If you're bringing chicks to your homestead or backyard for the first time, you're in for a treat! Here's a quick guide to get you started.
In addition to fresh eggs, you'll be delighted to watch their antics and see their personalities develop. Chickens are relatively easy to care for and don't require much in the way of daily attention, making them an easy animal to add to your backyard or homestead. We absolutely adore our flock!
How Many Chicks Do I Need?
Chickens are social and will do better if you have at least 2 or 3 in the flock. If you are purchasing chickens for farm fresh eggs, each adult chicken will lay one egg every 25 hours during the peak summer season. As the chicken ages, production slowly decreases, most notably after age 2. For this reason, it's helpful to add a few new chicks every 2-4 years, in order to keep your egg production up. This is important to factor in, because you may want to start with a smaller flock if you plan to add gradually.
Chickens are social and will do better if you have at least 2 or 3 in the flock. If you are purchasing chickens for farm fresh eggs, each adult chicken will lay one egg every 25 hours during the peak summer season. As the chicken ages, production slowly decreases, most notably after age 2. For this reason, it's helpful to add a few new chicks every 2-4 years, in order to keep your egg production up. This is important to factor in, because you may want to start with a smaller flock if you plan to add gradually.
Getting Chicks
Buying day-old chicks is a very common way of starting a flock, and the chicks can be purchased from a local feed store, farmer, or mail order (they can live up to 48 hours when first hatched without food or water). They can be ordered as sexed or straight run (un-sexed and could be hens or roosters).
If you want to make sure you're not ending up with some or all roosters, it's imperative that you purchase sexed chicks. That being said, mistakes can and have happened, but your chances are much better that you'll have all hens.
For starters, you'll need a brooder and a heat plate. A brooder is a heated space or structure in which you raise young fowl. A large tote works great as a makeshift brooder. You could also try a box, galvanized tub, or whatever else you have laying around. The main thing is you want something tall enough the little chicks won't escape. A chick should have at least 1/2 square foot of space from age 1 day to about 4 weeks and then 1 square foot of space from age 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
Here's a basic shopping list to prepare for the arrival of the chicks:
Prep The Brooder: Place your makeshift brooder in a safe place and away from drafts. Cats, dogs, children, and others are all things to consider. You don't want anyone accidentally letting the chicks out and you certainly don't want a dog or cat getting at them. If you are leaving them in an outbuilding such as a garage, it's important to first ensure predators cannot get in. If they can, they will quickly find and kill the entire flock.
- Brooder (if you have a tall-sided box, tote, etc. that you can use, by all means re-purpose that - tall-sided storage tubs work great!)
- Brooder Cover - this should allow for air flow so an old window screen, chicken wire or wire mesh, etc.
- Liner for the brooder (non-glossy newspaper sections)
- Wood Shavings (I highly recommend pine shavings over pellets or stray/hay)
- Heat Plate (I recommend this over a heat lamp because of the fire danger with the heat lamps)
- Chick Feeder (see note below)
- Chick Waterer (it's best to use a commercial chick waterer so you don't risk them drowning)
- Chick Feed
- Chick Grit (mix with the feed - read the package for amount)
Inside your brooder you'll need wood shavings or some other type of chicken-approved litter. I line the bottom of the brooder with newspaper first, then about 2 inches of fine wood shavings laying on top of that. This will make it much easier to keep clean.
For the feeder: It's tempting to use something from around the house - a shallow plastic container, a tupperware lid, etc. but the benefit if an actual chick feeder is that it's the proper size and, for the most part, will keep their bodies out of the food. Remember that they poop constantly so a feeder that allows them to get inside of it will quickly become filled with chick poop.
For the waterer: Again, it's tempting to use something you already have. The potential problems are 1. it will become full of poop and/or 2. they could fall and drown in an open container with taller sides. Feel free to add a small amount of electrolytes or a splash of apple cider vinegar to their water. Keep their water elevated slightly to try and keep the shavings (which they will kick around) out of it. You can continue to elevate it as they grow taller.
The day before the chicks arrive get everything ready - food and grit, the waterer full of water and placed in the brooder, and make sure the heat plate is working.
I like to place the heat plate on one side of the brooder, and the food and water on the opposite side.
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Chick Arrival
If you've mail-ordered your chicks, the post office will call you as soon as they arrive (I would advise letting them know ahead of time and giving them your phone number. They will very much appreciate the "heads up"). It is imperative that you are ready to pick them up as soon as they arrive. You'll hear them as soon as you get there as your package will be the one making a lot of noise.
Heat: Plug in the heat plate, lower it as stated in the instructions. As they grow, you'll adjust it.
Heat: Plug in the heat plate, lower it as stated in the instructions. As they grow, you'll adjust it.
Check Them Out: It's important to tend to them immediately upon getting the chicks home. Open your box carefully and assess the health of each. There is a chance one or two may have perished during transit. Hopefully this won't be the case. They will probably be huddled together in the corner, making it difficult to look at each, so you can remove them, one at a time and place them in their brooder once you've checked them over.
Pasty Butt: When checking each chick out, if the vent area (rear end) has any pasty or crusty poop on it, remove it with a wet paper towel. Carefully rub away the poop with the paper towel, working it between two fingers, until it comes loose. Simply pulling it off will possibly injure the tiny chicks. The poop must be removed in order for the chicken to continue to properly excrete. The chicks' vents must be checked daily for the next few weeks.
Dip Their Beak: As you move each chick from their shipping box to their new home, dip their beak in water. Each chick will need their beak dipped at least once and you should watch to make sure they drink. Next, dip each chick's beak in the food so they know where to find it. They may start pecking at the shavings, but you can re-direct them to the food and they'll catch on. Watch for any not returning to the water for a drink on their own and re-dip to make sure they understand before you leave them unattended.
Cover The Brooder: Cover the top of the container they are in with an old screen or some sort of covering that allows for air flow but keeps others out and them in.
Handling The Chicks: Handling should be kept at a minimum for the first few days. They will be highly stressed and need the opportunity to adjust to their new surroundings.
Daily Chores: Keep on eye on the chicks for the next 2 days watching for signs of illness. You'll also need to keep a close eye on them for the purposes of monitoring the heat. Cold chicks will huddle and chirp loudly and hot chicks will look agitated and pant. Content chicks will spread out and enjoy their full surroundings. Adjust the heat as needed.
Keep a good eye on their food and water. They should never run out of either. You'll be cleaning their feeder and waterer often throughout the day as they will kick litter into both, and disinfecting both weekly with vinegar and water.
Their brooder/pen will need to be cleaned daily as they will spill their water, leave you lots of little "packages" and simply make a mess. They love to play and scratch and will do so quite happily. Have a second brooder or box/container handy that has a non-slippery bottom that you can safely place the chicks in while you clean their brooder.
After a few weeks they can enjoy some outdoor time as long as the temps aren't too cold (above 65 degrees Fahrenheit). Don't leave them out in their pen or container for too long and you'll want to keep an eye on them as predators (including neighborhood cats) could be lurking.
Once the chicks are 2 weeks old, it's important to handle them daily. This will not only help them thrive but also allow for a much easier time when you need to pick them up and handle them in adulthood. They will be more comfortable and have more trust in you doing so.
I will say that bantams and some of the breeds collectively known as the "easter eggers" have always been a bit skittish in our experience. It's still important to hold them daily, trying to form that relationship with them.
I know this is common sense, but I still feel I need to add it. Always wash your hands well after handling any chicks or chickens.
Weeks 1-3 - the chicks are little balls of absolute cuteness that need to be checked on regularly and are very fragile (particularly their legs). They will be vocal and enjoy running around their brooder, jumping, eating, drinking, kicking and scratching the shavings, and spending a lot of time under their heat plate or lamp.
Their heat plate will start around 90 or 95 degrees Fahrenheit and then be reduced by 5 degrees each week. You will know if you've reduced the heat too low if you find them huddled under the heat plate rather than passed out sleeping under it. It's normal for them to do some huddling, but they should not be a big pile of chicks.
They will become very active. Feel free to add a small stick (large enough for a few to perch on), a small rock or two, or even a feather duster. They will enjoy having things to go on and under.
Give them small amounts of fresh food/table scraps as you can. They love berries, veggies, and bits of carbs like oatmeal, rice, and bread. Their feed should be their primary source of nutrition, so think of any food scraps as treats.
If you are raising chicks in the fall or winter months, it's possible that your chicks will need to stay in their brooder for longer, up to 10-12 weeks.
If you are using a starter/grower feed, you don't need to change it. If you are using a starter feed, you can change it at week 8 to a grower feed.
Chickens produce a lot of dust, so it's easy to look forward to the day when they move to their new home.....outside of the house or garage.
A few things to keep in mind prior to transitioning the little ones from the artificially heated pen to the outside.
A few things to keep in mind prior to transitioning the little ones from the artificially heated pen to the outside.
First, wait until the chicks have fully developed feathers, usually at week 6 or 7.
Second, transition the chicks when the weather is nice if possible (not rainy, windy, etc.). Chickens are not big on change, so making the transition as easy as possible is a huge benefit. If you are going to allow them to free-range, you should initially keep them in the chicken coop only. After a week they will be comfortable with their new home and understand that this is their safe haven. Now you can allow them out and they will return to their coop on their own so that you won't have to chase them all down. Just check the coop in the evenings to make sure all have made it back.
Third, if you're adding them to an existing flock, it's best to wait until the chicks reach 10 weeks or older. They need to be old enough to fight for themselves when bullied. The way we've transitioned ours, is from the house they go to a pen (we use a dog pen) within the coop by week 8. We add extra wire to the outside of the pen so that the holes of the pen are small enough that they can't get out, but the existing flock can check them out.
Third, if you're adding them to an existing flock, it's best to wait until the chicks reach 10 weeks or older. They need to be old enough to fight for themselves when bullied. The way we've transitioned ours, is from the house they go to a pen (we use a dog pen) within the coop by week 8. We add extra wire to the outside of the pen so that the holes of the pen are small enough that they can't get out, but the existing flock can check them out.
The pen needs to be cleaned daily, and we daily close the flock outside and let the chicks run around the indoor pen to get some exercise. They enjoy trying out their newly discovered wings and they become very comfortable with their new home. Eventually, by week 10, they are released to mix in with the rest of the flock and the pecking order gets re-established.
Enjoy watching their crazy antics as they learn their new surroundings and find new things to get excited about.
Enjoy watching their crazy antics as they learn their new surroundings and find new things to get excited about.
Switch them to layer feed once they are about 19 weeks old. Get the egg cartons ready because you should see your first egg once the chicks are 21 - 24 weeks old.
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