in backyard chickens. They are fun to watch, fairly maintenance free to keep and can provide you with delicious, healthy eggs.
Chickens are also great for eating bugs and giving you nitrogen rich fertilizer for your yard and garden. A total win-win.
Before you go all “gaga” at the feed mill, farm store, or in the catalog you need to have a few things ready.
Preparing to Raise Chicks
Where Will The Chicks Live
Sure, you can start them out in a crate in the kitchen, but is that where they will spend the rest of their lives? So, the first thing you need to have ready is a coop. It should be in accordance with local laws, if necessary, have plenty of room for full grown chickens (at least 2 square feet per bird) and have 1 nesting box for every 4-6 birds you plan on having.
You also want to think about whether or not they are going to free range, need a penned in run or a combination of both. Having this planned out before you get your chicks will save you a lot of frustration. I have converted a dog house into a coop before with great success.
Items Needed For the Chicks Themselves
You will need a heat lamp, a brooder, a feeder, and a waterer. Chicks need to be kept warm, at the temp of 95-105° the first 2 weeks of their life. You will need to have a heat lamp that you can raise and lower as needed to ensure they are at a good temperature.
If the chicks are all spread out, trying to get as far away from the heat, it’s too hot. If they are all bundled up close together, trying to get closer to the heat, it’s too cold. We like to hang ours on a chain that can easily be moved up and down to help with that. A strong twine, or zip ties that you can cut and replace work just as well.
I also prefer the red lamp to the white lamp, because if chicks peck each other and draw blood, they will go after the injured chick and possibly peck it to death. The red lamp casts a warmer glow that makes blood much less noticeable to other chicks. Rose colored glasses, indeed. But, we have used both successfully.
You may just need to keep an eye on possible injured chicks and be prepared to remove them quickly. Of course, if this is your first flock, watching them won’t be a problem. Our kids watched the chicks for hours. It’s truly entertaining!
What to Feed Chicks
Chicks need a higher protein feed to help them get started best. Well, that’s what all the experts say, including our 4H leader.
We usually only buy one 50# bag of “chick starter” each time, and then they go onto the regular layer feed. I am sure that can be debated among other chicken owners, so do what’s best for you.
We don’t like to have lots of different bags of feed laying around due to the lack of storage space ourselves. I have never personally had any issues raising them this way, by putting them on the layer feed early on. You will want to make sure that the feeder you use is easy for the chicks to reach and access the food, without worry of them getting stuck.
Also, it needs to be closed off enough that they can’t poop all over their food. Here are some feeders for chicks that we have used successfully. A plastic one is our preference, but you can get a galvanized one as well. They both attach to mason jars full of food for ease of use.
There is also a long one that you add the feed to, and has room for many chicks. We usually wind up removing the top part of this, because we have had several chicks get stuck in there. That’s not pretty to find a dead one simply because they got stuck and suffocated in the food.
Chicks Need Access to Lots of Water
You will want to refresh their water at least 2x a day in the beginning. We also add a dime or penny at the bottom of the waterer, in the water itself, to get the chicks to peck at it and drink more.
Some also add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the water in the beginning. We have done this with some sets, and didn’t do it with others. I honestly didn’t notice any difference in their health in the beginning. If you like the idea, it won’t hurt them.
The waterer again needs to be easy for them to access the water, without the possibility of them climbing into it completely and drowning, or pooping all over in it. This one is nice because it can hold lots of water at once.
A Chick Brooder is Simply a Place for Them to Start Out
We have used old rubbermaid containers, old rabbit hutches, and a mini coop as brooders. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you want.
The basic idea behind a brooder is that it will give the chicks plenty of space to grow and move, a place for their food and water, and a way for them to keep warm with an added heat lamp attached.
You will also want to make sure that there is some type of cover over the brooder to keep the chicks from flying out. This will happen before you know it. We just laid some chicken wire over the top of the rubbermaid container. Totally hacked, but it works well.
Where to Get Chicks
Local feed mills or farm stores are a great place to start, because the chicks will have less stress going home with you, and most of the time they are from local farmers so the breed will be “hardy” for your climates.
But, if you have your heart set on a specific breed they don’t carry, you can order them by mail. My favorite online place to order chicks is Hoover’s Hatchery. They have egg-cellent customer service (see what I did there?) and their chicks have always been very healthy.
Adding chicks to your flock can be so much fun and easy to do with just a little bit of planning!
Have fun with the fluffy babies and enjoy all that backyard chickens can offer. They are calming, peaceful and can be fun and interesting pets.
Heather and her family live in Northern Indiana and share their adventures of raising chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbit,s and a large garden on a 1/5 acre backyard homestead. Follow them at The Homesteading Hippy for all their joys, sorrows and laugh along at the antics.
